Downpour by Christopher Hawkins

 My first full read of 2023! I was so excited to get a E-ARC of this book and was not disappointed! 

(Trigger Warnings’s; Emotional abuse, infidelity, depression, violence and murder, minor sexual themes and situations, hinted domestic violence.)

First off, thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author - for the honor of a free copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair review. 

While I can say honestly, I have never read any of the authors previous work - I can wholeheartedly promise that he’s earned a fan for life based on the brilliance that is Downpour.

The story is focused on Scott, a father struggling to keep his family together. When an apocalypse begins to take form in shape of a rainstorm, Scott still struggles to keep his family together - only in a different, more deadly, type of way. The storm and the obstacles Scott faces, at times, hint at allegory. The losing of the familiar is a press theme. His wife he recognizes for a woman as the woman he fell inlove with, before she slips away again into the woman who cheated. His dog a monster trying to attack the family, before becoming Wilbur - clumsy and loving. Scott, as a narrator is incredibly relatable and multifaceted, a man struggling with himself. It is in this way that he is also an unreliable narrator, as he is so deep in his own head that at times you see everything in the story in this sort of claustrophobic Scott-tinted lense that is reminiscent of the the pressure Scott himself faces. Is there actually a rainstorm? Is he actually protecting his children as he tells himself so much in his own head that he is, or has he just learned to relate pain and fear to love due to his own struggles with his father? As time goes on, the relatability of the main character sharpens to pinpoint bleakness. Scott is depressive yet thoughtful, who struggles to express himself in a way I deeply understood. The epitome of when you want to reach our but just can’t make yourself to, or even know how. Isolation in a crowd, or in this case, his family.

This is why, I was surprised I saw someone mention this story was plot driven - but I inherently disagree though it has aspects of plot drive as well. This story was full of characters so incredibly fleshed out, with their own wants, needs, desires, fears, who at times desperately misunderstood one another in ways real families do - with much dire consequences. In such a rampant plot driven story, this level of internal thought by the main character and reliability of the others - would’ve been gutted. But it was the exact opposite.

In terms of writing, the novel is so well described that it played out like a movie in my head the whole time - which made it 1000 times easier to immerse myself and finish it rather fast. The author’s prose is well practiced, defined but not too wordy - and it helps propel the story onwards in what would have otherwise been a bland one-setting area without the authors mastery of patience and horror. A lot of readers might underestimate the incredibly use of the same settings throughout the entire book, and although the novel is quite short, it takes its time to unveil the house room by room.

The story really plays with the idea of if it really is Scott’s delusion. The continuous battle of time and monotony. The ending, no spoilers of course, is unexpected in its own way - but I will warn by the end of this book you become so tremendously attached to these characters that it hurts to see them go - no matter their fates. It might’ve even been considered a happy ending to me. In its own, twisted way. All trauma long left behind

This book is perfect for those who are fans of psychological horror, body horror, and nature horror. It’s possibly the best book I’ve read this entire year. And I had no idea I could relate to a 30-40 year old man as a main character, with a family to take care of. But I did. I highly recommend this one.

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