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Title: Hard Rain
Author: Irma Venter
Translator: Elsa Silke
Series: Rogue #1
Genre: Mystery
Audience: Adult
Format: E-book
My Synopsis:
Alex Derksen is a foreign journalist from South Africa on assignment in Tanzania. Shortly after arriving in the new country, he meets beautiful photographer Ranna Abramson. For Alex, it’s love at first sight.
But Ranna is not an easy woman to love. She seems attracted to Alex but she’s constantly pushing him away at the same time. She’s obviously hiding something but she won’t share her troubles with Alex. She shows up for a date with a bloody arm one night. Not long after, one of her acquaintances is found dead and Ranna is suspected of murder. What exactly is Ranna hiding? Or what is she running from?
My Review:
I wanted to like this more than I did. It’s a pretty solid premise but the writing was too–jumpy? I actually restarted it about 20 pages in because I thought I had missed something. Alex and Ranna barely knew each other but Alex seemed to think that she owed him something. It was some crazy insta-love.
And then Ranna finally shares her worries with Alex and all I could think was, “What? Really? That’s where we’re going?” With this revelation in hand, I had a good idea of who done what, so to speak. All that I needed was the full details of why.
I was correct about who but the why? It felt far-fetched. And then the resolution? That really left me scratching my head. Alex and Ranna’s choices made absolutely no sense to me.
I did enjoy the hot, humid, rainy setting of the book. The author’s descriptions of Tanzania and South Africa made my travel bug flare up. It was also fun to read some South African words that I hadn’t come across before, like bakkie. It’s a pickup truck, if you’re curious.
Apparently this is a series but I don’t feel any need to continue with it.
I received this book for free through the Amazon First Reads program. I am not an Amazon affiliate.
Similar Books:
If you liked Hard Rain, you might also like my reviews of
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
- The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Purchase:
Buy Hard Rain from Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, NC.
I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.
