Almost six years ago Slate’s wife and son were killed in a head-on collision with a tanker truck. Slate was following behind and witnessed the tragedy. He left his law practice, relocated to the Alabama Gulf coast, bought a beach bar, and moved onto the Anna Grace which was docked at the marina.

He occasionally helped with legal work that consisted of finding things his clients had lost. He also owns a small airplane that he uses on occasion.

One day Don Kramer, a Birmingham, Alabama lawyer contacted Slate about his 19-year-old daughter who had disappeared two days before. Slate went to Birmingham where he still had a house, and began looking for the missing girl.

Shortly after he arrived, he was contacted by Leon Grubbs, Captain of the homicide division of the Birmingham police department because Slate’s business card was found on a man who had been murdered.

Slate begins to research oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico as his investigation reveals a tie with the murder victim. Someone leaves an odd message on his laptop computer warning him to stay out of the oil and gas business.

During his investigation into Kristine Kramer’s disappearance, he meets her soccer coach Sally Kronenberg who suggests he also talk to Kris’s college roommate Akilah Ziyenge.

Slate uses his long-established practice of meditation to help him with insight regarding the missing and the dead in this case. Working with and building upon his newfound association with Captain Grubbs, Slate finally solves the unusual case.

Cold Winter Rain is the first in a series featuring Slate written by Steven P. Gregory. Slate in this novel is reminiscent of the Travis McGee novels by John D. McDonald.

The author’s attention to detail provides a sense of reality to this novel as he brings scenes to life. The unexpected twists and turns keep the story interesting and moving forward. Gregory’s main character is strong and likeable and should be able to carry a series of novels as long as the storylines remain strong.

I’m very much looking forward to the next installment as I believe the author has the potential to write a strong series based on what we already know about Slate and the probability for the author to give him more people to find and cases to solve.

A special thank you goes to the author for providing us a complimentary copy for our review. You can find Cold Winter Rain (Slate) on Amazon.com.