#29. Published In A Year Of The Dragon – Ten Seconds by Robert Gold (Audible)

2024 is the year of the Wood Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac. This meant that there were numerous novels to choose from in this year’s releases (let alone books from previous years of the dragon!) 

As I’ve been completing this challenge, I’ve been switching books from their initial category into a more suitable one and several of my #29 choices have ended up elsewhere. 

I noticed that Gold’s latest Ben Harper novel had been released on Audible, and as I’d read Eleven Liars earlier in the year, I decided I would listen to Ten Seconds whilst the earlier storyline was still in my memory. I couldn’t find another category to house this book, so it has ended up as my year of the dragon book choice.

“After a tense birthday celebration in Haddley, journalist Ben Harper watches his boss, Madeline, get into the car that has come to collect her. He walks home, never imagining that by the next morning, Madeline will be missing.

To find Madeline, Ben will have to return to the now infamous murder case that made her journalism career over a decade ago. A case which, Ben quickly discovers, was never as simple as it seemed.

But time is of the essence, and soon it's not just Madeline's life on the line . . .”

For me, one of the joys of listening to these novels is that they are easy to follow. I don’t want very complicated storylines for an Audible book because I want to be focused on my surroundings whilst walking, or I don’t want to be concentrating so hard on the book that I chop my finger off whilst cooking. This third novel in the series is about an hour shorter than the previous one, so it made for a quick easy listen and introduced us to plenty of characters, old and new, in another multi-layered tale.

In the previous storylines of this Ben Harper series, each case he has worked on has had a personal connection to him. In the earlier books we have visited the family history of the main character Ben and then we learnt about detective Dani Cash, his romantic “lead.” In this book we delve into the past of Ben’s boss Madeline Wilson. She now finds herself in grave danger thanks to her past investigations into crime and corruption when she was a young reporter. (It seems that if you know Ben Harper you should always keep your doors and windows locked and run if he ever asks for help!)

As a former journalist, Madeline is no stranger to being on the end of unpopular opinion and controversy. She led a campaign that went against all journalistic integrity following the murder of Aaron Welsby, staking her career on a man she was convinced was guilty which resulted in his imprisonment. This man has just been released from prison, and suddenly Madeline is nowhere to be seen. When carrying out her campaign all those years ago, she never once thought someone might seek revenge one day.

At first Ben and Madeline’s father, Sam, are unaware about Madeline’s abduction, but once they learn what has happened, and are told not to contact the police, they decide to embark on a mission to save Madeline themselves. Obviously, the flaw in this plan is that Ben is still having romantic liaisons with Detective Constable Dani Cash. How on earth does he think he can keep such a big secret from her?

As per the previous novels there is a considerable amount going on, but the plot is straightforward to follow. Running throughout the novel is an account from an unnamed child, and it is only as you continue through the book that you can work out who the child is and how those narratives connect to the main storyline. It is an interesting addition to the story, and it aids understanding why certain characters behave as they do. 

Gold has written numerous suspects into the novel, and apart from Ben, Dani and Sam, you are constantly guessing who the good guys are and whether the main characters are safe when they are in the vicinity of the supporting characters. 

The book might be short in stature, as I mentioned, it’s an hour shorter than Eleven Liars, but it is fast paced and constantly keeps you engaged from beginning to end. Some parts of the book make for difficult reading, especially the part relating to Madeline’s abduction, however, Gold hasn’t filled the book with gratuitous violence, he’s limited his use of brutality as and when required for the storyline. This is a captivating novel following the determination of a father, a friend and the police as they pool resources and attempt to find Madeline and catch a killer. Once again, Gold finishes the book in such a manner than you’re itching for the next book to come along.

Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Crime Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

Release Date: 14th March 2024

Publisher:  Little, Brown Studio

Listening Time: 8h 13m

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