Life or Death (2014) is a crime novel by Australian author Michael Robotham. It won the 2015 Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award.[1] This is his first book to not involve either of his two main characters; Joe O'Loughlin and Vincent Ruiz.[2]

Life or Death
First UK edition (publ. Sphere Books)
AuthorMichael Robotham
LanguageEnglish
GenreCrime novel
PublisherHachette, Australia
Publication date
2014
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages434
ISBN9780751552904
Preceded byWatching You 
Followed byClose Your Eyes 

Plot summary

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Audie Palmer escapes from a Texas jail the day before the end of his ten-year sentence for armed robbery and second-degree murder. His friend Moss Webster is mysteriously released from the same prison and told to find Palmer and, if possible, the money missing from the robbery of the armoured van; money that has never been recovered.

Notes

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  • Dedication: For Isabella
  • Epigraphs:

"Life can be magnificent and overwhelming – That is its whole tragedy. Without beauty, love, or danger it would almost be easy to live." Albert Camus

"To be, or not to be: that is the question." William Shakespeare

Reviews

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Jeff Popple in The Sydney Morning Herald found the novel, at its core, "a gripping thriller".[3] Marilyn Stasio in The New York Times noted that the author "isn't entirely at ease with the Texas vernacular, but he's responsive enough to the idiosyncrasies of the culture".[4]

Awards and nominations

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References

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