Hard Rain | Irma Venter | Book Review

Hard Rain by Irma Venter Book Review

Hard Rain by Irma Venter Book Cover

Alex Darkesen, a journalist from South Africa, got his next project in Tanzania. A city of bright and sunny days and scorching nights, but the people of the country are great hosts. Alex saw Ranna for the first time in a wedding ceremony, he never believes in love, and love, at first sight, is an alien concept for him but he falls for her, it takes time to accept that he loves her. 

But then the night comes, the rain is falling hard and she appears at her usual spot, her shoulder is wounded and her white t-shirts are all wrapped in her blood. But she acts in front of him as nothing happens at all. 

That is the first drop of the mystery; clouds of chaos start looming over Alex and Ranna. Ranna doesn't like conversations or more firmly if I say, she doesn't like interrogation. She flees from Dar to Korogwe, a place full of butterflies and flower fields. 

After barging into Ranna's rented room and sending her copious texts and more than a hundred calls, he finds her there in Korogwe; capturing the most beautiful creatures. They argue and argue and at last, they confess how much they love each other, and the romantic moment fades the tension for a while. 

The "Hard Rain" by Irma Venter brings with it a downpour of mystery. A billionaire named Belly Jones, a popular business tycoon of the USA has been swept away by the flood with his multi-story house. His body has been found onshore and the discoverers of the body were Alex and Ranna. 

Further investigation of police officer Hamisi puts all the fingers of suspicion on Ranna and when he digs more into her past he finds out wherever she goes, whoever she loves, they all are dead. She was always the prime suspect of all the deaths. 

Officer warned Alex about Ranna and asked for his help. Is Ranna a serial killer? What will Alex do after knowing he is the next target? Will Alex help the police to take his love of life behind the bars or he'll choose to die with his lover Ranna?

My Review

A picturesque narration that took me inside the Story. Quotes and dialogues were awesomely said and most of them are now preserved in my notebook. Some scenes hooked me completely with the story, they were romantic one and I always love to read romance. The romance of the story was more interesting than the thriller. I was expecting more vehemence in the plot, but all I got was a moderate thriller story. 

Though Ranna and Alex's bonding was convincing and riveting, Tom and Ranna's friendship portrait vaguely somehow downgraded the storyline. Alex and his parents Mr. and Mrs. Darkesen's backstories gave real shudders to me; it was so poignant to read the condition of Alex's mother, I was starting to feel motherly concern and love for her. 

She is a great character in the story, you can't hate her. No matter how annoying it was for Alex to hear all those reasons which she gave him when he pleaded in front of her to leave her frantic, torturing, and cruelest husband, her reasons were always unacceptably convincing that made her character stronger than others.

Reading experience of the book was smooth, the translator did a great job. However, the development of the story was slow for me. The plot and concept could be touched by the higher level of tremor if all the murders were described without giving the hint of the real killer. 

It always becomes a spine-chilling part of the crime and thriller books when it's narrated in the story how a murderer plans to kill his victims and how he executes. But in this book, the killer and his work didn't get much limelight. It would compel a reader to suspect Ranna more firmly as a murderer if the story has more space for the killer's work. Overall, this book holds a good lite thriller story and suspense immerses one to read the whole of it. 

-Abhi Panwar

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