Black Rain

By: Gene Penny

Narrated by: Ann Richardson

Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Arlene is running from her old life. While driving a desert road in the middle of nowhere, her car breaks down, forcing her to seek refuge in a small diner. Diner owner Joe strikes a tentative deal with Arlene: in exchange for waitressing one night, he will cover the repairs to her car. On the surface things appear legitimate, but Arlene can't shake the feeling there's something off about Joe and his cliché diner.

©2012 Eugene Penny (P)2016 Eugene Penny

The funniest book of the decade!

Arlene is escaping a bad situation. One the reader is only given small details of when her VW bug breaks down on a lonely dessert road. The closest thing to civilization is a beat up diner a few miles back. Once there she's faced with quincidences and strange happenings.

The narrator, Anna M. Richardson added a lot of extra amusement to this already amszing story with her southern accent. It's a perfect combination.

The story is short and easy to do in one listening. It also flows easy with natural transitions. Gene Penny did a great job in such a short book building character and suspense. The ending is catchy too.

Really fun book!

I got this book free through audiobook boom.

An outstanding horrific thriller!!!

I usually read between five and eight books a week. I can honestly say that this is one of the best books that I have read in the last 12 months. I don't want to give too much away but it is fantastic from beginning to end. Some people may hesitate on spending a credit on a book that is so short, these people would really be missing out on a great adventure. I was voluntarily provided a review copy by the author publisher or narrator

Beware of the Diner

What did you love best about Black Rain?

I loved the whole story. I didn't know what to expect but really loved how it was told and that i didn't have a clue where it was going.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked all the Characters, even the despicable ones. The story was great and it was a bit of an unexpected ending

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite was where she had to finish her shift.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh at a few parts and made my jaw drop at a few near the end

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Really enjoyed

Loved that it took off from the get go, and held on!! The end a bit predictable, but worth the listen

Black Rain

If you love creepy horror stories in the vein of Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, you will enjoy this book. Arlene is running from her old life when her car breaks down on a deserted highway (cue "Hotel California"). After walking for miles, she reaches Mel's Diner, starving for water. The owner/cook, Joe, says if she will work as a waitress for one night, he will pay for her car's repairs.

Soon, a horrific storm starts, pouring down black rain. As other travelers enter the Diner, Arlene starts to learn more about each of them. Without giving away too much of the story, the reader will soon figure out that there is more to this Diner, this storm, and these people that you would think.

The book is written from the POV of Arlene and the narrator does an awesome job with Arlene's accent and the voices of the other characters. Her pacing and voice added a lot to my enjoyment of the story.

The story was both predictable and unpredictable, but entertaining throughout. It did get a little gruesome at times, but it's a horror story! My one complaint would be the very frequent use of the F-word. To me, it did not add anything to the story and at one point became too much, with one character saying it about 50 times in a few minutes dialogue. Other than that, I enjoyed this story and will definitely look for more by this author.

Thrilling and Kept me glued....

Where does Black Rain rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A thrilling ride from start to finish. loved it!

What about Ann M. Richardson’s performance did you like?

Gritty and Strong Performance for a thrilling ride.

Any additional comments?

"This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."

awful narration

The story was good, if a tad predictible. The narration...Gawd, the narration. It was like Blanche from Golden Girls, only not that subtle. Every word dragged out like she was in the midst of a passionate lust-filled affair with each letter. I turned the narration speed up to 1.5 and then 2.0, which helped tremendously.

Creepy and twisting!!

When Arlene's car breaks down, she goes to the nearest place to get help. It happens to be a diner. When she finds out the cost of the repairs she doesn't know what to do as she doesn't have the money. The owner tells her that he will pay the repairs if she does the night shift at the diner. She readily agrees but little does she know that not everything is at it seems.

This was such an awesome short read. It starts out normally and then gets creepier and creepier. Then when the storm comes, well things get even scarier and then the author goes and gives us a twist I didn't see!! Extremely well written and developed, It's a short, quick read but one you will devour.

In all, this was a fast read, It grabbed me from the start and I flew through it. I must check out more from the author.

Ann M. Richardson was easy to listen to and brought Arlene to life. I felt like she enjoyed reading the story and as such, read it well. I thoroughly enjoyed the listen.

*I received this for free but voluntarily reviewed it. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.*

Kept wanting....MORE!

The book was really good and I kept wanting more. I cannot wait to read more of Mr. Pennys work. :-)

good story but narrative lacking

creepy short story. well written but I just couldn't get into the narration. the twang in the words spoke drove me nuts and i found it really hard to enjoy the creepy twists. I think this would be a better story to read then listen to.
story given to me for a honest review.