The Rush
Michelle Prak
The setting is the Australian Outback during a torrential rain.
1. Two couples, Scott, Hayley, Livia and Joost, were touring the country Australian Outback. They are headed to Darwin and The Pindarry. Usually, the area is very dry with drought conditions but, the clouds have released a torrent of rain. The couples are essentially strangers; they begin to get on each other’s nerves. They may think they are prepared for any contingency, but they are very naïve. Rain brings floods and they are surrounded by rising water but that is the least of their worries.
2. Quinn Durand lives and works at The Pindarry, the local pub. She is rushing home when she sees a body lying in the road. She has no cell phone reception and there are no cars for miles. The rain begins to fall.
3. Andrea and her husband, Matt run The Pindarry; they live there with their three-year-old son, along with Quinn. When a motorcycle gang arrives, Andrea is terrified. She insists her husband sends them on their way. They drive off trying to beat the storm. Her husband is called away leaving her and their son on their own. There is a pounding on the door. There is more to fear than the storm.
This tale has it all! I could not turn off this audio book. The plot at times may seem like three separate tales but they are all interconnected. The motorcycle gang was a rowdy bunch and seemed threatening. I could see why Andrea was frightened. Scott was cruel and obnoxious, he treated Hayley terribly. Hayley was immature, naïve, and talked nonstop. Livia was caught up in the environment, protecting animals and the planet. Joost, well Joost was strange from the beginning.
This is a fast-paced tale. This was one aspect I never could figure out but that didn’t stop it from being a great read. The ending pulled it all together leaving this reader satisfied.

A very strong 3 out of 5. Starts out a bit slow and hard for me to connect with. Then it got quite good and was hard to put down! Enjoyed the middle part a lot. Was twisted and hard to figure out for sure. I felt like the characters were believable and easy to connect with. Very descriptive writing and easy to picture the different scenes and landscapes. I would recommend this author and will look for again. I felt the ending got to be a bit long and complicated. But overall enjoyed it.

I wanted to enjoy this book, it’s just not as fast paced as I would like. I kept waiting for things to pick up but unfortunately this book just lost my interest. The description was promising but as I listened to the audiobook I was more disappointed.

This is a tense and chilling Aussie Northern Territory outback thriller by Michelle Prak which I listened to on audio, approximately 8 hours and 30 minutes long, ably narrated by Jodie Harris, who managed to keep me invested in the drama of a story that did not always manage to keep my interest, ensuring that I saw it right through to the end. Quinn Durand is rushing for the safety of home, the Pindarry pub where she lives and works, run by Matt and Andrea, who have a young son Ethan, impelled to leave after a forecast of huge torrential rains heading towards the remote and isolated region. As she drives on the empty roads, the rains are just beginning when she notices a body by the side of the road, she stops.

The ferocity of the rains is eye opening, and of course, to ramp up the tension and suspense, communications are out, and making a road trip are 4 young people who underestimate the impact of the flooding and stormy weather. Hannah is hoping to reignite her relationship with Scott, and joining them on the adventure of camping and working their way through their itinerary of locations, and the challenge of the outback are backpackers Livia, an environmentalist, and Dutch engineering student, Joost. Needless to say, the conflict ridden group are totally unprepared for what they are facing. With Matt away, Andrea ends up having to offer sanctuary to a biker. An air of relentless and frightening menace hangs over a narrative with the immersion into the multiple perspectives.

It soon becomes apparent that the weather is not the only danger at play, as the different threads eventually begin to connect. I found this to be a mixed bag of a read, you are going to need to suspend your sense of disbelief, and not all of the characters worked for me. Having said that, I imagine there will be many readers who will enjoy this fast paced, thrill ride of a book a lot more than I did, for me it was just okay, but I did enjoy the audio that kept me going through the darkness of the 48 hours time span of the read. Many thanks to Dreamscape Media for a ALC.

While I think that the overall storyline was good, this one just moved WAY too slow for me. I got 50% in and was still waiting for something to happen. It took that long for it to start to rain. The young biker coming back to Andrea and Matt's hotel/pub was predictable and so was Joost stealing Scott's car. I wanted so much more from this book! The cover, description and narration were all great - it was just way too slooooow for me. I did enjoy the multiple POV, but they all lacked depth. The character development wasn't awesome in my opinion.

I didn't hate it and if you're looking for a tense, slow-build read/listen, this might be for you - it just wasn't a homerun for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I absolutely loved this audiobook. I finished it in less than a day and could not stop listening.
It was perfect for the last two rainy days we have had here and it did not disappoint.
What a twisted web that comes from a random road trip taken by a couple and two people they found to go along with them. Add in extreme flooding and storms and then the other story line of a pub and inn owner and it is a non stop ride.
So many surprises at the end too.
Loved it.
Great narration throughout as well.

I listened to "The Rush" by Michelle Prak which, was narrated by Jodie Harris. This was an ARC edition from NetGalley.

The book kept my interest and though I felt the timeline was a little screwy I did not get lost. I found some of the characters annoying, but that is subjective of course. I thought the narrator did a good job with several different genders, ages, and nationalities.

I would recommend this book to others.

This psychological thriller is set in the Australian Outback. The prologue begins with Quinn finding a body on the side of the road as the rain begins to fall.
Hayley and Scott (couple) decide to take a backpacking road trip to Darwin while on break from university. They interview fellow young travelers to join them on the drive and choose Joost and Livia for the trip. The four start off on their trip with plans to camp along the way and visit an old pub in the Outback, The Pindarry. Andrea and Mat are owners of the pub where they live with their 3 year old son, Ethan and employee, Quinn. While the four are driving the book flashes to Andre and Mat who are preparing for a big storm. The area has suffered terrible flooding in the past.
The story flashes back and forth between the beginning of the backpackers journey and happenings at The Pindarry where a group of bikers arrive. There are multiple points of view explored in the story and we soon see tension begin among the backpackers. Things take an ominous turn for them.
The author maintains tension and an underlying feeling of ‘something isn’t right’ which builds the suspense throughout the story. There was a twist at the end that was unexpected and made my jaw drop! While it seems a bit slow at times and I wanted the author to pick up the pace, in the end it is clear how the details moved the story forward and were necessary to build the suspense.
The narrator does a great job with the story enabling the reader to feel what the characters are experiencing while visualizing the scenery as the author describes it.
I was given the audiobook by Dreamscape Media and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In The Rush by Michelle Prack The summary alone had me chopping at the bit to listen to the audiobook I mean everything bad happens in a thunderstorm so I couldn’t wait to see what happens in a mini biblical flood. You can read the summary to get a just for what the book is about because trying to write it in my review makes it way too long just know Haley and Scott find random backpackers Brazilian Olivia in Danish Yosts to share expenses on a back packing trip in the Australian outback. Not long after starting north tensions arise from Olivia giving off tones that she is better than Haley and Yost is just plain weird. The second POV is the Pandera pub this is where Andrea her husband Matt son Eathan who is three and their employee Quinn live it is in the middle of nowhere so when the biblical floods start to fall and boyfriend Matt decides to go 80 km down the road to help a neighbor in the middle of Adrian trying to close up the pub at first she is OK with that but when he doesn’t come back she is worried and perplexed. Earlier some rough bikers came in to the pub with mats friend Dom but soon left so when one of them came back Adrian having a history with a biker felt nothing but dread. Especially when he refuses to leave so when Yost shows up looking like a solo backpacker she couldn’t be happier and even gets him to assist her in making the biker Rosie leave. Matt is still gone but soon Quinn shows up with a Stranger who has been left beaten up in the middle of nowhere. Soon the women learn Yost isn’t as trustworthy as he first appeared but how can they get out of it it is pouring down rain their cell phones don’t work in their hours away from any help. Throughout the book I felt like the tension was high I especially like the women being the savior but not gonna lie Haley was annoying she did asked way too many questions and she blindly loved her abusive boyfriend Scott regardless of how he spoke to her Olivia at times could be a real bitch not just that who lives hundreds of kilometers away from help with no form of defense? I get it it’s a Australia guns are bad but had Adrian had access to a gun much sooner she could’ve Nipped it in the bud quickly. Before I end this review I want to say Jody Harris who I have listened to before as always did a brilliant job with the accents the tone of the book ET see she is a brilliant narrator who is always a pleasure to listen to. I want to thank dreamscape media, crooked Lane books, the author and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

In South Australia’s Outback, Quinn is making her way to her job at the only pub/hotel for miles and miles. However, she’s stopped in her tracks when she comes across a body, seemingly dumped by the side of the road. Meanwhile, her employers are preparing for what’s expected to be huge rainfall after what’s been a lengthy drought. Also making their way towards the same area are a group of motorcyclists on their way to a funeral, and four young people setting out to drive from Adelaide to Darwen, on the Stuart Highway.

With the storm pending, tensions are running high. Quinn’s issue is obvious, but at the pub they’re desperately rushing around preparing for the impacts of the coming storm. The motorcyclists are a pushy, boozy crowd and appear to have at least one bad actor in their midst. The group of four are a squabbling, mismatched group, seemingly unable to agree on anything. Paths will eventually cross and as a result a number of these people will be put at risk.

The story is told from the point of view of various characters, which works pretty well in sustaining a degree of unpredictability throughout. The problem for me is that I didn’t find any of these people particularly engaging, and as a result I didn't become truly invested in their fate. For the most part, I also found it pretty slow going, even if towards the end a sense of suspense was eventually created. But then it suddenly ended - unexpectedly, abruptly. The remainder of the book being an over-elaborate walkthrough of the aftermath.

I listened to an audio version, narrated by actor Jodie Harris. For the most part she does a good job, though I did find her portrayal of one character (a Dutchman) strangely irritating. It’s a book that will, I’m sure, find an audience that will appreciate the tale to a greater degree than I did. In truth, I found it to be rather disappointing, and certainly not on a par with books written by my favourite Aussie mystery and suspense writers, such as Chris Hammer and Jane Harper.

I listened to the audio version of this novel. I found it very interesting in places, and the Australian accent of the reader was pleasant to listen to; however, I think another format of the book might involve the reader more. The author has a strong grasp of the language and how to structure a novel with several story lines interwoven into one coherent story. I found the book less than "thrilling" though for two primary reasons. First, the characters themselves were unpleasant and annoying. It was hard to care what happened to them. Then, too, the target audience is likely younger than I. Their adolescent concerns seemed silly and unimportant to me. Still, I believe that many readers would find this novel well worth the time, and this author obviously has quite effective writing skills.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

BTW: I listened to audio version and I HIGHLY recommend it. Professional narration is perfectly matched with the book, and works well to build the tension from slight irritation to fever pitch of danger, fear and worry.

"The Rush" by Michelle Prak is a gripping psychological thriller that transports readers to the heart of the Australian Outback, where a ferocious storm sets the backdrop for a tale of betrayal and murder. Prak masterfully weaves a narrative that is as relentless as the storm itself, trapping the reader in a whirlwind of suspense and unexpected twists.

The story unfolds through multiple perspectives, each character uniquely drawn into the tempestuous setting. Quinn Durand, racing against the impending storm, stumbles upon a body that thrusts her into a harrowing ordeal. Meanwhile, Andrea, hunkered down in a country pub, faces her own set of chilling circumstances when a biker seeks refuge from the storm. The tension escalates further as two young couples, unprepared for the severity of the weather, find themselves entangled in a web of mistrust and danger.

Prak's narrative is a testament to her skillful storytelling, with a pace that mimics the pounding rain of the Outback. The setting is not just a backdrop but a character in itself, shaping the story's mood and the characters' fates. The author's exploration of themes such as toxic masculinity, the impact of social media, and the resilience of women adds depth to the already compelling plot.

The novel's structure, with its time shifts and alternating points of view, challenges readers to piece together the puzzle, heightening the sense of urgency and engagement. Prak's prose is both polished and economical, ensuring that the story's momentum never falters.

"The Rush" is a book that promises to hold you captive, a testament to Michelle Prak's emergence as a formidable voice in crime fiction. It's a story that resonates with the fear of the unknown and the power of nature, leaving readers breathless and eager for more from this talented author.

I really struggle with this one I think the audio was faulty it was jumping and cutting out and dead silence at times.
I really liked the looks of this so will buy in physical book form and will send my review then so sorry about this

Lots of dialogue for one narrator and so many different accents that the story gets lost on audio. Australian, Dutch, Brazilian…just too much with so much dialogue. I think I would have enjoyed this much more in print as the audiobook takes too much concentration to enjoy. This narrator is very good, it was just too big of a job for one person.

This one sounded so promising to me with the premise but unfortunately for me with the audio I could not concentrate due to the accent. This is a me problem and I had to DNF.

Wow. I loved the narration. It was perfect! I also loved the story. I was not expecting any of this. I loved Joost and then I hated him, The development of the characters could not be topped.
It was a nice experience.

The Rush by Michelle Prak and narrated by Jodie Harris is a dark and tense debut thriller based in the Outback in the midst of a rare weather occurrence

The prologue sets the scene of the last heavy rain and floods from the POV of Quinn Durand and details the losses of the tragedy on her family's homestead. Years go by and we next see Quinn with her heeler Brock, driving to work. However, they happen upon a strange pile in the road, the is nothing for at least 25km, so why is this pile here and what is it?

We next meet Hayley and Scott, two Australian friends who want to take a road trip South to North and to save money, they have arranged to meet up with a couple of backpackers; the beautiful Brazilian Olivia and the clumsy dutchman joker Joost

As the storm bears down, Quinns boss is preparing to protect the pub and her toddler, when a biker knocks, seeking refuge from the downpour

Jodie Harris does a great job of narrating the audiobook and meets the challenges of Joosts accent very well. The continuity of the characters is good and Harris conveys each nuance and each shift in the narrative seamlessly

You can always tell how well a writer develops characters when you actively despise a character. I really liked Joost and Olivia for example, but when they were driving through the flood, Olivia irked me beyond tolerance when she was freaking out and Joost leaving Hayley and Scott in the storm was a really nasty lesson to teach them! His behaviour steadily deteriorates as the story goes on

The writing and insight is absolutely fantastic. Prak creates characters that are multifaceted and interesting, exploring the good and bad, the reactions to adverse conditions and high stress, the darkness within and light of survival. An incredibly tense, suspenseful novel, and highly recommended

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the author Michelle Prak and the narrator Jodie Harris for this suspenseful ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I listened to “The Rush” on audio book, and confirmed once again I do love audiobooks that are narrated by Australian narrators, I personally find the accent very relaxing to listen to.

The plot is set in the Australian outback during extreme weather of rain downpours and flash floods. In the bush there is nothing around for miles and miles, no cell reception, completely deserted, and when Quinn is driving home in attempts to get to safety before the harsh weather begins, she stumbles upon a body dumped at the side of the road.

On the other side we have alternating POV from multiple other characters and side plots as the events unfold.

Although the narrator did a fantastic job, I just couldn’t get into this one or connect with any of the characters. I may be the outlier here as I have seen many other rave reviews so I’d still recommend trying this one for yourself.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Michelle Prak and NetGalley for the Audiobook.

Publish date: April 9th