Kyle is your typical twelve-year-old growing up in the late 1970s. His best friend is his bicycle, which he's named Burner, and he enjoys hanging out in his secret place, an old, deserted hermit's shack in the middle woods in Midnight, North Carolina. On a rainy night, he witnesses the murder of a young girl by the local sheriff in his secret place and his life will never be the same again. All alone with his fears, he doesn't know who he can turn to. His brother is heading to college on a baske...

A dark coming of age story that fans of McCammon's Boy's Life will enjoy without feeling like they've read it all before, as Newman's voice is uniquely his own. This is my first encounter with this author, and I look forward to reading more by him.

Midnight Rain was released in 2004, and I think it's a shame that at the time of this review there's only 34 reviews given on Amazon, yet whenever I bring the book up people seem to love it as much as I do. Get with it, people! Leave some words! Midnight Rain is a book that flew way under my radar, and if it wasn't for a friend of mine picking up a print copy and sending it old school, snail mail style, there's a chance I never would have discovered it. An absolute must read for fans of Robert M...

I really loved this book, which you can say about anything with Newman's name on it. A great CoA story that should be mentioned in the same conversation as King, Lansdale and Keene. Highly recommend.

4.5 StarsThis was such a powerful coming of age novel. The story was incredibly dark with a strong focus on the loss of childhood innocence. Readers should be aware of content warnings for abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence. Yet, if you are able to read about these dark subjects, then you should definitely pick up this novel.The main character was well developed and very relatable. I really felt his emotions, sharing in his fears, grief and regret. The writing style was fairly simple, y...

Where do I begin to talk about a book that I thought was magnificent and that brought with it such colourful and personal memories of childhood. For a short time I rode with Kyle Mackey on this trusty bike "Burner" (mum and dad would not allow him a dog) and I felt his pain as the world of a young 12 year old boy collapsed and all his dearest and trusted friends betrayed him...where does a young mind go when trust and truth no longer exist?One day in August of 77 Kyle Mackey witnessed an event t...

A very emotionally compelling read of a 12 year-old boy who witnesses a murder in his small hometown. Comparisons have been made with McCammon's BOY'S LIFE, but this story has a feel all of its own. The repercussions and hidden things that come to light in the aftermath of this tragedy makes for a gripping tale, leaving you wondering just where the ride will take you next. Newman has a voice all of his own, and I anticipate reading more from him.Recommended!

Obviously contrary to popular opinion, this did not work at all for me. The writing is actually better than the one-star suggests, but two stars at Goodreads translates to "It was OK" and it really wasn't, so after a short debate with myself, I'm going to have to put the lone star on here... The story is a coming-of-age that borrows, quite shamelessly, from Simmon's 'Summer of Night', McCammon's 'Boy's Life' and King's 'It' and 'The Body' (add more at your leisure). This part is OK, even if the

Kyle is coming of age in a small southern town. He's right on the edge of boyhood, about to take the plunge into the scary morass of puberty. He idolizes his older brother, Daniel, and struggles with his mother and her alcoholism. One fateful night, as he's visiting his secret place in the woods, his bastion of childhood is forever sullied by the terrible event he witnesses. Who can he trust? What can he do?Kyle must wrestle with his desire to hold onto his childhood and his desire to do the rig...

This was a pretty good coming of age story. The strength of the book was mostly in the characters and the writing itself. Newman did a great job capturing the psyche of a scared 12 year old boy navigating the treacherous, murderous really, adult world of a small town in 1977. Plenty of cultural references to set the mood and only minor editing/spelling errors. Very quick read. Recommended.

Wow! This was a pretty great read with a lot of twists and turns. My only surprise happened in the end of the book. It’s amazing what a traumatizing time will do to you. Sometimes I think we all have a place we run from, but maybe it’s going back that heals us.....

This was a coming of age tale that was compared to Boy's Life on the cover. That's a bold statement.A young boy, Kyle, witnesses a murder. ( Very Boy's Life-ish so far.) " Do you remember the exact moment when your childhood ended? I do." So begins the mystery and the rain. This is a fine tale of growing up the hard way. Kyle is discovering that all is not what it seems to be. Not the sheriff, not his mother, and not even his older brother, Dan. He's trying to do the right thing, but that isn't...

A tense, emotional, dark tale of a horrific crime witnessed by a twelve-year-old boy in a small North Carolina town, and the decisions he makes in its aftermath, and how those decisions impact everyone around him. I want to say thank you, Mr. Newman; thank you for writing Midnight Rain. I absolutely loved this book. The prose was smooth, the story-telling personal, and the pace was perfect. It's been a long time since I felt for a character as much as I did for Kyle. Fantastic read.

Such a great coming-of-age story. Right up there with the best of them. I was hooked from the word go. Tore through the last 30%.James Newman never seems to put a foot wrong in my eyes. I've read quite a few of his books now. Need to work my way through just a couple more.Can't recommend this one highly enough.Five stars.

”Do you remember the exact moment at which your childhood ended?”Fabulous first line. One that filled me with dread because it really is an example of apprehension spoken in a single sentence. The novel wastes no time pandering in other aspects. Like the opening line, it gets to the point and moves with it. 12-yr old Kyle wakes his older brother to describe what he'd just witnessed in the woods near their house. No one wishes to experience what Kyle saw that night. For a boy of 12, holding onto

Midnight Rain is the first full-length novel by James Newman. It's a coming-of-age story about Kyle, whose childhood comes to a very abrupt end when he witnesses a murder. Over the course of a (very rainy) couple of weeks, Kyle learns a lot about life, as well as the people around him, and how little he really knew about them. He also learns about family, and the extremes people will go to in order to protect their own.The story is interesting and well-paced, the characters fleshed-out, and the

Childhood lost. The town of Midnight has an evil lurking beneath the surface and it's fate rests in the hands of a twelve year old boy. An engaging tale of tragedy in a small town. James Newman kicks out yet another winner with Midnight Rain. Solid 4+ Stars! Highly Recommended!

I'll try to review this without mentioning Boy's Life. Dammit!I couldn't help it. It's an easy comparison. The Body and Summer of Night also come to mind. Midnight Rain was less a horror novel and more of a coming of age story blended with mystery/crime elements. All in all, very well done and the tension really builds near the end. "Gripping" is a word I'll use for the last 15%.I also want to note that I believe this is one of the first books published by the author (2004.) I've read three of h...

Kyle Mackey has a secret place in the woods, somewhere out of the way where he can be undisturbed, yet a late-night visit to the Old Shack doesn’t go as planned – for the first time, other people are there. Kyle can’t help but watch a gruesome murder, the culprit someone he once trusted. Fearful and confused, he struggles with how to deal with the knowledge that a killer lives so close to home.(WARNING: This review contains minor spoilers.)Diving into a small town in the ’70s, Midnight Rain was

It’s James, so it’s great. This book set out to pay homage to the greats like Boy’s Life, Summer of Night, and The Body, and it does a good job of doing so. I really enjoyed it.