Catch the Zolt: The Debt Instalment One (Phillip Gwynne, A&U)

Thursday, 11 October 2012 Unlocked content from the archive. Books+Publishing

It’s a warm, cloudless day on the Gold Coast when elite runner Dom Silvagni turns 15. On his routine morning run, an altercation with a white van changes things forever. Instead of a party, Dom is given a cursed gift from an organisation so secret and powerful, they are known only as The Debt. As the eldest son, it’s Dom’s turn to perform one of six Herculean tasks, or risk the loss of a pound of flesh. The first assignment: capture The Zolt, a glorified thief, made famous on Facebook by impressionable young teens. It’s up to Dom to infiltrate this cunning criminal’s world but it takes all his bold tenacity and resilience to succeed and save himself. Fast-paced, with all the hallmarks of a thrill-seeking adventure, Gwynne’s book is a page-turning action adventure, with a heavy emphasis on social media, that both excites and delights without losing ‘the plot’. Many (including myself ) may appreciate the less enhanced violence in certain scenes. With an ending just ripe for a screenplay translation, Gwynne’s book has us primed for the next instalment. With such a likeable main character, you can’t but hope he’ll beat the wrath of The Debt for good.

Jen Murnaghan is a children’s bookseller and serial blogger

Category: Reviews