Good Reading dips into the first few paragraphs of new books to give you a taste of what’s to come.
This month we’re reading Endgame by Sarah Barrie.
Chapter One
Saturday, October 7
The two 12-year-olds giggled and shushed each other as, beers in hand, they quietly shut the fridge and tiptoed to the back door. Jacob’s dad was throwing a post-game barbecue tomorrow for the footy team so he’d never notice a few missing cans from an overstocked fridge. Jacob knew the door squeaked when it got to about the half-open mark, so he was careful to open it just enough for him and his best friend Aaron Baker to slip through. Aaron bumped him as he squeezed past and fumbled one of the beers. Jacob’s eyes widened, his breath hitching in panic until Aaron managed to pin the can against his stomach and readjust his grip.
The breath fell from Jacob’s mouth in relief, sending both boys into a fit of fresh giggles as they raced to the back gate. He had his little red camcorder ready – the one his grandma had given him a couple of Christmases ago. His older brother Bobby said it was a stupid present ’cause phones can record everything, but Jacob liked it. He could store videos on memory cards and stash them away ’cause his dad kept an eye on his iCloud account. Yep, this was the perfect way to spy on Bobby, without Dad or Bobby finding out.
Bobby had snuck out earlier to join the party down on the beach. Dad had said he couldn’t go ’cause they’d swapped the party from Friday night to tonight and he needed to be at his best for the charity game tomorrow – the rep coach was going to be there. But Bobby had wanted to see some girl and had taken off as soon as Dad had started snoring. Bobby was nearly 19 so Dad couldn’t really tell him what to do, but it didn’t stop him trying.
Excitement singed in his veins as they drank the Carlton Dry and trekked the short distance through the trees to the main road. Jacob owed his brother for ratting on him over trying one of the cigarettes Billy Wilson had brought to school and sold for five dollars each. Bobby had been an arsehole since he’d been caught posting that disgusting stuff with that weirdo girl online. Jacob felt a bit bad about that. He and Aaron had set the camera up to catch them smoking pot, not doing that. But Bobby had found the camera and taken the memory card, so Jacob had had no idea what he’d filmed until everything blew up and that girl died. He reckoned Bobby deserved everything he got. And if Jacob could get some good footage of Bobby tonight, he’d hold it over him next time Bobby decided to be a jerk.
A cool breeze scattered leaf litter across the road. Wilfred Barrett Drive was bordered by tall trees and thick scrub. The sprawling suburban houses of Noraville sat to the north, with nothing but bush, beach, the cemetery and a couple of sports grounds to the south.
It was a long, dark, winding road, creepy from the safety of a car, even more so on foot. And then there were the stories. •
Click here and scroll down to read our reader’s reviews of Endgame
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Barrie is the author of nine novels including her debut bestselling print novel, Secrets of Whitewater Creek, the Hunters Ridge trilogy and the Calico Mountain trilogy. In a past life, Sarah worked as a teacher, a vet nurse, a horse trainer and a magazine editor, before deciding she wanted to write novels. About the only thing that has remained constant is her love of all things crime.
Her favourite place in the world is the family property, where she writes her stories overlooking mountains crisscrossed with farmland, bordered by the beauty of the Australian bush, and where, at the end of the day, she can spend time with family, friends, a good Irish whiskey and a copy of her next favourite book.
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