Introduction

Newly minted Special Agent Liv Bergen races against time to solve a child kidnapping--which could take a fatal turn--with the help of her gifted nephew Noah

From birth, Noah Hogarty has lived with severe cerebral palsy. He is nearly blind, unable to speak, and cannot run, walk, or crawl. Yet his mind works just as well as any other twelve-year-old's--maybe even better. And Noah holds a secret dream: to become a great spy, following in the footsteps of his aunt, Liv ''Boots'' Bergen.

Now, freshly returned from training at Quantico, FBI agent Liv Bergen is thrown into her first professional case. Working side by side with veteran agent Streeter Pierce, enigmatic agent and lover Jack Linwood, and her bloodhound Beulah, Liv must race to find five-year-old Max--last seen at the Denver International Airport--before this Christmastime abduction turns deadly. Meanwhile Noah, housebound, becomes wrapped up in identifying the young face he sees watching him from his neighbor's bedroom window, but he can neither describe nor inscribe what he knows.

And his investigation may lead to Noah paying the ultimate price in fulfilling his dream.

Noah's Rainy Day (the fourth novel in Brannan's mystery series) combines classic Liv Bergen irreverence and brainpower with an unflinching look at the darkest of human motivations, all while a whirlpool of increasingly terrifying events threatens to engulf Liv and Noah both in one final rainy day.

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Excerpt

Prologue

NOAH…

The good news is I think I broke my leg.

The bad news is I don’t know if anyone at school would ever believe how it happened. Or worse, if no one ever figures out how I got here.

It’s getting cold now and I don’t do so hot when I get cold. Ha! I made a funny. Emma would have laughed at that one. I wish she were here right now. Well, not really. I’m glad she’s not. She’s safe, at home where she’s warm and not somewhere so moldy and smelly. And dark. I just meant I wish I could tell her my story. She’s not only the fastest at listening to me with her ‘five finger’ method, but she’d also understand why I think it’s so cool that I broke my leg, even though Mom would be sad and Dad would be worried. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. In a departure from Sandra Brannan’s previous Liv Bergen novels, murder wasn’t the central theme in Noah’s Rainy Day. Did you find the change in story line and writing style refreshing or disappointing?
2. Liv Bergen is blessed with numerous siblings and a strong family. How effectively does the author use the character’s family members to further the story in Noah’s Rainy Day, using a newly showcased sibling, sister Frances, as the focus in this book?
3. The relationship between Liv Bergen and Streeter Pierce may be hindering Liv’s desire to further her relationship with Jack Linwood. If you were Liv, whose bed would you jump into with both feet, eyes wide and why?
4. The author raised several serious topics in Noah’s Rainy Day. What are your experiences with the author’s perspective that people with challenges are often seen by society as “invisible” rather than having strong skills sets that may be unseen?
5. Brannan’s FBI agents and DPD touched on the concept that child abductions can most often be linked to family members. The villain in Noah’s Rainy Day was not typical. What do you think about publically mapping where sexual predators live in certain communities versus the rights of convicted criminals to privacy?
6. If you had a child or family member with severe challenges and a high requirement for special needs, at what point would you consider institutionalizing your family member and what factors would you imagine most important in your decision?
7. The author found no way around introducing Noah’s voice in first person. Up until Noah’s Rainy Day, Brannan had only allowed Liv Bergen the first-person perspective. Did you find the technique effective or off-putting?
8. The story of Noah’s Rainy Day occurs over a two-day time frame and was less of a murder mystery than it was a cozier mystery with the thrill of a ticking clock: Will the good guys find the bad guys in time to save the boy?
9. Which of Sandra Brannan’s books is your favorite?
In The Belly of Jonah 2010
Lot’s Return To Sodom 2011
Widow’s Might 2012
Noah’s Rainy Day 2013

Weblinks

»	Author Sandra Brannan's web site

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