Chase Through the Night

by Max Fatchen, Graham Humphreys (Illustrator)

Librarian's note: An alternate edition for this ISBN can be found: here

In Northern Queensland, three men on the run after a robbery, occupy a small outback township. A battle of wits develops between some of the residents and their captors.

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Sportyrod]

All but a handful of people left the rural township of Caree before the roads became impassable during the long, wet season in northern Australia. But not the bank robbers, they headed north, thinking that the police would expect them to flee south. The three of them took two hostages and occupier the near-empty town until they could fix their getaway car and hightail out of there.

Unfortunately for them, the inhabitants tried to stop them, putting themselves in harm’s way many times. What tricks could they conjure without risking the temper of the desparate criminals? The action-level was high and the schemes stood to reason.

The characters were likeable. Petra and Ray in their mid teens were the main protagonists and good horse riders. Their parents took a back seat. Marty the bartender/pub owner and his battle-axe wife, Mrs Yarlton were a hoot. And Bindy and his dad, Narli were loveable characters: an aboriginal son and father. As a group, they all came together and stuck it to the criminals.

The book was set in the Gulf of Carpentaria region of northwestern Queensland. The township was fictitious but had a cattle station feel and post-convict era vibe. A few illustrations were included of the chaotic scenarios.