Life or Death in Aussie Readers

Jan 18, 2014 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: psychological-thriller, arc, favourites, own-read, aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, suspense, 2014-release

Audie Palmer had served ten years in prison for being involved in an armed robbery where four people had died under horrendous circumstances. He had almost died himself and spent time in a coma then a long time recuperating. His doctors were astounded at his recovery – at the very least he should have brain damage they all declared. But Audie recovered enough to be tried and convicted – the seven million dollars wasn’t to be found though. The non-stop beatings over the course of his incarceratio Audie Palmer had served ten years in prison for being involved in an armed robbery where four people had died under horrendous circumstances. He had almost died himself and spent time in a coma then a long time recuperating. His doctors were astounded at his recovery – at the very least he should have brain damage they all declared. But Audie recovered enough to be tried and convicted – the seven million dollars wasn’t to be found though. The non-stop beatings over the course of his incarceration had failed to make him tell what they all wanted to know….

So why would Audie escape from prison the day before he was due for release? He could do another twenty-five years when he was caught – because the police, the FBI, even the county sheriff were all determined he would be caught, it was only a matter of time.

As Audie moved toward his pre-determined destination, it became obvious that he wasn’t preparing to disappear; he wasn’t heading to another country to change his name and start spending the missing millions. No, Audie was on a mission to save a life, an innocent life that had been caught up in the vicious tangle of a decade long web of secrets that were so deeply entrenched that he wasn’t entirely sure where and to whom the tentacles had attached themselves.

FBI Special Agent Desiree Furness was doing her own investigation into the case of Audie Palmer, the armed robbery and his time in prison. She was sure something wasn’t quite right – things didn’t add up. But she doggedly continued to search for evidence….

What would happen to Audie? He was only one step ahead of the authorities; and it seemed there were others after him as well. He had no idea who he could trust, but he knew he would be murdered if he lost his focus. For Audie was the only one left who knew all the answers; they couldn’t afford for him to live. It seemed Audie’s only choices were stark – life or death…

What an absolutely BRILLIANT thriller by Aussie author Michael Robotham! This would have to be one of the best books I have read in a long while. The incredible twists and turns were breathtaking – at one stage I gasped and said “Oh no, no!” out aloud! As I neared the finish I had to stop reading as I didn’t want to know what happened, then I had to start again immediately as I DID want to know! Life or Death is an astounding, past paced and gritty psychological thriller that I have no hesitation in recommending extremely highly.

With thanks to TRR and Hachette Australia for my copy to read and review.
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Jul 27, 2014 Josh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read_2015, own, crime

Perhaps author Michael Robotham's best book yet - a deftly balanced noir infused piece of crime fiction that pulls no punches. Brimming with heartache, pain, and loss, LIFE OR DEATH has all the hallmarks of a darker form of crime fiction, similar in tone to books by Victor Gischler, Alan Guthrie, Tony Black, and Ken Bruen.

The most impressive aspect of LIFE OR DEATH has got to be clever plot flip which changed my perspective of prison escapee Audie Palmer and the missing 7mil of which he's accus ...more

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Dec 07, 2014 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-are, netgalley-reviews, aussie-author

Life or Death is Michael Robotham's tenth novel, a rare stand alone from one of Australia's favourite crime fiction author's, best known for his O’Loughlin/Ruiz series.

Inspired by a real life news report, Robotham has built his story around the character of Audie Palmer who, after serving ten years in prison, escapes the day before his scheduled release. No one understands why Audie would run when he risks an extended sentence if caught, but it's assumed that it has something to do with the unre ...more

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Aug 19, 2014 Kathryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-authors, reading-list-2015, fiction, recommended-by-people-on-gr, 4-5-stars

I would say this was a very cleverly thought out story, except that I saw Michael Robotham speak last week, and he doesn’t think out his stories - he gets his characters into various situations and then has to work out how to get them out!!!

It was a pleasure to read that kept me guessing. I worked out part of it, but not most of the ending. I’d like to hope something like that (not the prison escape, but the reason behind the prison escape) couldn’t/wouldn't happen here in Australia (which is ap ...more

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Nov 23, 2016 Sandi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, crime-mystery-thriller-suspense, read-2016

A very intense stand alone thriller. Plot driven though with pretty well done characterizations, I thought it was perhaps a bit too long but the last quarter of the book was quite hard to put down.

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Nov 02, 2014 Robin rated it really liked it

I've read a few of Michael Robotham's novels and I've enjoyed them, but this is one is far and away his best, which the author has admitted himself. The characters are very well-drawn, especially the main character Audie, who appears as an enigma in the beginning, and part of the suspense of the story is wanting to get to know him better and the reasons behind his actions. It's obvious when you read the book that you're in the hands of a masterful storyteller, who knows all the tricks of the tra ...more

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Feb 13, 2015 Aimie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This isn't the same style as other Robotham books I've read, but in saying that, I still really enjoyed it. Michael Robotham is one of my favourite crime writers and I can't wait to pick up whatever he writes next. ...more

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