Reviewed by Nikki M Heath
Jack Heath is one of Australia’s best-known authors for a reason. This latest book follows on from his four-part Minutes of Danger series with 10 short mysteries counting down 20 minutes of tightly woven action. All the protagonists are young, smart, and in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving the reader on edge wondering how they’ll extricate themselves from their precarious positions.
The concept
will be familiar to those of us old experienced enough to remember the
TV drama 24, and accordingly should
come with a content warning for the sensitive at heart. Although suitable for
the mid to upper-primary target market, the frighteningly realistic description
of waking up buried alive in a coffin, six feet underground, is probably enough
to cause nightmares for the most blasé reader. There’s also the girl who comes
to consciousness paralysed and confused in a hospital bed, and the boy who
narrowly escapes being swallowed by an inferno.
There’s a
wonderful diversity in gender, ethnicity and geographical setting across the
stories, so there’s a feeling of travelling the world (or at least its
underbelly) and even, in a couple of cases, time. While ostensibly separate
stories, there are ‘Easter eggs’ for the observant to discover subtle links
connecting the tales. Description is finely observed, starting with the first
line’s spittle in a beard and the ‘spongy’ air experienced by a skydiver later
in the same opening story.
The snappy format catapults readers directly into the shoes of the protagonists and gives the satisfaction of resolution before we realise we’re holding our breath.
Ideal for
reluctant readers, this book is a treat for anyone aged 10 and up who enjoys an
intense dose of suspense. Fans of
previous Minutes of Danger
instalments will probably have flown through the pages already, but the
uninitiated can easily pick this book up without having read any others.
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