Although his most notable fiction had been published decades earlier, James Cain continued to write novels until the end of his life. Writing was what he lived for, and he refused to give it up even when his efforts were not accepted for publication. Rainbow's End is one of the final two novels that Cain published during his life time (he completed it in 1975 at 80 years of age). The plot concerns an airline hijacker who has parachuted from a commercial airplane with $100,000 and a stewardess as hostage. The two land in rural Ohio where they overturn the placid lives of a mother and her grown son. Following death of the hijacker, the three conflict over the money and over potential blame for hijacker's death, with subplots of romantic love, dark family secrets, and hints of forbidden sex. The plot and dialogue are somewhat reminscent of vintage Cain, although understandably not up to the intensity of his work of the 1930s and 40s.

Reviewers of the book were charitable and positive. In the Miami Herald,Charles Witteford wrote: "Rainbow's End... is vintage Cain, and it's all here -- the big money, the unusual circumstances, the spare, tight style, and the staccato dialogue." Said reviewer John Barkham "James M. Cain is still very much alive... Rainbow's End is written with the same drive, the same energy, the same lean hyped prose with not a word wasted. If there's any trace of mellowness with age, it's in the happy ending." (These reviews are taken from Roy Hoopes' 1982 Cain: The Biography of James M. Cain).

Rainbow's End will mainly be of interest to avid followers of James Cain's fiction who wish to read all of his life's work. Such fans will find this novel a pleasant surprise compared to other Cain work of its time frame -- and a parting gift from an old friend. ( )

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