Lea is an adventure travel blogger who goes to a little known island off the coast of the Outer Banks. Not known for a tourist destination, it is instead remembered for the awful storm that wiped out the entire population fifty years ago. It seems history was determined to repeat itself as a hurricane once again wipes out the island, destroying homes, and leaving piles of bodies in its wake. Down comes a red rain, a phenomenon once before seen in India. Out of the rain comes two beautiful blond twin boys, whom Lea instantly falls in love with and adopts them into her family.
Once she arrives home to her husband, daughter and son, the twins adapt to their new life quickly, or so it seems.
Through a series of horrific murders and strange occurrences, the twin boys bring a storm of their own down on Lea's family.
R.L. Stine is best known in my house for his Goosebumps series. Published in the 90s, the children's series was too young for me, so I had never read any of them, but my 7 year old loves it! Not knowing much about his books, I didn't know what to expect from R.L. Stine's first adult novel. I had no expectations, which turned out to be both good and bad (and by bad, I mean frightened beyond all shadow of reason).
He immediately impressed me with his writing - I felt every bump in the road, heard every voice, saw every stare. I was drawn in from the very beginning, and learned why my son flew through the Goosebumps books.
Here is where I was blindsided - the man is scary! I do not usually read horror, like Jenn at Jenn's Bookshelves, so I don't have much to compare it to. I also have to believe that reading the genre more than once a year desensitizes one to a point. Consider me ripe for the picking, because the rookie horror reader that I am was freaked out from the first chapter! My heart POUNDED during one particular scene with the twin boys, the son and the son's friend. Oh my gosh, but no sooner did I regain my wits about me then we were treated to a horror scene that I was not expecting at all. Holy COW!
I admit, I had to put the book down for a few days, just so I could get some sleep. This was not a book to be read while it was dark and everyone else was sleeping. Once I promised myself to only read Red Rain in the light of day, things began to go much smoother and easier.
Don't let me frighten you away from reading RED RAIN, though. It was scary in the best ways stories can - it's the good kind of scary that you get in the pit of your belly while watching Nightmare on Elm Street. Who or what is going to pop out from around the corner.
Adults who grew up with Goosebumps or adults who simply love a good horror story are going to love RED RAIN. And, please note, it is adult, so if you have young adults who want to read RED RAIN, I suggest you read it first to make sure it is appropriate for your son or daughter.
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About the Author:
R.L. Stine, author of the multimillion-selling Goosebumps and Fear Street series, lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, an editor and publisher, and their dog, Minnie. Visit RLStine.com.
I'm not usually one for book trailers, but this one is cool:
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