THE RUSH, by Michelle Prak (Simon & Schuster, 37.99)
Thrillers aren’t often truly terrifying, but Michelle Prak’s The Rush is. Four young people go on a road trip through the Australian outback. Scott and Hayley are boyfriend and girlfriend. Scott is horrible. Hayley is annoyingly needy and relentlessly Miss Sunshiney. The other two are not a couple. Hayley hooked up with them through an online forum for backpackers. The mysterious Livia wears army-surplus pants and sturdy black boots and her hairdo is a buzzcut. Joost is from the Netherlands and is on his gap year. He looks like a spider, and he might turn out to be even more of a creep than Scott.
A storm is coming. The first proper rains for a decade are forecast, as are flash floods. It is not a good time to be in a car on those bare roads in the remote emptiness that is South Australia. Quin, who works and boards at the only pub for miles and dusty miles, is in her car. The kids are in their van. At the pub, Matt and Andrea are lugging sandbags. Matt has to leave the pub to help out a flooded neighbour. Andrea is left alone with the kids. The power goes out. The mobile phone dies. A sinister biker turns up. It’s nasty out there in the storm and it is about to get even nastier inside the pub.
Denne historien er fra May 06 - 12 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 06 - 12 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
