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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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Buy Now for £17.94

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About this listen

 'Phenomenal. All of the stars... Easily my top read of the year so far' Reader Review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
'Profoundly wonderful storytelling' Reader Review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
'Incredible! Really was an experience like no other' Reader Review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The jungle watches. The dead remember.

The virgin rainforest seems a paradise to Englishman Simon Corbett. A last chance to salvage his career. A final refuge from a terrible secret.

But the jungle is no Eden. It hides secrets of its own. It does not forgive.

As Simon is drawn deeper into its haunted shadows, he learns to his horror that the past will not stay buried. For there are places in the forest where the line between the living and the dead is thinner than the skin of water.

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

What readers are saying about Rainforest:

'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

'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

'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©2025 Michelle Paver Dark Fantasy Fantasy Genre Fiction Ghosts Horror Psychological Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Exciting Scary

Critic reviews

No one does creeping dread like Michelle Paver. With Rainforest, intoxicatingly weird and also prescient, she takes a stalker story and makes it uniquely her own. She has cemented herself as our modern day MR James and as her number one fan I can't wait to see what she does next!
A stunning tale of love, death and what comes after set against the sumptuous backdrop of the rainforest. Rarely have I finished reading a book, immediately returned to the first page and started reading again. Rainforest is utter brilliance.
No one does terrifying like Michelle Paver.
With her latest novel, 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.
Michelle Paver is best known as a children's author, chiefly for her wonderful Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, but she can turn a creepy, noirish ghost story for adults with the best. This is the tale of an English scientist in the rainforest in Mexico and his encounters with bloodthirsty spirits. As ever with Paver, this is based on thorough research into the terrain and the folklore of the story. Oh, it's got some nice mantids too.
Rainforest is a powerful and scary tale . . . freighted with unquiet spirits and hallucinatory potions and set at a time when white travellers had scant respect for either the terrain or the people who had lived in harmony with it for centuries . . . skilfully woven into a sumptuous and graphic evocation of the jungle in all its luxuriant and baleful glory, its beauty and its dangers, and the effect it can have on the imagination (Lynne Patrick)
All stars
Most relevant
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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This is a very dramatic story, possibly at times a tad too much. This is my first Richard Armitage narration and he is very good at dramatic storytelling. You will never knowingly miss a dramatic moment. The setting of Central America is what gives this tale its difference and it makes good use of everything you’ve ever heard mentioned about tribes in rainforest regions. Wildlife in the rainforest plays a large part in the plot, too. The story is very gripping and always carries you forward to the next plot point. I shall look at other Michelle Paver novels for their unusual and interesting plots.

A very dramatic story told dramatically.

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Richard Armitage was perfect for this story , I could feel the tension throughout simons journey, well worth listening to.

love Michelle Paver books

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I didn’t like the main character very much at all. It made it harder to listen. Where we meant to care for him? Especially disliked how he spoke to the natives or voiced his thoughts. Saying that could he have been an undiagnosed neurodivergent? Perhaps I should have more kindness for him then. It still captured my imagination though. Well narrated. Not too scary.

Obsession, Remorse, Sacrifice and the Rainforest.

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