An absolutely well-done first mystery by A. D. Price. Her female private eye is someone I want to see more off. Good characters, complex plot developed well. For the reader who appreciates a 'meaty' plot rather than fluff. ( )

Set in Los Angeles in 1946, After the Blue, Blue Rain recalls the time when GI's returned home from the war, many in damaged condition, physically or mentally. Private eyes Kit Comfort and Henry Richman are hired to find a missing doctor who boarded a train for LA but never arrived. Finding him doesn't take much time. Finding the Nazi that delayed him, and their mysteriously absent employer, does. As they work the case, Kit helps to attend to her brother, who has returned from the Pacific with part of his memory missing. Henry's wife is also fragile mentally, and she is always his primary concern.

Author A.D. Price's strongest suit is characterization. Each of her characters is well developed, with a detailed back story and set of unique traits. While I can't say I could actually visualize the main characters, I found their behavior consistent. The story is told primarily in third person, with the focus of each short chapter on one of the main players, usually in present tense. The exception is that the Nazi culprit's tale is told in first person, past tense, interspersed with the other characters' chapters, roughly in the same timeline, as part of a confession statement. This, unfortunately, reveals beforehand that the Nazi survived, and produces an uneven narrative.

While the fast-paced ending gives the novel a thriller feel, for the most part this is a PI procedural, not really a mystery or a thriller. It's worth reading for its interesting characters and their stories as much as the primary plot. I'll look forward to the next installment.

This book was provided to me by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. ( )

1946, excop, private-investigators, amnesia, PTSD, post-WW2, mystery, investigations, historical-research, historical-places-events, historical-novel, hard-reality, unputdownable, noir, murder, detective-fiction, thriller****

Characters are well done and relatable, the pace is mostly fast paced and the plot is sound with several interesting twists. The publisher's blurb is a good hook. The only downside is an unresolved ending.
I won a print copy in a LibraryThing Giveaway! ( )

After The Blue, Blue Rain is a great mystery set on the West Coast in 1946. A.D. Price deftly introduces you to the characters and clearly shows how everyone connects as the book flows. I could easily imagine everyone and no one was one dimensional. There were "A-ha!" moments but this didn't detract from the book. I really enjoyed this and I am definitely going to be on the lookout for the already promised next book!