Life or Death
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The story starts with a compelling question:
Why would convicted robber (Audie Palmer), suddenly choose to escape prison after 10 years of confinement, one day before he's due to be released?
So begins the exploration of Audie Palmer's background and the history behind the $7 million dollar robbery that sent him to jail and killed 3 others.
As Michael Robotham develops the story via a richly described series of flashbacks told from individual character perspectives we learn that there is much more at stake than the robbery haul. Audie is keeping a promise that he made 10 years ago and now time, and the odds of success, both seem to be against him.
This story flows at a very fast pace and has enough twists to make you want to read further at the end of each chapter. I really liked Audie Palmer's character in this story and the other main protagonists; Sheriff Ryan Valdez, FBI Agent Desiree Furness, and fellow prisoner Moss Webster.
I have seen several comparisons made to the Shawshank Redemption in other reviews due to the friendship between Audie and Moss in prison and if you liked that or other novels of that genre then I would definitely recommend this.
Life or Death was an excellent read, and it warranted a very rare 5 out of 5 rating from me, I simply couldn't put this novel down and finished it within a few days.
To learn more about Michael Robotham visit his web page here: http://www.michaelrobotham.com/
