By: Michelle Prak
Narrator: Jodie Harris
ISBN: 9781666658224
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Publication Date: 04/09/2024
Format: Audio
My Rating: 4.5 Stars (ALC)
DEBUT THRILLER
With a massive downpour and flash floods predicted, Quinn Durand leaves work and races for the safety of home. The first drops start to fall as she spots something strange on the familiar bush route. With no reception and nothing but an empty road for miles in either direction, she investigates and discovers it’s a body, dumped by the side of the road. When she approaches to check for signs of life, an arm reaches out and grabs her.
Back at the country pub where Quinn lives, her boss Andrea has prepared for the torrential downpour. She's bunkered down with her toddler son sleeping in the back room when she’s startled by a banging at the door. It's a biker, seeking shelter from the punishing storm.
Meanwhile, out on the roads, two young couples on their way across the country struggle against the lashing rains. Tensions rise as they realize that they don’t really know each other, nor are they remotely prepared for the storm. Alone, angry, and afraid in unfamiliar surroundings, flooding isn’t the only threat bearing down on them.
Chilling, tense, and twisted, this multi-POV popcorn thriller is “compelling and explosive; you won’t be able to put this book down” (Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town).
My Review
Michelle Prak's stand-out debut, THE RUSH, is an atmospheric, twisty, and unsettling psychological thriller covering two days. A road trip during a ferocious storm in the Australian Outback sets the stage for betrayal, murder, fear, and survival, keeping you on the edge of your seat and leaving you breathless!
A full-throttle thriller, dark and propulsive, creepy, chilling, intense, adrenaline-fueled, fast-paced, and terrifying— keeping you turning the pages to see how the three storylines will converge. Set in the Australian outback of the Northern Territory, where tourists flock in the dry months but stay away in the wet months.
Alternating between three relentless narratives:
ONE: A BODY: Quinn Durand leaves the Hotel where she works, heading for the family farm an hour away to prepare it for sale. The day the rains began, Quinn and her dog, Bronte, left the farm on the way back to The Pindarry when she spotted a body on the side of the road. Knowing she couldn't leave him, she did not know what to do. There is an empty stretch of road and no cell reception. Now downpouring. An arm grabs her when she checks to see if he is alive. SCARY!
TWO: AN UNINVITED GUEST: At the Hotel/Pub, The Pindarry, Andrea and Matt, owners (Quinn's boss), prepare for the downpour. Hunkered down with her three-year-old toddler, Ethan, sleeping, she is startled by a bang on the door from a motorcycle biker seeking shelter. Matt has been called away to help with a flooding issue and is not there. Does she let him in? Will she be able to get rid of him? If so? Is he dangerous? She has no idea what will happen next. Will their family be threatened? Terrifying!
THREE: FOUR BACKPACKERS: On the road, two couples are traveling across the county, struggling against the violet rains. They do not know one another well. Hayley and her boyfriend Scott (who borrowed his grandfather's old 4 WD) are on university break with little money, and they invited two others, Joost (an engineering student from the Netherlands) and Livia (Brazillian environmentalist and activist)—strangers joining them on a road trip to share expenses. They planned on sleeping in tents but did not count on the heavy rain. But what do they know about one another? The roads are flooded. They disagree. This one was very creepy! There is a threat even worse than the storm brewing...Never do this! You do not know what psycho is in your car, and you are trapped.
Quinn knows all too well what deadly storms can do from her childhood, destroying everything in its path.
How will the three storylines connect? A body on the side of the road, a biker, and backpackers?
THE RUSH is a gripping, intense, and riveting thriller with grit and gloom. The author diabolically ratchets the tension with every page. It is compelling and absorbing, a nail-biting suspense filled with terror and horror that will leave your heart pounding!
A wild adventure, dark and menacing. Each story is as terrifying as the other against this rainy, stormy backdrop, locked in an atmospheric and claustrophobic situation with darkness lurking with every page turn.
THE RUSH reminds me of Taylor Adams' No Exit book and movie and The Last Word (two of my favorites). It is cleverly written, with an unnerving atmosphere and pulse-pounding twists. A dark and twisted, deadly psychological cat-and-mouse thriller—I dare you not to jump out of your skin reading/listening. I kept rewinding in the car, going WHAT? Did I miss something?
THE RUSH would make a spine-chilling movie and an idea book club pick. A super debut and look forward to reading more from this Aussie author, Michelle Prak (adding to my list of favorites).
AUDIOBOOK: I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jodie Harris for a spine-chilling
performance. Wow, this had to be challenging! Rather than a full cast for the different voices and accents, she managed to rock all the multiple scenes with four unique voices and three accents (both male and female): Australian, Brazilian, and Dutch. I cannot imagine how difficult this would be.
Special thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy for an honest opinion.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: April 9, 2024
Praise
“A taut, edge-of-your-seat thriller . . . Perfect for readers drawn to psychological suspense.”
―Booklist
“Buckle up. Prak’s about to take you on the ride of your life.”
―Candice Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Crimson Lake
“Tense, mysterious and unsettling, The Rush makes a nightmare out of the Australian landscape and will have you tearing through pages desperate to see how these threads come together―and who will survive when they do.”
―Gabriel Bergmoser, bestselling author of The Hunted
“Compelling and explosive.”
―Hayley Scrivenor, bestselling author of Dirt Town
“An electrifying outback thriller that’s unlike anything I’ve read.”
―Mark Brandi, bestselling author of Wimmera
“This book grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go until the very last page.”
―Kelli Hawkins, bestselling author of Other People’s Houses
“A wild ride through the remote outback . . . An utterly chilling read with an unexpected twist . . . hard to put down.”
―Vikki Petraitis, author of The Unbelieved, winner of the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime Prize
“Prepare to be terrified! A real rollercoaster of a debut.”
―Nicci French, author of The Favor
“Deliciously tense.”
―Shelley Burr, author of Wake
“Great characters and a wicked plot. A haunting road trip through the outback with a terrifying finale. I loved this book.”
―Tim Ayliffe, author of The Enemy Within
“Taut, unpredictable, terrifying . . . Michelle Prak weaves such a suspenseful story that you might never want to be alone or isolated again.”
―Neela Janakiramanan, author of The Registrar
“Michelle Prak’s heart-pounding debut thriller sweeps the reader along through masterful twists all the way to its shattering ending.”
―Greg Woodland, author of The Night Whistler
“I hurtled through this book, afraid to keep reading but unable to stop. A storming white-knuckle ride of a thriller that shreds toxic masculinity on every page. I loved it.”
―Emma Styles, author of No Country for Girls
“The Rush by Michelle Prak gives new meaning to the words gripping and horrifying . . . It is anything but your typical outback thriller.”
―Books+Publishing
About the Author
Michelle Prak's debut thriller THE RUSH is out now with Simon & Schuster Australia; and as Le Déluge with HarperCollins France.
‘Compelling and explosive: you won’t be able to put this book down.’ Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town
‘Prepare to be terrified! A real rollercoaster of a debut.’ Nicci French, author of The Favour
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Runner-up in the Furphy Literary Award 2021. More at michelleprak.com
Between 2019 and 2020, Michelle self-published three women's contemporary novels. Now she's turning to the thriller genre and hopes fans will follow along.
