When I started Cop & Robber, I knew I wouldn't be moving from my couch until I had read the final page because Tristan Bancks is a master of writing fast paced, gripping books that place you right in the action.
If your mum was a cop and your dad was a criminal who needed your help to commit a crime, would you do it to save him?
Nash Hall spends each week living between his parent's homes. Each changeover day is like moving to a new country with a different language, laws and food. He loves both of his parents, but desperately wants his dad Lyle to stop acting like a modern-day bushranger and get a normal job like other dads.
When an old debt creeps up on Lyle and he owes money to very dangerous people the only way he can get the cash in three days is by doing what he does best - robbery. Lyle needs help from Nash to rob his school. Both their lives depend on it. Nash is torn between helping his dad, telling his mum and breaking the law. Add a bank robbery, massive dust storm and help from an unexpected source, for plenty of nail-biting action.
Cop & Robber will have you thinking about right and wrong. Would you do what was wrong in order to make something right? The story also centres around trust and forgiveness. Is it possible to forgive and forget? With support from Mrs Diaz, his principal who shares a family secret and his early morning cross country runs in the nearby rocky hills, Nash begins to find a way to navigate these dilemmas until 'Things may have been been beaten up and broken inside him, but out of that, Nash 2.0 has emerged, a version of himself that never gives in.'
Tristan's books are not only filled with adventure and intriguing characters, but they also deal with real life dilemmas and encourage you to think about where you stand on a variety of issues. They are also fabulous class novels and great discussion starters.
Read the first chapter of Cop and Robber HERE or listen to Tristan reading it for the audio book HERE
Watch the book trailer cleverly designed as a news story and find out how it was made HERE
If you haven't read Tristan's other unputdownable bestselling books Two Wolves, The Fall and Detention then it's time to add them to your reading pile.
Happy reading!
