REVIEW: Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks

Review by Colin Mulhern

Black Rabbit Summer tells the story of Pete, who receives a phone call from an old friend suggesting their old gang get together for a night at a travelling fairground. Pete feels a bit uneasy at first, after all, times move on and people change, but he decides to go anyway, taking his friend Raymond – a boy who is convinced his pet black rabbit speaks to him – even when it dies and he replaces it with a new one.

The night begins with a get together in their old den. After a few drinks they all end up at the fair, where another old school friend, Stella, is being followed by a film crew. Stella’s parents – now rich – were hell-raisers in their day, and Stella has followed suit; now a pin-up model, she is convinced that she is the most important thing in her world. She uses and manipulates those around her for her own amusement. Tonight, she is giving her special attention to Raymond.

Pete manages to rescue his friend, but what follows is a night of confusion and strange hallucinations. The next morning, both Stella and Raymond are missing. His friends have conflicting stories, it is clear they are hiding something.

Pete finds himself in the centre of a criminal investigation. A missing celebrity, bloodied, ripped clothing, smeared handprints on a caravan door... but what Pete really wants to know is: where is Raymond, and why is Pete the only one worried about him.

The ending is typical of Kevin Brooks, leaving certain elements open, forcing readers to their own conclusions, but, as he mentions in his interview, this in itself gives rise to more questions, and allows the book to live on, even when you’ve finished that final page.

Black Rabbit Summer is Kevin Brooks’ first crossover novel. An unnerving, disturbing, and totally engrossing thriller. Not for younger readers, and not only for the profanity or violence, but the way it portrays events, characters and genuine dangers of teenage life.

Black Rabbit Summer is out from 7^th February from Puffin Books.

Review by Colin Mulhern

Comments

[Lee]

I don't see what is particularly crossover about this novel - except as a marketing ploy - and there's far too much repetitive 'droning' in the novel, an old failing of Brooks'. He's such a talented writer that I'm sorry to see his characters beginning to resemble one another from novel to novel.

[Dustin]

kevin brooks os a amazing author and i fell this is going to be one of his best books

[Chels]

what is the climax of this book???

[Babe]

i had to read it for english and enjoyed it thoroughly

[Trevor]

This was the first book i read from Kevin Brooks. When i first started i just read about five pages of it and stopped reading for a day. but when i picked it back up i couldnt stop reading it. i finished it in two days. One of my favorite books,it reminds me of my life in some aspects.

[ViktoriaS]

BEST AUTHOR EVER. BEST BOOK EVER. Kevin Brooks is my idol and my favorite author and this is my all-time favorite book. I look up to him so much.