Crook Q

Red Rain #2

by Rachel Newhouse

I don’t want to kill anyone.

The year is 2076. Earth is ruled by a one-world government. In order to maintain unity, all citizens must deny their national, racial, and religious identities—or suffer the consequences.

Believing the chaos of her adventure on Mars is behind her, seventeen-year-old Philadelphia Smyrna, an unassimilated Christian, faces a restricted but uneventful future. That is until she and her friend Cea are taken hostage to blackmail Cea’s wickedly genius brother into completing the infamous superweapon Red Rain. If he succeeds, the government will have the power to dissolve entire cities with acid. Desperate, the girls make a break for it. Thrust into the streets with a gun she’s afraid to shoot, Philadelphia realizes her battle with Red Rain is far from over—and this time, turning it over to the authorities is not an option.

Crook Q is the second book in the RED RAIN series, a fast-paced Christian sci-fi adventure that’s perfect for fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and LEFT BEHIND.

Genres: Dystopia, Christian, Science Fiction, Fiction

173 pages, Paperback

Published August 23, 2022

About the author

Rachel Newhouse is an author, wife, secretary, and Sunday school teacher from Kansas City, Missouri. Her obsessions are sci-fi, dystopian, and kid lit. When she’s not writing, she’s cooking Asian food, growing chilis that are too spicy to eat, and watching wildly age-inappropriate shows like My Little Pony and Gravity Falls with her husband, Joe. She also really likes glitter. You’ve been warned.

Reviews

[Kate Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red Rain was a staple of my teenage hood and the catalyst for my love of indie novels, so I was over the moon when the author relaunched the series and announced numerous sequels. It’s been a long minute since the first book released, so I wasn’t expecting the *exact* same tone, but this did take a little while to adjust to.

Philadelphia is still such an interesting main character to follow, and in this installment, it was evident she’s still coming of age and torn between her dad’s principles and her brother’s ideals. The little bit of added backstory gave me so much sympathy for Dr. Smyrna and understanding of his passivity. I also loved how even though she isn’t super skilled at anything yet, it’s really her heart and courage that matter. I look forward to seeing her grow.

Some of the back-and-forth action and her more fragile emotional state (#trauma) did wear on me to begin with, but in retrospect, it fit the story and the last third or so picked up and made up for it. ;)

Ephesus and Cea were boss as usual, and I’m becoming more intrigued by Dr. Nic. It was also amazing to see a few side characters reappear and how they worked into the story. And can I just say that Philli’s relation to her Bible in this is such a cool contrast to the first book? I may be reading too much into it, but that felt like an amazing demonstration of faith. There’s much less faith content in this book than the first one which was thick with references to Revelation, but it was still present.

CW: strong negative emotions, kidnapping, danger, death off-page, injuries described but not graphic, description of cleaning up blood. A man beats up a teenage girl.

Altogether, I’m very happy to have read this, and I’m excited to continue the series.

[Rosy Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am I supposed to love Nic, because I do. He's a really intriguing character, and I have a feeling he's a lot more complex than just good guy vs. bad guy. I can't wait to read Prisoner 120518 to see from his perspective.
Ambrose on the other hand was purely evil, and much worse than the last book, probably because we saw more of him.
Philadelphia is a great MC, and I love her! And Ephesus! I love her dad too, but like, what's up with him...? Is there something going on we don't know about? I want to know what's going on in his head....

[Angie Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

2026 reread

I think my reaction was basically the same as the first time, except that this time, I thankfully was able to dive almost immediately into the remainder of the series, so I wasn't stuck on what was pretty close to if not entirely a cliffhanger. Obviously, some of the tension wasn't quite as terrible the second time through, since I knew that at least certain characters were still going to be alive at the end. But still...

Also, I should probably confess that I've been following along with the author's newsletters/Patreon updates for a while and collecting some spoilers that make little sense out of context but that made me see certain characters I was re-introduced to here in a whole new light. I know, I know, not the way I'm supposed to do things, but I'm one of those oddballs who honestly loves spoilers, okay? Also, I don't know why I have absolutely no memory of John and Dowe from my first read, because those two were a hoot and a half! XD

Anyway, I'm going to stop trying to detangle my first from my second reaction and move on to the actual new books now. ;)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ummm, whaaaaat?!? Literally, what just happened?!?!? I was so, so excited to see that there was a sequel to Red Rain, but now I need the sequel to this one--like three minutes ago!!!

So, wow--the tension and intensity was stellar! For a while, all I could think of was what certain people would do under this new pressure when we had seen how they'd bent under different forms of pressure before. But then--everything went cockeyed, and rather than just dreading the weaknesses I knew, I suddenly had to worry about new weaknesses in people who were previously solid and previously untrustworthy people who might now be potential allies--if they could really be trusted, and--my word! Suspense seems like too mild of a term for it!

This was an amazing adventure, and I enjoyed seeing more of some of my favorite characters--plus some previously unloved characters who raised a lot of questions and some surprising emotions. My only complaint is that so many character questions were left hanging at the end--even to the point of "where are they and what's happened to them?" Which is so hard when they're characters I love so much... Philadelphia, though, was stellar all the way through, and so relatable! She's not trying to be a hero; she's just a normal girl trying to stand up for her faith in a hostile world, and I love her to death. <3

Can't talk about much more without spoiling things, so I'll stop now. But I really, really, really need to know what comes next!

Content--violence, fighting, and gunplay, including blood and death (not graphic); dangerous situations, including car chases and deadly acid; a man falls into a puddle of acid and dies (not described); mentions of cursing

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this twice, and I'm still not quite sure what to think about it. It wasn't at all what I expected from the sequel of Red Rain. It moved around a ton, taking place in so many different locations, you would think it would get confusing, but it didn't. The author wove in her amazing ability to make you perfectly picture a place, even if you didn't spend long there in a scene.
I loved the continuation of characters, even though I was a bit sad about some of their stories.
Somehow, this story left me with a very different feel to it than Red Red. Like it was much less about standing strong in the faith, and more about standing against the government. But it still had some really good morals in it.
Overall, I'm not sure what to say. It was a fun adventure. I enjoyed the continuation of the characters, but I just didn't love it as much as the first.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may come back and try to write a more detailed review later, but I'm sick so this will have to do.

Well, this was a well-written adventure with a lot of emotion packed into it. I was very invested in what happened next and the characters.
However, I was disappointed a bit, I will be very honest. One of the biggest things I loved about the original Red Rain was how different it was from everything else out there It was about a girl standing up for what was right even when the government was wrong. This story felt more like your typical teen-against-the-government dystopian novel.

Will I keep reading? Oh yes. But I wish it had kept the feel and originality of the first book.

[Jessica Goeken · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I did Book 1. I struggled to believe in the beginning how Philli could have no idea why she was being detained. I believe she’s smarter than that and it was difficult to connect with her ignorance. The first half of the book moves slowly, but picks up in the second half, and the final scenes are engaging and well done with promises of where the story is going to go in Book 3.

[Jonathan Lovelace · Rating 3 out of 5]

What's a klutzy pacifist teenage girl doing at the center of an action novel?

Crook Q began as a piece of Red Rain fanfiction, which Mrs. Newhouse (then writing as "Aubrey Hansen") liked so much she decided to "adopt" it as "canon" and bring its creator on as her coauthor as she prepared it and the prequel story Project 74 for publication. I "bounced" (hard) off the original fanfic, which left me (eventually) with two erroneous expectations for the published novel(la): that it was/would be a prequel, and that it would be at least mostly from the perspective of Red Rain's villain Dr. Nic. (I think part of the confusion about the order came from a period when the series branding labeled Red Rain as "the prequel to Crook Q.) In fact, Crook Q is a sequel to Red Rain, and (in this published form) the story continues completely from the perspective of Philadelphia Smyrna.

And that choice of protagonist and viewpoint character is where the trouble arises. Red Rain is a story of suspense, with very little "action", and Philli's voice is perfectly pitched to reinforce the eerie and austere atmosphere of the empty halls of the research station, and her inexperience and sheltered upbringing help us relate to this unfamiliar environment. Crook Q is full of action, starting with Philli's abduction by government authorities; as the blurb Mrs. Newhouse provided says, she is "[t]hrust into the streets with a gun she's afraid to shoot ..." Getting the story from Philli's first-person narrative is a liability, not an asset, here.

This may not be so noticeable if you read this series in order. But because I avoided reading Crook Q until just before the release of Andromeda, comparison with Prisoner 120518 is unavoidable. In "Prisoner 120518," we get most of the same events as Crook Q, only from Dr. Nic's perspective---which I found now delightfully madcap. (Though there are sequences in Crook Q that have no parallel in "Prisoner 120518", including Philli's abduction at the start of the book.) When the two stories' portrayal of the events they share are compared, Crook Q comes off worse, because these are scenes its protagonist is obviously unfit for. Her liabilities as an "action heroine"---pacifism, maladroitness, and technical ignorance---do allow her to play a pivotal role in several "action climaxes", but she is never a driving force in the action.

I recommend fans of Red Rain who haven't read anything else in the series at least try Crook Q, but in my opinion it is the weakest entry of the five entries in the series (counting both "main books" and "side stories") so far.

(This review is partially condensed and adapted from a longer post on my blog.)

[Sarah Wakeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series! Great quick reads for all ages!

[Dylan West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Rain was good, but this one is much better

The author's writing style has improved noticeably since book one in this series, which makes me excited to move on to book three. She busts out with lots of little phrases I found clever and vivid. Love the keen observations about the situation that Philli finds herself in. And the dialogue is spot on. The personalities come through in each line.

Many books hit a slow middle around the 30% mark, but this book revs up at that point, and I found myself engrossed from there on.

Parts I found memorable:
-"The government isn't actually as omnipresent as some make it out to be. They have access to all your data, but they don't have time to monitor it. But the people you pass on the street... They can report you at any time. And they will. Some do it to keep from being accused of harboring you should you turn out to be doing something illegal."
-"The elevator stopped three floors down. As if relishing the reveal, the doors groaned open slowly, allowing our eyes to adjust to the sudden brilliance of a million fluorescent lights. They dangled from the ceiling like tired stars..."
-"...a surprisingly ancient laser printer...was lazily spitting out paper with a content hum, like an old granny clicking away at her knitting."
-"Just tell me what you want so I can make a show of pondering your offer before slamming this (window) shut in your face."

As with book one, you can definitely tell this is a Christian novel, but it doesn't come across as overly preachy. And you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy the story, either. If you haven't read book one, Red Rain, give that a try. But don't stop there. Keep reading till you get to Crook Q and I think you'll really be glad you did.

[Rachel Newhouse]

Ay-o! Guess what's available on audio!

Just wait 'til you hear Sybil's John/Dowe voice. (IYKYK.) It had me ROLLING.

[Nikki Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series! It’s a clean, faith based, action book. It’s an easy read. I would recommend this book for 12 and up.

Crook Q is the second book in the Red Rain Series. It is about stopping an unruly government from killing off their outcast. The outcast are those that refuse to give up their rights to practice religion and homeschool their children. They are willing to kill of the outcast in one of the worst way possible. Chemical warfare.

In an unnerving twist the right are wrong and the wrong rule the world. Only a select few are willing to fight the United (the new ruling government).

Book 2 is just a start of what is to come. The book ends on a note of needing to continue the series.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, I read this one probably just as fast as book 1! I loved it, everything was so well written, and the suspense is so good! I won’t spoil anything, but there was someone I didn’t expect to see in book 2! I was like HELLO? But it was amazing. I love Phil, and I can’t wait to see where Rachel takes her in book 3! The only issue I have is… I’m reading these books WAY TOO FAST😂

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved getting to see Phili and Nic interact in this book! Listening to her thoughts on whether to trust Nic or not to having only him to depend on in prison.

[Brandi Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟 Completed book Red Rain #2
Crook Q.
5 🌟 if it just wasn't so short.
#hoopla