Jeff Goldblum’s forgotten police novel is a love letter to Columbo

I am a big fan of crime novels, NCIS: Secret Service Stories To monk, House To Elementary levelAnd The Finder To trackerand I know how boring and tedious they can be at their worst. Thanks to Jeff Goldblum, being Jeff Goldblum, Rain never reaches the depths of, say, Sleepy Hollowand I found the predictability refreshing and reassuring, much like Columbo. In the classic Peter Falk series, we know who the murderer is and we know how the murder was committed, but the fun is watching Columbo put the pieces together.