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Rainforest

The atmospheric new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Michelle Paver

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Rainforest

By: Michelle Paver
Narrated by: Richard Armitage
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'Michelle is such a brilliant writer, and an absolute master of the genre!' Bridget Collins, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Binding

ENTER - AND YOU'LL NEVER BE THE SAME

Mexico, 1973

Simon Corbett has come to the jungle the way people do: to salvage a ruined career, and outrun a past he cannot face.

But the forest is no refuge.

As he ventures deeper, his days lose their edges. Footsteps follow that leave no trace. The path he cuts disappears behind him.

Something is leading him off course. It's older than the trees, watching, and hungry.

He came to the jungle to lose himself.

He may get his wish.

A terrifying supernatural tale from Sunday Times bestseller Michelle Paver, author of Dark Matter, Thin Air and Wakenhyrst.

Praise for Rainforest:
'Her most unsettling novel yet!' Olivia Isaac-Henry
'Michelle Paver at her terrifying best. A novel of masterful suspense and slow-burning horror' Elaine Thomson
'Phenomenal. All of the stars... Easily my top read of the year so far' 5-star Reader Review
'The malicious uncanny slithers through the story' Natasha Pulley
'Intoxicatingly weird...Takes a stalker story and makes it uniquely her own. She has cemented herself as our modern day MR James.. I can't wait to see what she does next!' Sarah Pinborough
'Profoundly wonderful storytelling' 5-star Reader Review
'Rarely have I finished reading a book, immediately returned to the first page and started reading again. Rainforest is utter brilliance' Carly Reagon
'No one does terrifying like Michelle Paver' Sharon Bolton
'Incredible! Really was an experience like no other' 5-star Reader Review
'Paver has proved once again that she is master of the ghost story. With its vivid, brilliantly realised setting and creeping dread, I found this a truly terrifying read' Rebecca Netley©2025 Michelle Paver Dark Fantasy Fantasy Genre Fiction Ghosts Horror Psychological Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Exciting Scary
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Critic reviews

A tense and strangely beautiful narrative
Spellbindingly creepy
A tale of terror and beauty and wonder
Sinister, succulent, with a stifling sense of claustrophobia, this is Michelle Paver at her terrifying best. A novel of masterful suspense and slow-burning horror, Rainforest blends psychology and the supernatural in a sweating compelling tale that kept me up long past bedtime. I loved it.
In Rainforest, Michelle Paver perfectly captures the beauty and brutality of a lost Mayan kingdom, and creates the haunting backdrop to a tale of self-loathing and self-discovery...her most unsettling novel yet!
Terror on a grander scale
Paver is the mistress of suspense
I basically aspirated it all in one go. That signature sense of the malicious uncanny slithers through the story and a setting that branches right away from the comparatively easy scares of the cold-weather Gothic into something that, for me, feels even more technically accomplished and clever.
Michelle is such a brilliant writer, and an absolute master of the genre!
All stars
Most relevant
I’m a huge fan of Michelle Paver but I found this hard going and not up to her usual standard.

The main protagonist is completely unlikeable, as are the rest of the characters actually.

I felt I spent the whole book waiting, and wishing, for his demise.

Disappointing.

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Positives for me are the setting and narration - The Mexican rainforest was interesting but would have loved to have seen the historical elements explored more and with more enthusiasm by the MC. As mentioned the narration was great, too. I think the biggest issue for me was the main character. They had the worst qualities of the Thin Air and Dark Matter main characters with almost nothing likeable or redeeming about them. Instead, they moped, hated everything, felt sorry for themselves but with an air of superiority, projected their guilt and self-hatred onto everyone else, etc, and we had no reason to route for them or really to care about what happened to them. On top of that, the book, which is pretty short, felt like it dragged on because the interesting bits weren’t explored and the secondary characters were shallow. Talented author but not my favourite of theirs.

Great narration but story dragged

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What an unusual book. A great story with so much info on the Mexican rainforest. I knew nothing about this subject and was constantly looking up various species mentioned. The isolation of being in the forest alone made the sightings and atmospheric feelings seem highly possible. Once again MrA gave a fabulous rendering of the story without overdramatising events but engendering a sympathetic view of what Simon’s life had been like. Absolutely loved it and didn’t want it to end.

Completely unknown subject for me

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I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book - I purchased it because it was narrated by Richard Armitage. However, the story ended up being a haunting and intense tale from the POV of an unreliable narrator.

Richard Armitage was superb - as always!

Rainforest

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I am a huge fan of Pavers other books Dark Matter and Think Air, so I was hoping this would along the same lines...disappointed to say somehow it wasn't. I don't even really know why, it is excellently narrated by Richard Armitage and the setting and plot should be perfect. Somehow its just kinda repetitive and lack luster though. Falls flat. I wasn't a big fan of Wakenhurst either so perhaps Michelle Paver will always be hit and miss with me.

Dissapointing compared to Dark Matter and Thin Air

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