Audiobook Review: Red Rain by R.L. Stine

TITLE: Red Rain

AUTHOR: R.L. Stine 

NARRATOR: Michael Cerveris
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Audio
PUBLICATION DATE: October 9, 2012

FORMAT: Unabridged, 10 Audio CDs, 10 hrs and 22 mins
GENRE: Horror

ISBN: 9781442346765

Travel writer Lea Sutter finds herself on a small island off the coast of South Carolina, the wrong place at the wrong time. A merciless, unanticipated hurricane cuts a path of destruction and Lea barely escapes with her life. In the storm’s aftermath, she discovers orphaned twin boys and impulsively decides to adopt them. The boys, Samuel and Daniel, seem amiable and immensely grateful; Lea’s family back on Long Island—husband Mark and their two children, Ira and Elena—aren’t quite so pleased. But even they can’t anticipate the twins’ true nature—or predict that, within a few weeks’ time, Mark will wind up implicated in two brutal murders, with the police narrowing in.

MY REVIEW: 

I received this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own. 

I associate R.L. Stine with the “Goosebumps” series that he is famous for. Had the series come out about a decade earlier, I would have devoured each one because I love scary stories! This is Stine’s first book for adults.

Lea Sutter is a travel adventure writer who chronicles her escapades on her travel blog. She decides to travel to Cape Le Chat Noir (French for “The Black Cat”), which is a tiny island off the Carolinas that has a reputation for being cursed. It sounds just like the type of place that her readers would be interested in. A hurricane is heading to the island, which makes the adventure all the more dangerous.

After the hurricane hits, the island is decimated. Lea finds twin 12 year-old boys on the beach. Their blond hair, big blue eyes, and sweet smiles give them an angelic appearance. Lea cannot help but be drawn to help these poor boys, who were orphaned in the storm. She feels such a connection to them, an instant bond. Since the boys have no other family and Lea cannot bear to leave them behind with no one to take care of them, she brings them back to Long Island with her.

Lea’s husband, Mark, is a child psychologist. He has written a rather controversial book, and his observations are that children are happier and better adjusted with less parenting. Rather than the “helicopter parents” who hover over their child’s every move, a parent should act more like a guide and give the child more independence with less supervision.

Lea and Mark have two children of their own: A son named Ira, who is in 6^th grade, and a daughter named Elena, who is 14 years old. Ira is the shy and serious one, who seems to be more “needy” of his parents. Elena is more outgoing than her brother. Lea and Mark had always planned to have more children, but they were told that they couldn’t have any more.

The twins, Daniel and Samuel, appear to be very attached to Lea. When they discover that their new dad  is a threat to their happiness, they decide that they must take action. 

Red Rain is reminiscent of William March’s The Bad Seed. It is a great, creepy story that was a quick read for me. Stine kept the story moving along at a good pace, and there was not just one, but two, shockers at the end of the story that I did not see coming. I love it when an author can surprise me in the way that Stine did! He is a new-to-me author, and I hope that he continues to write books geared for adults.

Michael Cerveris is a new-to-me narrator, and I loved him! He was a pleasure to listen to. His pace was excellent, and the inflections in his voice made it easy to distinguish between the characters. He made me want to keep listening! 

MY RATING:

 

4 stars!!  It was really good! You should put it on your "To Be Read" list. A big thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for the opportunity to review this audiobook!

This book qualifies as: 

#83 for my 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge    
#35 for my 2012 Audio Book Challenge    
#5 of Category 2 for my 2012 Immortal Reading Challenge 
#58 for my New Author Reading Challenge 2012
#38 for my 2012 ARC Reading Challenge     
#48 for my Speculative Fiction Challenge 2012    
#8 for my 2012 Serial Killers Reading Challenge   
#15 for my 2012 Horror/Thriller Reading Challenge
#17 for my Fall Into Reading 2012 Challenge

#12 for my Review Copy Wipeout   

View all my reviews