Rating: 
Summary: SERVED ALA KING
Review:
Canadian writer Susie Moloney's second novel is served ala king - Stephen that is. A Dry Spell is macabre, sometimes far-fetched, and ultimately chilling.
We learn straightaway that Goodlands, North Dakota, the fictional setting for this preternatural epic, is not living up to its name. Despite its motto "A Good Little Town," there's nothing good going on in Goodlands.
A four-year drought has parched the earth, and turned once sanguine farm families suspicious. They're losing their land to foreclosure; their hopes have turned to dust. Despite the Farmer's Almanack prediction for a "wet, cool spring" and a wet August, it rains everywhere but on the wheat and barley fields of Goodlands.
In addition, there are some bizarre happenings taking place : cement driveways rupture; a gigantic oak falls through a plate glass window; water tank spigots vanish as precious liquid is lost.
Banker Karen Grange has been banished to Goodlands for past infractions (a tendency to max out credit cards in an accumulation of the unwanted and unworn). As manger of Commercial Farm Credit it is her unhappy task to inform families that they are losing their homes and, if the drought continues, she may lose the bank. With "some invisible umbrella hovering over Goodlands, and no scientific explanation for it," Karen summons a rainmaker.
Tom Keatley, the tall, long-haired rain doctor uses no incantations or magic rituals. With his emphatically square jaw and narrowed eyes he summons cumulus clouds by sheer dint of will and an occasional shot of Wild Turkey. But there was something wrong with Goodlands, and he knew it. There was "that hum that ran underneath the earth, the incredible, persistent dryness of the place, the way the sky wouldn't open for him...."
Much of what is wrong in Goodlands roils within Vida Whalley, youngest daughter of a disreputable clan. "Whalleys had been plaguing the town, drinking and fighting, stealing and making trouble for years." Directed by an inner voice Vida makes more than trouble.
As events become nightmarish, friends turn on friends and a melee ensues at the local caf?. Sheriff Henry Barker, who normally only chases dogs and breaks up fights, has his work cut out for him. Add to the mix Carl Simpson, a once reasonable man, who blames the drought on government men hiding in silos, and you have a town on the brink of disaster.
Sometimes it is slow going to reach this point, as descriptions of dryness and hoped for respite tend to be repetitious. It seems a bit pat for both Karen and Tom to be the results of deprived childhoods.
Nonetheless, Susie Moloney has penned a harrowing tale in which she recreates the classic struggle between good and evil. Which prevails? Chiller/thriller fans will welcome A Dry Spell.
- Gail Cooke
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling characters, lack of suspense
Review: "A Dry Spell" is an attempt at mixing two different genres that watered down both. The formula romance: good looking rogue, shy undiscovered beauty, opposites attract. The formula ghost story: wrongful death, rage, revenge. Fortunately, unlike most formula novels, the author of this one actually has talent. Her character development is quite good and well rounded. I cared about everyone from the stiff and proper Karen Grange to the fiesty, hurting Vida. However, the story held promises it never kept. The antagonistic ghost was just a shadow of a character, her history described in a mere two or three pages of a 350 page book. The promised sensuality was weak, and the suspense was almost non-existent. I found I wanted more from this book than it gave me. The author provided a feel for the prairie and the rain equivalent to watching a television show, not of actually being there. The comparison of Susan Maloney to Stephen King is not really apt. T! he only similarity is that both authors let their characters drive their writing. I also think Maloney has not yet arrived. She needs to be bolder with her ideas. She has the talent, she just needs to add some power. My overall recommendation on this book would be to read it. However, if you're looking for a good scare, this is not for you.
Rating: 
Summary: A Boring Read
Review: Anyone that has never lived in a small town may not understand the strenth of Susie Moloney's writing. She has a strong sense of living in a small town and her writing accurately reflects that. There is a lot of detail in the writing that some may feel slows the story. The beauty of the novel is that none of the details really slow the story, but it's necessary to remind you that you are living in a place that's either very different or exactly the same place as where you are.
Rating:
Summary: SERVED ALA KING
Review: Canadian writer Susie Moloney's second novel is served ala king - Stephen that is. A Dry Spell is macabre, sometimes far-fetched, and ultimately chilling. We learn straightaway that Goodlands, North Dakota, the fictional setting for this preternatural epic, is not living up to its name. Despite its motto "A Good Little Town," there's nothing good going on in Goodlands. A four-year drought has parched the earth, and turned once sanguine farm families suspicious. They're losing their land to foreclosure; their hopes have turned to dust. Despite the Farmer's Almanack prediction for a "wet, cool spring" and a wet August, it rains everywhere but on the wheat and barley fields of Goodlands. In addition, there are some bizarre happenings taking place : cement driveways rupture; a gigantic oak falls through a plate glass window; water tank spigots vanish as precious liquid is lost. Banker Karen Grange has been banished to Goodlands for past infractions (a tendency to max out credit cards in an accumulation of the unwanted and unworn). As manger of Commercial Farm Credit it is her unhappy task to inform families that they are losing their homes and, if the drought continues, she may lose the bank. With "some invisible umbrella hovering over Goodlands, and no scientific explanation for it," Karen summons a rainmaker. Tom Keatley, the tall, long-haired rain doctor uses no incantations or magic rituals. With his emphatically square jaw and narrowed eyes he summons cumulus clouds by sheer dint of will and an occasional shot of Wild Turkey. But there was something wrong with Goodlands, and he knew it. There was "that hum that ran underneath the earth, the incredible, persistent dryness of the place, the way the sky wouldn't open for him...." Much of what is wrong in Goodlands roils within Vida Whalley, youngest daughter of a disreputable clan. "Whalleys had been plaguing the town, drinking and fighting, stealing and making trouble for years." Directed by an inner voice Vida makes more than trouble. As events become nightmarish, friends turn on friends and a melee ensues at the local café. Sheriff Henry Barker, who normally only chases dogs and breaks up fights, has his work cut out for him. Add to the mix Carl Simpson, a once reasonable man, who blames the drought on government men hiding in silos, and you have a town on the brink of disaster. Sometimes it is slow going to reach this point, as descriptions of dryness and hoped for respite tend to be repetitious. It seems a bit pat for both Karen and Tom to be the results of deprived childhoods. Nonetheless, Susie Moloney has penned a harrowing tale in which she recreates the classic struggle between good and evil. Which prevails? Chiller/thriller fans will welcome A Dry Spell. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: This one needed a better editor.
Review: Dry Spell has one of the most interesting premises I have encountered in a while. A rainmaker who travels from town to town grifting and making rain. A town that suffers from an otherworldly dry spell. The marriage of the two should have been explosive. What happened? This novel ground to a halt about midway through and never recovered. Ms. Moloney's editor should have helped her streamline this tale. A good editor would have and should have made the plot line clearer, lessened the roles of more minor characters, and broadened the plot line of the ghost who is the major cause of the drought. I think this would make a wonderful movie, and I did enjoy the book -- problems and all.
Rating:
Summary: This one needed a better editor.
Review: Dry Spell has one of the most interesting premises I have encountered in a while. A rainmaker who travels from town to town grifting and making rain. A town that suffers from an otherworldly dry spell. The marriage of the two should have been explosive. What happened? This novel ground to a halt about midway through and never recovered. Ms. Moloney's editor should have helped her streamline this tale. A good editor would have and should have made the plot line clearer, lessened the roles of more minor characters, and broadened the plot line of the ghost who is the major cause of the drought. I think this would make a wonderful movie, and I did enjoy the book -- problems and all.
Rating:
Summary: I vote for a re-write
Review: I have never had such mixed emotions about a book before. It was a "skimmer" all right. In fact, I skipped pages at a time but the book still held me like an iron fist. The author seemed to go off on tangents that departed so completely from the story line that I wanted to throw the book against the wall. So why was I compelled to read this book in two days?..... because the plot just wouldn't let me walk away from it. The plot, the characters and the expectations of great things had me picking this book up with every spare minute I could muster. I liked the mysterious rainmaker and his supernatural gift and I think his character had great promise. Unfortunately, the book closed with a whimper leaving the hint of a sequel. If there is a sequel forthcoming, I might buy it but not before I read a enough to know if the book carries the same style of writing tangents that were so frustrating in this book.
For the most part, I liked this book because the author definitely has talent and I think she can deliver the goods with a little help. This book had a lot of potential so I am of the opinion that it's the editor who should be hung out to dry, not the author. This could have been an outstanding read had wandering thoughts been traded for more on the characters and closure on the story line. Forget the sequel. I vote for a re-write.
Rating:
Summary: I vote for a re-write
Review: I have never had such mixed emotions about a book before. It was a "skimmer" all right. In fact, I skipped pages at a time but the book still held me like an iron fist. The author seemed to go off on tangents that departed so completely from the story line that I wanted to throw the book against the wall. So why was I compelled to read this book in two days?..... because the plot just wouldn't let me walk away from it. The plot, the characters and the expectations of great things had me picking this book up with every spare minute I could muster. I liked the mysterious rainmaker and his supernatural gift and I think his character had great promise. Unfortunately, the book closed with a whimper leaving the hint of a sequel. If there is a sequel forthcoming, I might buy it but not before I read a enough to know if the book carries the same style of writing tangents that were so frustrating in this book.
For the most part, I liked this book because the author definitely has talent and I think she can deliver the goods with a little help. This book had a lot of potential so I am of the opinion that it's the editor who should be hung out to dry, not the author. This could have been an outstanding read had wandering thoughts been traded for more on the characters and closure on the story line. Forget the sequel. I vote for a re-write.
Rating:
Summary: A Fresh Story with an Unexpected Plot That Crosses Genres
Review: If you are like me, you will find this novel unlike any other that you have read before. The jacket copy made me think the book was about the "supernatural" powers of a rainmaker. Actually, this is just one facet of this jewel of a novel. Ms. Moloney has actually combined several novellas together into one novel. I found that approach to be fascinating to watch. Goodlands, North Dakota has a most unusual problem. It hasn't rained in four years. Since this is a farming community without irrigation, that means financial ruin for everyone. A rainmaker is on his way there. Can he help? The four novellas that intersect to create this novel also encompass a horror tale, a love story, and tale of the social dynamics of small-town life on the prairies. Of the four novellas, I think most people will find the horror tale to be the least effective one. To me, the love story was also subpar. Those are the reasons why I graded the book down by two stars. The other two novellas are clearly five star efforts. I would, however, recommend against reading this book if you are very sensitive to the quality of the horror writing in a book. I thought the character of Tom Keatley, the rainmaker, was well developed and interesting. What would someone be like whose main skill in life is bringing the rain? By comparison, many of the other characters are little more than names on a page. There is a little bit of an unexplained time warp in the novel that bothered me. Many of the opinions and attitudes were much more reminiscent of 1969 than the current time. But I could see no particular reason for that shift. After you have read this book, think a little about what it means to have a talent that others cannot understand. How would you represent yourself? For example, what if you could put out fires with your mind? You would want to help by using that talent, but if you told people that you could do this they might think you a bit weird . . . or worse! See the potential for new life in any parched circumstance!
Rating:
Summary: Genre defying
Review: The small farming community of Goodlands has been plagued by a drought for four long years. Farmers are losing their farms and being forced off their land. If that wasn't bad enough strange occurances begin to happen. Some of these "accidents" defy explaination. Just when it seems the town is beyond all hope a man walks into town who can call the rains down from the heavens and save the dying community. Dry Spell is a romance, a horror story, a story of how people deal with the prospect of losing it all. I was impressed with this truly unique story. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that I would have liked to have seen a little more closure at the end of the book. But definately worth reading all the same.
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