FernFolio

Constantly picked on, called names and beaten up by Dec Bowker and his gang, fifteen year-old Moo Nelson has retreated into a solitude that is punctuated only by music, food, and his nightly visits to a footbridge over the nearby A12 motorway. From that bridge, Moo watches the vehicles, observes the ebb and flow of traffic, counts red cars and blue cars, and tries to think of nothing, not of his father, who is defrauding welfare and dealing in stolen goods, not of his mother, who solves every problem with food, not of the fact that, at 240 pounds he is the fattest kid around, not of the struggle to get through each day at school. Moo struggles with the Rain, the constant deluge of abuse at the hands of Dec and his mates, and his mind-over-matter attempts to Umbrellarize himself from it. So, brutalized by his experiences, he mentally beats himself up over every issue, and second-guesses every move.
One evening in November, Moo stands on the footbridge and watches as a Range Rover forces a BMW off the road, and an altercation takes place between the driver of the Range Rover and the driver and occupants of the BMW. When the cops arrive, they find a dead body and charge the driver of the Range Rover, one Keith Vine, with murder. When interviewed, Moo proves to be an excellent witness, only he is adamant that Vine could not have killed the victim. The police are determined to make the charge stick since, Moo discovers, Vine is a career criminal with a long history of violent assaults and murder, but the boy knows what he saw, and won’t change his story, not even when threatened by the lead detective on the case, one Detective Inspector Callan.
Moo’s wilfully ignorant mother accepts spending money from Vine’s high-priced lawyer, and the local cop in Vine’s pay arranges for Moo’s protection, while Vine himself pays Moo an unexpected visit, and Callan increases the pressure on the boy. Soon Moo realizes that he is caught between a rock and a hard place, and that, no matter what he says or does, he will never be able to escape the Rain. As the threats escalate, Moo is blinded by the realization that the only solution to his dilemma is Kissing the Rain.
Recounted in the first person by Moo, Kissing the Rain is a dark and gripping story about bullying, isolation and intimidation that is as compelling as it is repellant. Kevin Brooks has created an unforgettable story around an unlikely hero, one that will stay with you.
FernFolio Editor