Scent of Rain and Lightning (Pickard)

Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think Pickard chose to title her novel The Scent of Rain and Lightning? How does she use weather and landscape as symbols in her writing?

2. How does Jody's place in the community change after her father's murder?

3. How is Collin's life affected?

4. What role do the residents of Rose have in Billy Crosby's conviction?

5. The Linders are portrayed as the most influential family in the county. What responsibility comes with such influence? Do any of the Linders abuse their power, despite their good intentions?

6. Though Hugh Linder Sr. is clearly the patriarch of the family, is he really the most powerful figure in the clan?

7. The Scent of Rain and Lightning revolves around the theme of revenge. What does this novel tell us about the nature of revenge?

8. The theme of forgiveness also plays a large role in the novel. How does the story reveal the challenges of forgiveness? Are the characters clearly in one camp or the other (revenge or forgiveness)? If so, how would you divide them? And which characters, if any, bridge these emotions?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

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