The Choking Rain

An invisible strangler is stalking the streets of Los Angeles. In 1932, six months before the Olympic Games are to bring relief to a Depression-battered city, men are falling dead in the rain-swept streets, their necks broken as if by an invisible noose. An ex-fighter pilot uncovers a terror plot unlike anything ever seen. But when he is struck down, his survivors must brave one of the last untamed places on Earth to learn the secret of the Invisible Death--a secret designed to destroy America's greatest cities, one by one…
In the tradition of Doc Savage and The Avenger, The Choking Rain returns to the time between the wars, when nations were jockeying for power, women hadn't been liberated, and there were still wild corners of the world as unknown as the surface of the Moon...

The Choking Rain (Pulp Adventure/Mystery)

“Book One of The Nemesis”

By Brian Lowe

Independent Publishing Platform

ASIN #B00T44SLHC

Price #2.99 (Kindle)

266 Pages

Rating 4-Stars

“A Fun Story”

Men connected to the Emerald American Railroad Company are dying in the rain from strangulation, as if an invisible killer is walking the streets of L. A.

Detective-Sergeant Ted Kane is on the case. When millionaire Terence Aloysius O’Donnell’s daughter, Mary watches her fiancé die in front of her, Kane wants to question her. He’s surprised to find her in the company of his best friend’s sister, Katherine Reinhold, and with her in possible danger he calls Eric “Captain Swashbuckle” Reinhold to come and help with the investigation. Eric brings along two more friends, T.J. “Professor Death” Gillis and Damien Pierrot. Together, the old pals tackle the mystery with Katherine’s help.

The story is set during a heavy raining season in Southern California, as a mysterious brain behind a scheme kills to get what they want. The trail leads to the jungles of Brazil, giant snakes, headhunters, and a German camp of soldiers hidden from prying eyes. Can Captain Swashbuckle and his fighting team discover of secret mastermind and stop the strange deaths in L.A. before the Olympic Games?

There is some similarity to Doc Savage, Pat Savage, Monk, Ham, and Renny, and the adventure was fun. The story has a strong plot. However, at times the dialogue reminded me of The Bowery Boys or Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, but that’s not bad, as I loved those characters. The running about tended to sound like The Keystone Cops, however, and the story read a bit slow; yes, there were plenty of things happening, but it just seemed to drag on and on without getting anywhere fast. And pulp stories should never drag. Still, this is a darn good plot and I liked the characters, regardless of a few uses of wrong words and some problems with formatting – scene changes, mostly. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA