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What The Rain Told Review

What The Rain Told

By

 readerofftheradar

Reviewed

by

AmyMarieZ

Overview: What The Rain Told is a short mystery story set in the Victorian era. With creative and entertaining descriptions, outstanding scene setting, and a compelling mystery, it is a pleasure to read! The story flawlessly combines elements of Victorian superstition with an interesting and compelling assortment of characters to make a remarkable and satisfying mystery!

Structure: The layout of the story is well thought out. It is split up into two parts, the story itself coming first as a one-shot and then an "Explanation" to give any interested readers just a bit more information about the story and the subjects it focusses on.

A reader will likely pick up on other interesting elements of the structure of the story itself, but to avoid spoiling anything, it will just be left at that!

Grammar: The story has almost no grammatical issues. It is a polished piece of writing, making it easy for the reader to enjoy because there are not even minor mistakes like typos that would become distractions.

Pace: The pacing of individual scenes in the story is well done. There is enough description that each action, character and scene is easy to visualize, but not so much description that the reader ever gets bored. The descriptions are captivating to read!

However, as a result of the word count limitation, the end of the story feels a bit rushed. The main plot point of the story seems to be what happens when the characters who have been traveling through the rain finally arrive at a mansion, however the first half of the story focusses on the walk to get to the mansion. The walk does contain necessary characterization and excellent setup and scene setting, so it is certainly still interesting to read. It is just unfortunate that there does not seem to be enough time left for the story to really go into the events in more detail once the characters finally arrive at the mansion.

Character Development: Character development is an extremely important part of this specific story. The main character Doris is presented expertly. The story uses subtle clues through her dialog and mannerisms to indicate key aspects of her character that are in fact very important to the plot of the story. The author has gone about the characterization very well, never resorting to outright telling the reader about character personalities (until the "Explanation" part at the end), but instead providing that necessary information through actions, dialog, and specific examples. The characterization therefore comes across as effortless and entertaining to read!

Vocabulary/Description: The descriptions in the story flow well together and create vivid imagery. The author has a great handle on vocabulary and has excellent word choice, making the writing and descriptions themselves extremely entertaining and just fun to read. Clearly, careful thought and planning have been put into each and every sentence of this story, and it really shows!

In a few spots, it seems like some of the descriptions and sentences contain unnecessary words that could be purged to make the writing flow just a little bit better. However, overall, the flow of the story is nearly flawless.

Plot: The story begins by following a cast of characters on their walk through the rain. The main character, Doris, is leading a group of children whom she is the caretaker of. During the walk, key elements of the characters are presented. The subtle use of dark humor during this part of the story really makes it a stand-out piece!

Eventually, the characters arrive at a mansion where they request shelter from the rain. At this point, setup is complete and the real mystery begins. The man who lives in the mansion is convinced his wife plans to murder him, but later Doris discovers both the man and wife dead! But that isn't the only mystery. Other things in the mansion seem off, and Doris may not be safe herself.

Unfortunately, the end of the story is a little rushed, but other than that the plot itself is presented clearly. The premise of the story is unique, and the events are mysterious and eerie!

Summary: What The Rain Told is a well-executed and fresh take on a short murder mystery story. It really evokes the Victorian era vibe it is going for! The setting, characters, and actions are expertly described, creating a vivid image in the reader's head. The plot is well thought out and presented clearly and dramatically. The eeriness and mystery of it make the story a thrill to read, and the last couple of lines are sure to give anyone chills!

Note: The review book offers several options. To review only grammar and sentence structure. To review only character development and plot. To review only vocabulary and descriptions. Or, the requester can ask for all of this to be reviewed. There are two options when making this request – for it to be sugar-coated or not.

This review is for it all to be touched on (not sugar-coated).