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Six Minutes
An unputdownable thriller for fans of Liane Moriarty and Caroline Overington. If you were gripped watching The Cry, you'll be hooked on Six Minutes.'Impossible to put down and full of twists and turns you won't see coming! I loved this fabulous debut novel.' Liane Moriarty, bestselling author of Nine Perfect StrangersHow can a child disappear from under the care of four playgroup mums?One Thursday morning, Lexie Parker dashes to the shop for biscuits, leaving Bella in the safe care of the other mums in the playgroup.Six minutes later, Bella is gone.Police and media descend on the tiny village of Merrigang on the edge of Canberra. Locals unite to search the dense bushland. But as the investigation continues, relationships start to fracture, online hate messages target Lexie, and the community is engulfed by fear.Is Bella's disappearance connected to the angry protests at Parliament House? What secrets are the parents hiding? And why does a local teacher keep a photo of Bella in his lounge-room?What happened in those six minutes and where is Bella?The clock is ticking…This gripping novel will keep you guessing to the very last twist.
Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2019
133 people are currently reading
1892 people want to read
About the author
Petronella McGovern
4 books226 followersPetronella McGovern writes psychological thrillers focusing on everyday characters and contemporary issues.
Petronella is fascinated by what makes us tick, the lies we tell, and the secrets we keep. She is the best-selling author of Six Minutes, The Good Teacher, The Liars and The Last Trace. Her books have been nominated in the Ned Kelly Awards, the Davitt Awards and the Australian Independent Bookseller Awards. The Liars was selected in the Top 100 Big W/Better Reading list for 2023.
Petronella grew up in a large family on a farm in New South Wales. Australian landscapes and the bush feature strongly in her stories. Among other adventures, she has worked on a summer camp in America and travelled in eastern Africa which inspired parts of her fourth novel, The Last Trace.
She has also co-written two non-fiction books - a travelogue of the 1960s, For Love and a Beetle with Ivan Hodge; and an Olympic memoir, Trailblazers: Australia's First Olympic Equestrians with Wyatt Thompson.
Follow Petronella on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PetronellaMc... or Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/petronellam...
Petronella is fascinated by what makes us tick, the lies we tell, and the secrets we keep. She is the best-selling author of Six Minutes, The Good Teacher, The Liars and The Last Trace. Her books have been nominated in the Ned Kelly Awards, the Davitt Awards and the Australian Independent Bookseller Awards. The Liars was selected in the Top 100 Big W/Better Reading list for 2023.
Petronella grew up in a large family on a farm in New South Wales. Australian landscapes and the bush feature strongly in her stories. Among other adventures, she has worked on a summer camp in America and travelled in eastern Africa which inspired parts of her fourth novel, The Last Trace.
She has also co-written two non-fiction books - a travelogue of the 1960s, For Love and a Beetle with Ivan Hodge; and an Olympic memoir, Trailblazers: Australia's First Olympic Equestrians with Wyatt Thompson.
Follow Petronella on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PetronellaMc... or Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/petronellam...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 330 reviews
July 10, 2019
Where is Bella Parker? Bella, a happy three year old, has disappeared from playgroup, under the not so watchful eyes of four other mums while her own mum, Lexie, ducked to the shop. Lexie was only gone for six minutes.
How did Bella get out? Was she taken? Is she somewhere wandering in the local area, lost? A big search reveals no sign of the child, so the police start looking into the lives of those close to Bella. For everyone, even Bella's own parents, are hiding secrets...
Well, what a twisty, turny thriller this was. The further into the book I got, the more I realised I didn't have a clue as to what had happened, something I love in a thriller. I want to be surprised. As Petronella McGovern slowly reveals the story I found myself rivetted. I literally couldn't put this book down! Recommended to all lovers of mysteries.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin for an uncorrected proof to read and review. The opinions are entirely my own.
How did Bella get out? Was she taken? Is she somewhere wandering in the local area, lost? A big search reveals no sign of the child, so the police start looking into the lives of those close to Bella. For everyone, even Bella's own parents, are hiding secrets...
Well, what a twisty, turny thriller this was. The further into the book I got, the more I realised I didn't have a clue as to what had happened, something I love in a thriller. I want to be surprised. As Petronella McGovern slowly reveals the story I found myself rivetted. I literally couldn't put this book down! Recommended to all lovers of mysteries.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin for an uncorrected proof to read and review. The opinions are entirely my own.
February 20, 2020
My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...
“How can a child disappear from under the care of four playgroup mums?”
I’ve had this book for quite a while and can’t believe it’s taken me so long to read it. I had a few books going already but decided I would just read a few pages to see what I thought (famous last words).
I was hooked from the start!
Lexie is mother to three-year-old, Bella. Lexie and Bella attend a local playgroup. They are at playgroup one day when Lexie decides to run to the store. She’s anxious about leaving her daughter, but four other mothers will look out for Bella while Lexie is gone. Plus she won’t be gone long.
Lexie was only gone for six minutes.
Now Bella is missing. How could this have happened? Did Bella find a way out and get lost or was she taken? Wasn't anyone paying attention? Lexie is devastated and blames herself. On top of that, she also has to deal with people online spewing hate and blaming her for Bella’s disappearance.
Where is Bella?
I really enjoyed this book. This is one of those stories that really gets into your head. It sure got into mine. I seem to gravitate towards these kinds of stories so I’m not surprised this caught my attention. I’m really glad it did.
Fast-paced and compelling with some great twists and turns, this book didn’t disappoint.
A great debut novel from Petronella McGovern. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
“How can a child disappear from under the care of four playgroup mums?”
I’ve had this book for quite a while and can’t believe it’s taken me so long to read it. I had a few books going already but decided I would just read a few pages to see what I thought (famous last words).
I was hooked from the start!
Lexie is mother to three-year-old, Bella. Lexie and Bella attend a local playgroup. They are at playgroup one day when Lexie decides to run to the store. She’s anxious about leaving her daughter, but four other mothers will look out for Bella while Lexie is gone. Plus she won’t be gone long.
Lexie was only gone for six minutes.
Now Bella is missing. How could this have happened? Did Bella find a way out and get lost or was she taken? Wasn't anyone paying attention? Lexie is devastated and blames herself. On top of that, she also has to deal with people online spewing hate and blaming her for Bella’s disappearance.
Where is Bella?
I really enjoyed this book. This is one of those stories that really gets into your head. It sure got into mine. I seem to gravitate towards these kinds of stories so I’m not surprised this caught my attention. I’m really glad it did.
Fast-paced and compelling with some great twists and turns, this book didn’t disappoint.
A great debut novel from Petronella McGovern. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
August 22, 2019
Six minutes is all it takes for three year old Bella to go missing from her playgroup. Bella’s mother Lexie left Bella in what she thought was safe hands of other mums at playgroup whilst she makes a quick dash to the shops. When Lexie returns Bella is nowhere to be seen. An entire search of the playgroup inside and out, but still no Bella. How could Bella just disappear without anyone noticing when there were other mums and their children in the playgroup and the gate was locked.
Lexie and her husband become increasingly worried and anxious as time passes and still no sign of Bella. The search for Bella quickly increases to many people being involved in the search from SES, police and the general public who volunteer their time. As day starts to turn to night will Bella be found safe and sound or has something happened to her?
Six Minutes by Aussie author Petronella McGovern is a debut novel and what a fabulous book it was. Yes this book really will have you guessing right to the end with twists and turns that you also won’t see coming. Thrilling, gripping and heart stopping are the first three words that come to mind when I think of this book. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my uncorrected proof ARC to read and review.
Lexie and her husband become increasingly worried and anxious as time passes and still no sign of Bella. The search for Bella quickly increases to many people being involved in the search from SES, police and the general public who volunteer their time. As day starts to turn to night will Bella be found safe and sound or has something happened to her?
Six Minutes by Aussie author Petronella McGovern is a debut novel and what a fabulous book it was. Yes this book really will have you guessing right to the end with twists and turns that you also won’t see coming. Thrilling, gripping and heart stopping are the first three words that come to mind when I think of this book. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my uncorrected proof ARC to read and review.
September 28, 2019
An excellent debut novel with enough twists and turns in it to make the reader dizzy! A small child disappears from playgroup within a six minute time frame, despite three mothers being there to watch her. We then follow the police efforts to find her and discover how, in such an investigation, everyone involved has all their past secrets exposed to the world.
Most of the characters in this book are hiding something from their present or their past, the parents of the missing child having the most secrets. It all becomes very dramatic and involved and occasionally hard to keep track of who is who. There are red herrings galore and I did not come close to guessing who was responsible or why.
A quick and enjoyable read despite the scary topic. I will be looking out for the author's next book.
Most of the characters in this book are hiding something from their present or their past, the parents of the missing child having the most secrets. It all becomes very dramatic and involved and occasionally hard to keep track of who is who. There are red herrings galore and I did not come close to guessing who was responsible or why.
A quick and enjoyable read despite the scary topic. I will be looking out for the author's next book.
August 14, 2019
Three year old Bella Parker is missing. She disappeared from a playgroup while her mother popped out for six minutes to the local shop for a packet of biscuits. Bella's mother Lexie didn't want to leave Bella but reasoned she should be safe enough with the other mothers and children inside a fenced play area with a childproof gate. Shouldn't she? But Bella has gone - has she wandered off through an improperly latched gate or has someone taken her?
This is an excellent and original debut novel from a very assured new author. The 'missing child' scenario and her mother's absolute absolute feeling of fear and terror are something we can all imagine. A small, friendly community on the outskirts of Canberra where everyone knows everyone and children should be safe and protected, But there are secrets here, amongst the mothers at the play group, as well as a local photographer and teacher and not least Lexie and her husband Marty who are hiding a troubled past.
The plot is well developed and feels like any search for a missing child in a close-knit community with all the locals pitching in. As the tension builds, newspaper reports, blog entries and email speculating on Bella and her parents, all help to inform the plot and make it feel real. McGovern's characters also feel like real people; the detectives Caruso and Nguyen could be from your local police station and the mothers in the group could be members of your local playgroup or school. The description of the setting on the outskirts of Canberra, near the Brindabella mountains, gives the novel a very distinctive Australian flavour, while reports of euthanasia protests outside Parliament House contributed to the contemporary feel. This all added up to ensure a suspenseful, engaging tale with a terrific ending.
This is an excellent and original debut novel from a very assured new author. The 'missing child' scenario and her mother's absolute absolute feeling of fear and terror are something we can all imagine. A small, friendly community on the outskirts of Canberra where everyone knows everyone and children should be safe and protected, But there are secrets here, amongst the mothers at the play group, as well as a local photographer and teacher and not least Lexie and her husband Marty who are hiding a troubled past.
The plot is well developed and feels like any search for a missing child in a close-knit community with all the locals pitching in. As the tension builds, newspaper reports, blog entries and email speculating on Bella and her parents, all help to inform the plot and make it feel real. McGovern's characters also feel like real people; the detectives Caruso and Nguyen could be from your local police station and the mothers in the group could be members of your local playgroup or school. The description of the setting on the outskirts of Canberra, near the Brindabella mountains, gives the novel a very distinctive Australian flavour, while reports of euthanasia protests outside Parliament House contributed to the contemporary feel. This all added up to ensure a suspenseful, engaging tale with a terrific ending.
August 19, 2019
Playgroup – Thursday morning; the small outlying Canberra suburb of Merrigang. Five mums; Lexie, Julia, Imogen, Mel, Tara. The wrong biscuits from Lexie – these have nuts – a dash to the shops with Bella left in the care of the mums and their children. Six minutes later, Lexie returned – three-year-old Bella was gone. Four responsible mothers, their children and a locked gate. Where did Bella go? And how did she get out?
Detective Caruso was immediately on the scene, rallying every available police person to the area. Parliament House had many of the force there to control a protest, so Caruso would have to make do. As the search for Bella intensified, the SES, civilian volunteers, Duntroon men and women, plus the police force did the door knocking, checked drains, in backyards, the school ground – there was no sign of Bella.
Lexie and her husband Dr Marty Parker were distraught. With the media descending, news reporters and cameras were at the playgroup and in front of Lexie’s house. And as Caruso and his team dug deeply, information about the past appeared. But did it have anything to do with Bella’s disappearance? And why did the local teacher have a photo of Bella in his house? Where was Bella?
Six Minutes is the debut novel by Aussie author Petronella McGovern and it packs a punch! Set in Canberra, the fast pace and gripping tension takes your breath away. With plenty of twists and turns, Six Minutes is an excellent psychological thriller which I recommend.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my uncorrected proof ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Detective Caruso was immediately on the scene, rallying every available police person to the area. Parliament House had many of the force there to control a protest, so Caruso would have to make do. As the search for Bella intensified, the SES, civilian volunteers, Duntroon men and women, plus the police force did the door knocking, checked drains, in backyards, the school ground – there was no sign of Bella.
Lexie and her husband Dr Marty Parker were distraught. With the media descending, news reporters and cameras were at the playgroup and in front of Lexie’s house. And as Caruso and his team dug deeply, information about the past appeared. But did it have anything to do with Bella’s disappearance? And why did the local teacher have a photo of Bella in his house? Where was Bella?
Six Minutes is the debut novel by Aussie author Petronella McGovern and it packs a punch! Set in Canberra, the fast pace and gripping tension takes your breath away. With plenty of twists and turns, Six Minutes is an excellent psychological thriller which I recommend.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my uncorrected proof ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
August 9, 2019
This is a debut?? If I didn't know better, I would have thought Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern was written by a well-versed, established author with multiple books under her belt!
'Bella, let's go to the shop.'
She shook her head, dark plaits flying. Chestnut brown. The same color as mine, now that I dyed it every eight weeks.
'She can stay here', Mel said. 'We'll look after her.'
The other mums did it without a second thought—left their kids in playgroup and wandered over to buy groceries for dinner. And Mel was an expert at caring for other people's children; she'd even set up family Dday care at her house, looking after Julia's daughter Morgan on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Zoe whenever Tara needed a break.
Should I leave Bella here and go on my own? I'd done it once before. Three weeks ago, I left Bella with the mums for five minutes while I went to the shop. Worrying every step of the way. I hadn't told Marty about the test I'd set myself. Next year, she'd be off to preschool for six excruciating hours a day. Marty half joked that I'd be hiding out in the toddler toilets to keep watch over her.
'Thanks anyway, but I'd better take Bella. She... she always gets to choose the biscuits.'
Bella was ignoring my outstretched hand and concentrating on piling all the dolls on top of each other into the cradle. Staring at the outline of her cast under her jacket sleeve, I willed the tears to stay unshed.
She would be safe here surrounded by the other kids and their mums. Safer than at home.
'Bella, do you want to stay here while I go to the shop?'
It would take two minutes to grab a packet of biscuits.
'Yes, mummy.' She picked up her wand.
I took a deep breath and ran my fingers down her plait.
Bella blew me a kiss then dashed away.
**********
Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern was a fast paced, tension filled story that held me captive and riveted to the pages from beginning to end! A brilliant five star debut!
I was very reluctant to put this book down and if life hadn't rudely interrupted my reading, I would have finished this in one sitting!
The plot was exciting, original, and different from many other missing children books I've read. I had to remind myself several times that this book is author's first novel! The story is polished, fluid, with interesting characters and it ends with a surprising twist that I hadn't come close to working out!
I'll be watching out for the next book written by this talented new Australian author!
'Bella, let's go to the shop.'
She shook her head, dark plaits flying. Chestnut brown. The same color as mine, now that I dyed it every eight weeks.
'She can stay here', Mel said. 'We'll look after her.'
The other mums did it without a second thought—left their kids in playgroup and wandered over to buy groceries for dinner. And Mel was an expert at caring for other people's children; she'd even set up family Dday care at her house, looking after Julia's daughter Morgan on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Zoe whenever Tara needed a break.
Should I leave Bella here and go on my own? I'd done it once before. Three weeks ago, I left Bella with the mums for five minutes while I went to the shop. Worrying every step of the way. I hadn't told Marty about the test I'd set myself. Next year, she'd be off to preschool for six excruciating hours a day. Marty half joked that I'd be hiding out in the toddler toilets to keep watch over her.
'Thanks anyway, but I'd better take Bella. She... she always gets to choose the biscuits.'
Bella was ignoring my outstretched hand and concentrating on piling all the dolls on top of each other into the cradle. Staring at the outline of her cast under her jacket sleeve, I willed the tears to stay unshed.
She would be safe here surrounded by the other kids and their mums. Safer than at home.
'Bella, do you want to stay here while I go to the shop?'
It would take two minutes to grab a packet of biscuits.
'Yes, mummy.' She picked up her wand.
I took a deep breath and ran my fingers down her plait.
Bella blew me a kiss then dashed away.
**********
Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern was a fast paced, tension filled story that held me captive and riveted to the pages from beginning to end! A brilliant five star debut!
I was very reluctant to put this book down and if life hadn't rudely interrupted my reading, I would have finished this in one sitting!
The plot was exciting, original, and different from many other missing children books I've read. I had to remind myself several times that this book is author's first novel! The story is polished, fluid, with interesting characters and it ends with a surprising twist that I hadn't come close to working out!
I'll be watching out for the next book written by this talented new Australian author!
September 26, 2019
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*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr
Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern. (2019).
How can a child disappear from under the care of four playgroup mums? Lexie dashed to the local shops for six minutes, leaving Bella at playgroup. But when she returns, Bella is gone. Police and media descend on the tiny village near Canberra and locals unite to find Bella. Quickly, online hate messages target Lexie and her husband Marty and relationships start to fracture. What secrets are all of the parents hiding? Why does a local teacher have a photo of Bella he keeps in his house? What exactly happened in those six minutes and where is Bella??
Eeeep. As the mother of young children, the whole concept of this book is terrifying. I couldn't imagine leaving my kid in the care of people I trust and coming back to find my kid missing, especially after only six minutes!! This is an amazing fiction debut novel for the author with a very twisty suspense feel. There were a few red herrings scattered throughout the plotline and I genuinely had no idea what had happened to Bella and why; I love it when final explanations are not predictable but also plausible! The narrative is primarily told from Lexie and Marty's point of views as well as a police officer, a fellow playgroup mum and a local school teacher. A very engaging novel that I didn't want to put down, I just wanted to know where little Bella went.
A very gripping tale that I'd highly recommend!
*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr
Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern. (2019).
How can a child disappear from under the care of four playgroup mums? Lexie dashed to the local shops for six minutes, leaving Bella at playgroup. But when she returns, Bella is gone. Police and media descend on the tiny village near Canberra and locals unite to find Bella. Quickly, online hate messages target Lexie and her husband Marty and relationships start to fracture. What secrets are all of the parents hiding? Why does a local teacher have a photo of Bella he keeps in his house? What exactly happened in those six minutes and where is Bella??
Eeeep. As the mother of young children, the whole concept of this book is terrifying. I couldn't imagine leaving my kid in the care of people I trust and coming back to find my kid missing, especially after only six minutes!! This is an amazing fiction debut novel for the author with a very twisty suspense feel. There were a few red herrings scattered throughout the plotline and I genuinely had no idea what had happened to Bella and why; I love it when final explanations are not predictable but also plausible! The narrative is primarily told from Lexie and Marty's point of views as well as a police officer, a fellow playgroup mum and a local school teacher. A very engaging novel that I didn't want to put down, I just wanted to know where little Bella went.
A very gripping tale that I'd highly recommend!
July 22, 2019
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
The pure reality of the situation presented in Six Minutes, the debut novel by Petronella McGovern, is enough to churn the stomach of any reader. Four playground mums have been asked to care for their friend and fellow playgroup member’s child. In the short space of just six minutes, the child disappears. With a round of possible suspects, including the parents, Six Minutes is a heart pounding race against time to get to the truth of the disappearance of an innocent child.
With four mums charged with the care of a young girl, who literally disappears before their eyes, this is a gut wrenching scenario, presented by first time novelist Petronella McGovern. Six Minutes looks at the horrifying situation of a child who literally vanishes without a trace, from a seemingly safe suburban playgroup. The police are immediately called in and the local community rallies together in their desperate search to find little Bella. As the search rolls on, it appears that this is much more than a simple case of a missing child. There are secrets, dubious characters, unanswered questions, relationship strains, the pressure of the media and the online community looking on. Bella’s parents come under intense scrutiny, and their past comes into play as Bella’s disappearance takes centre stage. It becomes a race against the clock to ensure that Bella is recovered and returned to her parents.
A book endorsed by Liane Moriarty and compared to The Cry, a fabulous Australian suburban thriller in my eyes, Six Minutes had plenty going its way – before I started my journey with this book. This debut novel cleverly and often scarily at times taps into a parent’s worst nightmare, dealing with a missing child. The situation presented in the book seemed incredibly real and very possible to me. My children are now in full time schooling, but I did actively take part in a weekly playgroup for a good part of their early childhood years. These mums became more than friends, they were my close confidants and I could rely on them. Much like Lexie, the missing child’s mother in this book, I would have felt comfortable with leaving my child in their care to duck off for a short time. The harsh reality of this situation really pulls at your emotional heartstrings, whether you are a parent or not.
McGovern takes a deft hand with her characterisation. From the main players, Bella and her parents, to the playgroup mums, the main detective and other pertinent local residents, each is outlined clearly by McGovern. There was an element of mystery that carefully underpins a good handful of the characters. Suspicion is passed over the parents, as well as the playgroup mums and a local teacher. McGovern slowly draws this aspect out, so the reader is constantly questioning the motives and actions of these characters. Although the disappearance takes centre stage, there is a side emphasis on the secrets, past history and suspect behaviours of many of the protagonists in this novel. This works effectively to highlight the tension, as well as the complex nature of this missing child case.
There is a potent small town suburban atmosphere that swirls around Six Minutes, which I appreciated very much. McGovern works hard to construct her setting. I am not familiar with Canberra and the small town suburbs in this area of Australia, but the way in which the locale of this novel is presented, it felt just like my own town in suburban Western Australia. The banding of the local community in the time of a crisis came across clearly on the pages of this novel. What I also liked was the fact that there was much more to these residents once you peeled back their layers. There were clearly a variety of other issues coming into play that impacted the development and solution of this case.
As with many recent contemporary fiction books I have read recently, I have observed a trend towards employing more than just one format to convey a story. Alongside the main narrative piece are a number of online social media posts and blog posts in Six Minutes. These embellishments work to heighten the mood of the story and allow the reader to see the unfolding case from a different lens. For me, it added to an extra level of puzzlement of this case!
Six Minutes is a gripping, emotional and pulse pounding novel. As a parent and a former playgroup mum, this story really presented as a very real nightmare scenario that I could easily see playing out. McGovern has hit the the ground running with her first novel. Six Minutes is a compelling suburban Australian thriller that secures Petronella McGovern’s spot as a great new author to watch!
*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Six Minutes is book #99 of the 2019 Australian Women Writers Challenge
The pure reality of the situation presented in Six Minutes, the debut novel by Petronella McGovern, is enough to churn the stomach of any reader. Four playground mums have been asked to care for their friend and fellow playgroup member’s child. In the short space of just six minutes, the child disappears. With a round of possible suspects, including the parents, Six Minutes is a heart pounding race against time to get to the truth of the disappearance of an innocent child.
With four mums charged with the care of a young girl, who literally disappears before their eyes, this is a gut wrenching scenario, presented by first time novelist Petronella McGovern. Six Minutes looks at the horrifying situation of a child who literally vanishes without a trace, from a seemingly safe suburban playgroup. The police are immediately called in and the local community rallies together in their desperate search to find little Bella. As the search rolls on, it appears that this is much more than a simple case of a missing child. There are secrets, dubious characters, unanswered questions, relationship strains, the pressure of the media and the online community looking on. Bella’s parents come under intense scrutiny, and their past comes into play as Bella’s disappearance takes centre stage. It becomes a race against the clock to ensure that Bella is recovered and returned to her parents.
A book endorsed by Liane Moriarty and compared to The Cry, a fabulous Australian suburban thriller in my eyes, Six Minutes had plenty going its way – before I started my journey with this book. This debut novel cleverly and often scarily at times taps into a parent’s worst nightmare, dealing with a missing child. The situation presented in the book seemed incredibly real and very possible to me. My children are now in full time schooling, but I did actively take part in a weekly playgroup for a good part of their early childhood years. These mums became more than friends, they were my close confidants and I could rely on them. Much like Lexie, the missing child’s mother in this book, I would have felt comfortable with leaving my child in their care to duck off for a short time. The harsh reality of this situation really pulls at your emotional heartstrings, whether you are a parent or not.
McGovern takes a deft hand with her characterisation. From the main players, Bella and her parents, to the playgroup mums, the main detective and other pertinent local residents, each is outlined clearly by McGovern. There was an element of mystery that carefully underpins a good handful of the characters. Suspicion is passed over the parents, as well as the playgroup mums and a local teacher. McGovern slowly draws this aspect out, so the reader is constantly questioning the motives and actions of these characters. Although the disappearance takes centre stage, there is a side emphasis on the secrets, past history and suspect behaviours of many of the protagonists in this novel. This works effectively to highlight the tension, as well as the complex nature of this missing child case.
There is a potent small town suburban atmosphere that swirls around Six Minutes, which I appreciated very much. McGovern works hard to construct her setting. I am not familiar with Canberra and the small town suburbs in this area of Australia, but the way in which the locale of this novel is presented, it felt just like my own town in suburban Western Australia. The banding of the local community in the time of a crisis came across clearly on the pages of this novel. What I also liked was the fact that there was much more to these residents once you peeled back their layers. There were clearly a variety of other issues coming into play that impacted the development and solution of this case.
As with many recent contemporary fiction books I have read recently, I have observed a trend towards employing more than just one format to convey a story. Alongside the main narrative piece are a number of online social media posts and blog posts in Six Minutes. These embellishments work to heighten the mood of the story and allow the reader to see the unfolding case from a different lens. For me, it added to an extra level of puzzlement of this case!
Six Minutes is a gripping, emotional and pulse pounding novel. As a parent and a former playgroup mum, this story really presented as a very real nightmare scenario that I could easily see playing out. McGovern has hit the the ground running with her first novel. Six Minutes is a compelling suburban Australian thriller that secures Petronella McGovern’s spot as a great new author to watch!
*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Six Minutes is book #99 of the 2019 Australian Women Writers Challenge
May 22, 2020
*https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogsp...
Petronella McGovern’s debut novel Six Minutes is a cleverly plotted mystery. On the cover of my ARC it says “impossible to put down” and how true that was!
Lexie has separation anxiety, she won’t let three year old Bella out of her sight. Knowing that she needs to relax and let go a little she leaves Bella with the other playgroup mums and ducks to the shop to buy morning tea. When she returns, only six minutes later, Bella is gone and nobody saw her leave.
Petronella McGovern’s description of a playgroup’s atmosphere is well depicted. A group of mothers supporting each other, telling each other everything but still holding back their inner fears, their true selves.
Told through multiple points of view the main mystery is of Bella’s disappearance but as more people are questioned it looks like everyone has something to hide and not everyone is telling the truth.
I had a long list of suspects and as I read further, instead of crossing off names, I found myself adding more.
There is lots of finger pointing and most of it is at Lexie and her husband. McGovern shows through blog and Facebook posts that you can never escape the trolls and old hurts resurface to haunt Lexie and Marty. The strain on their relationship is realistically portrayed with both being careful not to lay blame when doubts set in.
Six Minutes is a compelling modern day domestic thriller.
Petronella McGovern’s debut novel Six Minutes is a cleverly plotted mystery. On the cover of my ARC it says “impossible to put down” and how true that was!
Lexie has separation anxiety, she won’t let three year old Bella out of her sight. Knowing that she needs to relax and let go a little she leaves Bella with the other playgroup mums and ducks to the shop to buy morning tea. When she returns, only six minutes later, Bella is gone and nobody saw her leave.
Petronella McGovern’s description of a playgroup’s atmosphere is well depicted. A group of mothers supporting each other, telling each other everything but still holding back their inner fears, their true selves.
Told through multiple points of view the main mystery is of Bella’s disappearance but as more people are questioned it looks like everyone has something to hide and not everyone is telling the truth.
I had a long list of suspects and as I read further, instead of crossing off names, I found myself adding more.
There is lots of finger pointing and most of it is at Lexie and her husband. McGovern shows through blog and Facebook posts that you can never escape the trolls and old hurts resurface to haunt Lexie and Marty. The strain on their relationship is realistically portrayed with both being careful not to lay blame when doubts set in.
Six Minutes is a compelling modern day domestic thriller.
October 6, 2021
As a parent, this book had me tense and feeling stressed. A missing child and hidden secrets being revealed.
Lexie leaves her three year old Bella with her mum's group so whizz to the shops and pick up some biscuits, a total of six minutes. On her return Bella is nowhere to be found. Did she shut the gate properly? Did one of the other Mum's sneak her out? Did a total stranger lure her out of the playgroup grounds?
A very contemporary book about the media and how it can influence opinions, cast blame and make everyone look the wrong way.
I found this gripping and hard to put down, but a little over the top towards the end. However, still a very good read.
Lexie leaves her three year old Bella with her mum's group so whizz to the shops and pick up some biscuits, a total of six minutes. On her return Bella is nowhere to be found. Did she shut the gate properly? Did one of the other Mum's sneak her out? Did a total stranger lure her out of the playgroup grounds?
A very contemporary book about the media and how it can influence opinions, cast blame and make everyone look the wrong way.
I found this gripping and hard to put down, but a little over the top towards the end. However, still a very good read.
August 30, 2021
3.75 Stars
Though obvious and a bit ridiculous, the story has that Liane Moriarty-ish feel to it I love so much. I really enjoyed the first half but I was disappointed with the ending and with how everything wrapped up.
Though obvious and a bit ridiculous, the story has that Liane Moriarty-ish feel to it I love so much. I really enjoyed the first half but I was disappointed with the ending and with how everything wrapped up.
August 19, 2019
Six Minutes is the first novel by Australian author, Petronella McGovern. There are four other mothers and several children at the play group when Lexie Parker steps out for six minutes to buy some biscuits, but when she comes back, three-year-old Bella is gone and no-one has seen her leave. They all take a thorough look, but there aren’t many spots Bella could possibly be, so within minutes they call the police. Paediatrician Dr Marty Parker immediately drops his appointments to join in the search for his daughter.
If Lexie Parker is frustrated with the way the Police are handling the search for her daughter, DS Gabe Caruso might well be feeling something similar regards the witnesses: as expected, what the young children say can’t be regarded as reliable, but the mothers, even Lexie, are all disappointingly vague. Not helping the situation is that a large contingent of police are busy at Parliament House trying to manage the unruly protests over the imminent voluntary assisted death legislation.
As the whole of this tightknit little Canberra community pitches in to search for the little girl, a distraught Lexie tries to remain positive, believing that Bella will soon be found, clinging to the mantra “any moment now”. But as one day turns into more, and searchers come up empty, the conclusion that Bella has been abducted looks more and more likely.
One of the mothers, while displaying concern for the toddler, is displaying equal concern for the number of likes her Facebook posts about Bella are getting. And taking pleasure in sharing confidential information about Lexie’s family to make herself feel important. Is this how friendship is defined in this day and age? Meanwhile, others seem intent on absolving themselves of any blame. And everyone has secrets, things they are hiding, not the least Lexie and Marty, and they should be well aware that the Internet never forgets.
McGovern uses five narrators to tell the story: each of Bella’s parents, one of the mothers from the play group, a police detective and a teacher at the local school. These perspectives are supplemented with the text of Facebook posts, Webpages and blogs; some of these convey information or appeal for help; others expound wildly outrageous and largely baseless theories, or air vitriolic opinions. The occasional thoughts of an anonymous observer complete the picture.
McGovern easily conveys the emotion that accompanies trauma such as that described. She also deftly demonstrates the power of social media, both benign and malicious. Her characters are believable and communities like Merrigang exist all over Australia. The topic of euthanasia is touched upon, as is the murky issue of responsibility in this sort of casual community situation.
There are plenty of red herrings to distract the reader from settling on just who has taken little Bella, and even when that becomes apparent, the reason, and the race to rescue her will keep the pages turning. This is an outstanding debut novel and it will be interesting to see what McGovern does next.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin.
If Lexie Parker is frustrated with the way the Police are handling the search for her daughter, DS Gabe Caruso might well be feeling something similar regards the witnesses: as expected, what the young children say can’t be regarded as reliable, but the mothers, even Lexie, are all disappointingly vague. Not helping the situation is that a large contingent of police are busy at Parliament House trying to manage the unruly protests over the imminent voluntary assisted death legislation.
As the whole of this tightknit little Canberra community pitches in to search for the little girl, a distraught Lexie tries to remain positive, believing that Bella will soon be found, clinging to the mantra “any moment now”. But as one day turns into more, and searchers come up empty, the conclusion that Bella has been abducted looks more and more likely.
One of the mothers, while displaying concern for the toddler, is displaying equal concern for the number of likes her Facebook posts about Bella are getting. And taking pleasure in sharing confidential information about Lexie’s family to make herself feel important. Is this how friendship is defined in this day and age? Meanwhile, others seem intent on absolving themselves of any blame. And everyone has secrets, things they are hiding, not the least Lexie and Marty, and they should be well aware that the Internet never forgets.
McGovern uses five narrators to tell the story: each of Bella’s parents, one of the mothers from the play group, a police detective and a teacher at the local school. These perspectives are supplemented with the text of Facebook posts, Webpages and blogs; some of these convey information or appeal for help; others expound wildly outrageous and largely baseless theories, or air vitriolic opinions. The occasional thoughts of an anonymous observer complete the picture.
McGovern easily conveys the emotion that accompanies trauma such as that described. She also deftly demonstrates the power of social media, both benign and malicious. Her characters are believable and communities like Merrigang exist all over Australia. The topic of euthanasia is touched upon, as is the murky issue of responsibility in this sort of casual community situation.
There are plenty of red herrings to distract the reader from settling on just who has taken little Bella, and even when that becomes apparent, the reason, and the race to rescue her will keep the pages turning. This is an outstanding debut novel and it will be interesting to see what McGovern does next.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin.
July 15, 2019
Gosh this was a good book. Once I started it I could hardly bear to put it down. The story is set in a playgroup with just a few mothers and their children. A very ordinary setting, but then, a mothers nightmare begins when a child goes missing. I liked the way the plot unfolds and the use of separate voices, each telling their own part story.
Was it the spooky teacher or the Facebook mum? Perhaps it was the parents themselves? Heavens knows they had a lot to hide.
The answer finally reveals itself, but not without building up the tension and keeping the reader engaged until the end.
Did I mention I loved this book?
I gave it 5 Stars
Was it the spooky teacher or the Facebook mum? Perhaps it was the parents themselves? Heavens knows they had a lot to hide.
The answer finally reveals itself, but not without building up the tension and keeping the reader engaged until the end.
Did I mention I loved this book?
I gave it 5 Stars
September 9, 2019
This seriously impressive debut novel had my stomach twisted in knots of tension on a regular basis. Mostly, whenever I had to put it down to engage in real life stuff. Though this story followed me into the real world when I did have to put it down, keeping me turning in over in my mind. Basically, I was either reading it or thinking about it, ruminating on the characters, trying to imagine where the plot would lead in the next bit.
The plot has the beauty of simplicity to recommend it and the title is a perfect description of the plot - something I quite like in titles. Lexie, her husband Marty and their toddler daughter Bella have just moved to Canberra, and back to Australia from the UK. Being new in town, Lexie has joined a local playgroup where four women and their small children get together. One morning Lexie overcomes her huge, practically pathological, internal resistance to separating from Bella and leaves her with the playgroup while she ducks across to the shops for biscuits for morning tea. She counts how long she is gone; six minutes. In those six minutes, something happens and when Lexie gets back, Bella is gone.
Without having a child myself this is still a chilling scenario, shivers up the spine setting which led me to read this book. I can absolutely guarantee that this book delivers on ever one of those shivers promised by reading the back cover.
Unlike many other books I have read recently, there is no slow buildup, we do not get Lexies family, their entire back history and everything else about the town first, instead it is crash! Bang! Straight into the plot and by page 30 the main event is fully underway. The initial frantic search gives way to a long slow buildup of plot and only then does the back story start being filled in, bit by bit, in waves of flashbacks interspersed with 'current' events. Right up to the very end of the conclusion, we are still finding ways in which the past is haunting the people and events in the 'current day' of the main plot.
Now to my mind leaning heavily on flashbacks in a mystery or thriller novel can be a risky maneuver. They can pull you away from the story and events you are engaged in, they can feel heavy and obligatory, they can at times detract from the reading experience. In Six Minutes however they do anything but detract. One reason they worked so very well, at least for this reader, was that the author did such a good job of setting up the basic characters: How does Lexie know it only took six minutes? She was counting! From the start she is written as an insanely overanxious mum, doting, overprotecting her daughter, never leaving her. That level of over-protectiveness is only explained later, but because Lexie is believably written, one does not REQUIRE to know why she is that way, there is space for that information to come to us later on.
In those first 30 pages Marty, Lexie's husband, a pediatrician ,must also come to life for us fast and as he is less present than Lexie in the story line and also with less flamboyant characteristics Marty takes shape a little more slowly but just as believably. To be honest, he is a tad bit more three dimensional and a touch more relatable in many ways than Lexie is, at least in the early days of the novel. Their troubled relationship emerges as slowly, with coy hints as to how it came to be that way.
In addition to those main characters, we have a small host of equally well created characters. The four 'playgroup mums' are sketched so clearly that they are instantly recognisable thereafter. The author uses some basic stereotyping to do this a 'mother earth' type, a 'vamp type' and so on, but it works well. Detective Caruso and Constable Nguyen, who are the main police characters also impressed me. They are believable and not your stereotypical police at all. This is a relief, using American stereotypes in creating Australian Police characters has marred more than one good story. Caruso in particular I enjoyed, we see more of him than Nguyen. Actually, there was not a single secondary character that I found poorly done - a few I disliked, yes, but they are believably dislikable (I am sure that is terrible English, but is nevertheless true).
An intriguing plot builder in this book is the use of exerts of papers and blogs between chapters "The Canberra Times Online", facebook, personal blogs and message boards all serve to build up the richness of the plot. No spoilers, but they also serve to somewhat dilute the crazy stress that builds up during the search for Bella. Now the use of these inserts to build up secondary characters and flesh out backstory worked really well for me. It cut down on exposition, repetition on the part of the main characters and gave the 'bad' character a much better chance to perform in the story than anything else could have.
The journey to the extremely satisfying, much more happy ending than we had any right to expect is full of twists. This is a twisty, tricky and delightfully deceptive plot. Whenever I thought I had a handle on what was occurring, it twisted and changed on me. I liked that a lot. Individuals appear, hints are thrown in... motivations crop up, are mown down and replaced by others. All in an organic way though, it does not feel particularly forced.
Then there is the quintessentially "Australian" voice of the story, I enjoyed that a lot too. Not a try-hard Aussie voice, just a quietly convincing turn of phrase that makes you feel like you are familiar with the setting. To me, this was one of those rare works of fiction that is both rich in detail, has a wealth of believable characters, is edge-of-the-seat at times and is sympathetic at others. A very rare event and very enjoyable reading experience.
Finishing this book was both satisfying and regretful; satisfying that it ended so well, I have no complaints at all with the ending. Regretful in there was no more. It has been a few weeks since I finished reading this one, and I find myself still thinking over the plot and characters at times, this is a good sign.
With thanks to Allen and Unwin for this advance reading copy in return for an honest opinion - it is always good when one can give a wholehearted endorsement for an ARC book, as I definitely can for this one.
The plot has the beauty of simplicity to recommend it and the title is a perfect description of the plot - something I quite like in titles. Lexie, her husband Marty and their toddler daughter Bella have just moved to Canberra, and back to Australia from the UK. Being new in town, Lexie has joined a local playgroup where four women and their small children get together. One morning Lexie overcomes her huge, practically pathological, internal resistance to separating from Bella and leaves her with the playgroup while she ducks across to the shops for biscuits for morning tea. She counts how long she is gone; six minutes. In those six minutes, something happens and when Lexie gets back, Bella is gone.
Without having a child myself this is still a chilling scenario, shivers up the spine setting which led me to read this book. I can absolutely guarantee that this book delivers on ever one of those shivers promised by reading the back cover.
Unlike many other books I have read recently, there is no slow buildup, we do not get Lexies family, their entire back history and everything else about the town first, instead it is crash! Bang! Straight into the plot and by page 30 the main event is fully underway. The initial frantic search gives way to a long slow buildup of plot and only then does the back story start being filled in, bit by bit, in waves of flashbacks interspersed with 'current' events. Right up to the very end of the conclusion, we are still finding ways in which the past is haunting the people and events in the 'current day' of the main plot.
Now to my mind leaning heavily on flashbacks in a mystery or thriller novel can be a risky maneuver. They can pull you away from the story and events you are engaged in, they can feel heavy and obligatory, they can at times detract from the reading experience. In Six Minutes however they do anything but detract. One reason they worked so very well, at least for this reader, was that the author did such a good job of setting up the basic characters: How does Lexie know it only took six minutes? She was counting! From the start she is written as an insanely overanxious mum, doting, overprotecting her daughter, never leaving her. That level of over-protectiveness is only explained later, but because Lexie is believably written, one does not REQUIRE to know why she is that way, there is space for that information to come to us later on.
In those first 30 pages Marty, Lexie's husband, a pediatrician ,must also come to life for us fast and as he is less present than Lexie in the story line and also with less flamboyant characteristics Marty takes shape a little more slowly but just as believably. To be honest, he is a tad bit more three dimensional and a touch more relatable in many ways than Lexie is, at least in the early days of the novel. Their troubled relationship emerges as slowly, with coy hints as to how it came to be that way.
In addition to those main characters, we have a small host of equally well created characters. The four 'playgroup mums' are sketched so clearly that they are instantly recognisable thereafter. The author uses some basic stereotyping to do this a 'mother earth' type, a 'vamp type' and so on, but it works well. Detective Caruso and Constable Nguyen, who are the main police characters also impressed me. They are believable and not your stereotypical police at all. This is a relief, using American stereotypes in creating Australian Police characters has marred more than one good story. Caruso in particular I enjoyed, we see more of him than Nguyen. Actually, there was not a single secondary character that I found poorly done - a few I disliked, yes, but they are believably dislikable (I am sure that is terrible English, but is nevertheless true).
An intriguing plot builder in this book is the use of exerts of papers and blogs between chapters "The Canberra Times Online", facebook, personal blogs and message boards all serve to build up the richness of the plot. No spoilers, but they also serve to somewhat dilute the crazy stress that builds up during the search for Bella. Now the use of these inserts to build up secondary characters and flesh out backstory worked really well for me. It cut down on exposition, repetition on the part of the main characters and gave the 'bad' character a much better chance to perform in the story than anything else could have.
The journey to the extremely satisfying, much more happy ending than we had any right to expect is full of twists. This is a twisty, tricky and delightfully deceptive plot. Whenever I thought I had a handle on what was occurring, it twisted and changed on me. I liked that a lot. Individuals appear, hints are thrown in... motivations crop up, are mown down and replaced by others. All in an organic way though, it does not feel particularly forced.
Then there is the quintessentially "Australian" voice of the story, I enjoyed that a lot too. Not a try-hard Aussie voice, just a quietly convincing turn of phrase that makes you feel like you are familiar with the setting. To me, this was one of those rare works of fiction that is both rich in detail, has a wealth of believable characters, is edge-of-the-seat at times and is sympathetic at others. A very rare event and very enjoyable reading experience.
Finishing this book was both satisfying and regretful; satisfying that it ended so well, I have no complaints at all with the ending. Regretful in there was no more. It has been a few weeks since I finished reading this one, and I find myself still thinking over the plot and characters at times, this is a good sign.
With thanks to Allen and Unwin for this advance reading copy in return for an honest opinion - it is always good when one can give a wholehearted endorsement for an ARC book, as I definitely can for this one.
November 3, 2019
I'm giving this 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
At first, I found the characters a bit wooden and contrived, but as more and more of each of their personal histories and preoccupations became apparent, I felt they became more complex and believable. There were multiple twists, turns, red herrings and misdirections as the book went on - it seemed every character had something to hide, . I felt the author was very successful in capturing the widely divergent ways those who are close to a traumatic event respond to the situation. It didn't blow me away, but was a quick and entertaining read.
At first, I found the characters a bit wooden and contrived, but as more and more of each of their personal histories and preoccupations became apparent, I felt they became more complex and believable. There were multiple twists, turns, red herrings and misdirections as the book went on - it seemed every character had something to hide, . I felt the author was very successful in capturing the widely divergent ways those who are close to a traumatic event respond to the situation. It didn't blow me away, but was a quick and entertaining read.
September 20, 2019
‘HELP! My friend’s daughter is MISSING!’
On a Thursday morning in September, Lexie Parker takes her three-year-old daughter Bella to playgroup. It is still cool in Canberra in September, so Lexie insists on Bella having her jacket on. It’s a bit of a struggle, because poor Bella has a plaster cast on a broken wrist. Playgroup at Merrigang, a small village on Canberra’s southern fringe, is located near the local shops.
Lexie is one of five mums at the playgroup: Imogen, Julia, Mel and Tara are there with their children. When Lexie realises that the biscuits she bought can’t be used because they contain nuts, she dashes to the local shops to buy Tim Tams. While initially reluctant to leave Bella, who is happy playing, Lexie realises that she’ll only be a couple of minutes.
Six minutes later, when Lexie returns, Bella was gone. What has happened, and why? How could Bella negotiate a locked gate (Lexie is sure that it was locked when she returned) and why didn’t anyone see anything?
The police attend, and soon every available police officer, who can be spared from duty at Parliament House because of a rally, is there. Detective Caruso is in charge. After checking the scene, the surrounding area and obvious places, the search intensifies. SES volunteers, civilian volunteers, the police and military personnel from Duntroon are all involved.
Lexie and her husband Dr Martin Parker (a paediatrician) are distraught. And things are about to get a whole lot worse. Intrusive media coverage, fuelled by social media commentary, soon introduces aspects of the past that the Parkers have kept secret. Is this relevant? Some certainly think so.
The novel is set over a period of five days, moves between the perspectives of several different characters, and introduces several plausible suspects. There are quite a few twists and turns and a couple of red herrings.
I read the novel in one day (I couldn’t put it down without knowing how it would end) and, as various aspects of character’s pasts were revealed, I was kept guessing. There is more than one mystery contained within these pages. Ms McGovern portrays a number of very different human ways in which members of the community responded to Bella’s disappearance: some helpful, some hateful, some judgemental.
I finished the novel late in the evening, feeling like I’d run an emotional marathon.
Recommended!
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
On a Thursday morning in September, Lexie Parker takes her three-year-old daughter Bella to playgroup. It is still cool in Canberra in September, so Lexie insists on Bella having her jacket on. It’s a bit of a struggle, because poor Bella has a plaster cast on a broken wrist. Playgroup at Merrigang, a small village on Canberra’s southern fringe, is located near the local shops.
Lexie is one of five mums at the playgroup: Imogen, Julia, Mel and Tara are there with their children. When Lexie realises that the biscuits she bought can’t be used because they contain nuts, she dashes to the local shops to buy Tim Tams. While initially reluctant to leave Bella, who is happy playing, Lexie realises that she’ll only be a couple of minutes.
Six minutes later, when Lexie returns, Bella was gone. What has happened, and why? How could Bella negotiate a locked gate (Lexie is sure that it was locked when she returned) and why didn’t anyone see anything?
The police attend, and soon every available police officer, who can be spared from duty at Parliament House because of a rally, is there. Detective Caruso is in charge. After checking the scene, the surrounding area and obvious places, the search intensifies. SES volunteers, civilian volunteers, the police and military personnel from Duntroon are all involved.
Lexie and her husband Dr Martin Parker (a paediatrician) are distraught. And things are about to get a whole lot worse. Intrusive media coverage, fuelled by social media commentary, soon introduces aspects of the past that the Parkers have kept secret. Is this relevant? Some certainly think so.
The novel is set over a period of five days, moves between the perspectives of several different characters, and introduces several plausible suspects. There are quite a few twists and turns and a couple of red herrings.
I read the novel in one day (I couldn’t put it down without knowing how it would end) and, as various aspects of character’s pasts were revealed, I was kept guessing. There is more than one mystery contained within these pages. Ms McGovern portrays a number of very different human ways in which members of the community responded to Bella’s disappearance: some helpful, some hateful, some judgemental.
I finished the novel late in the evening, feeling like I’d run an emotional marathon.
Recommended!
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
December 17, 2020
This is new Australian author Petronella McGovern’s first book - a psychological thriller Six Minutes. A mother leaves her daughter with her playgroup friends and other mothers supervising. She dashes to the shops for biscuits and is back in six minutes to discover her daughter missing and no-one saw her leave. As the search begins, the police are called in and the tension rises. The hunt for the missing child drags up the secrets and hidden lives of the playgroup members and their families. A gripping, atmospheric tale of domestic noir that is a real page turner. An exciting addition and revealing thriller that keeps you guessing, with a 4-star rating.
July 2, 2019
“Three hundred and seventy-one, three hundred and seventy-two, three hundred and seventy-three...I’ve made it. I can stop counting now. Three hundred and seventy-three seconds. Six minutes.”
Six minutes after leaving her daughter, Bella, playing happily with her friends at playgroup, Lexie Parker returns to discover the three year old is missing, and none of the mothers that were supposed to be watching her can tell Lexie where her daughter went. Lexie clings to the idea that Bella has somehow simply wandered away, and be will found any minute, but as the hours pass and an extensive police search fails to find her, Lexie has to face other frightening possibilities. Someone knows what happened in those six minutes, but who?
McGovern provides us with plenty of suspects in the abduction of Bella, and keeps us guessing as the plot unfolds. The narrative moves between the perspectives of several characters, among them Lexie, her husband and Bella’s father, Marty, the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Caruso, and Tara, one of the mother’s present at the playgroup when Bella went missing.
Everyone has secrets, some which prove to be relevant to Bella’s disappearance, some not, and the story is told in such a way that it’s almost impossible to guess where guilt or innocence may lie. While the question of what happened to Bella is Intriguing on its own, there is more than the one mystery in Six Minutes that kept me turning the pages.
I haven’t read many books set in Canberra (in the Australian Capital Territory), but the small community on the fringe of the city felt authentic and familiar. Residents turn out in force to help search for Bella, the media descends and causes chaos, and outsiders, and insiders, speculate wildly on social media, eager to be heard.
With a compelling cast of characters and a riveting plot, Six Minutes is an engrossing thriller from debut author Petronella McGovern.
Six minutes after leaving her daughter, Bella, playing happily with her friends at playgroup, Lexie Parker returns to discover the three year old is missing, and none of the mothers that were supposed to be watching her can tell Lexie where her daughter went. Lexie clings to the idea that Bella has somehow simply wandered away, and be will found any minute, but as the hours pass and an extensive police search fails to find her, Lexie has to face other frightening possibilities. Someone knows what happened in those six minutes, but who?
McGovern provides us with plenty of suspects in the abduction of Bella, and keeps us guessing as the plot unfolds. The narrative moves between the perspectives of several characters, among them Lexie, her husband and Bella’s father, Marty, the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Caruso, and Tara, one of the mother’s present at the playgroup when Bella went missing.
Everyone has secrets, some which prove to be relevant to Bella’s disappearance, some not, and the story is told in such a way that it’s almost impossible to guess where guilt or innocence may lie. While the question of what happened to Bella is Intriguing on its own, there is more than the one mystery in Six Minutes that kept me turning the pages.
I haven’t read many books set in Canberra (in the Australian Capital Territory), but the small community on the fringe of the city felt authentic and familiar. Residents turn out in force to help search for Bella, the media descends and causes chaos, and outsiders, and insiders, speculate wildly on social media, eager to be heard.
With a compelling cast of characters and a riveting plot, Six Minutes is an engrossing thriller from debut author Petronella McGovern.
February 15, 2020
The first crime book I ever read was snow falling on cedars & I thought they would all be like that, mixing poetry with the harsh realities of the world. They are not. Crime & thrillers have their own style which I'm not really sure I like, despite reading a lot of them. I'm always searching for something that doesn't seem to be there, some poetic core. But anyway, that's just me & this isn't really a crime book although a crime has been committed, little Bella has been taken. Where is she?
I didn't find this particularly twisty, novels have plot lines that are slowly revealed, it seems these days that anything that is hinted at first is a twist when eventually revealed.
This book is set in my home town & honestly the descriptions annoyed me. I don't think you can see black mountain tower 5kms from cooleman court but perhaps up in the brinadabellas you can. I wouldn't really call woden the southernmost suburbs either, that's down tuggeranong way but I am a northsider, that side of town is a bit of a mystery. So I definitely know that ainslie is not the closest suburb to the uni. But anyway, these are triflings & unimportant to the story.
It cracks a long at a good pace, it sits well within its genre. Recommended if you like this sort of book. Unfortunately I don't think I do.
I didn't find this particularly twisty, novels have plot lines that are slowly revealed, it seems these days that anything that is hinted at first is a twist when eventually revealed.
This book is set in my home town & honestly the descriptions annoyed me. I don't think you can see black mountain tower 5kms from cooleman court but perhaps up in the brinadabellas you can. I wouldn't really call woden the southernmost suburbs either, that's down tuggeranong way but I am a northsider, that side of town is a bit of a mystery. So I definitely know that ainslie is not the closest suburb to the uni. But anyway, these are triflings & unimportant to the story.
It cracks a long at a good pace, it sits well within its genre. Recommended if you like this sort of book. Unfortunately I don't think I do.
January 6, 2025
4.5 / 5
Bloody hell that was good.
Six minutes was all it took for Bella to go missing from playgroup.
Gripping from the start, with a menacing feeling that something was not quite right, I devoured this in two sittings.
With two unreliable narrators in Bella's parents, Lexie and Martin, I was constantly thinking 'what have they done?' as their past was slowly being revealed. I had so many questions in my head as I tried to figure out what was happening.
The alternating chapters with little reveals here and there just added to the suspense. The varied characters from harried mums to picture perfect mums, a school teacher that gave me goosebumps and a cop that wouldn't give up, gave this story plenty of realism.
This was so well paced and easy to read that I flew through it and enjoyed every second.
Bloody hell that was good.
Six minutes was all it took for Bella to go missing from playgroup.
Gripping from the start, with a menacing feeling that something was not quite right, I devoured this in two sittings.
With two unreliable narrators in Bella's parents, Lexie and Martin, I was constantly thinking 'what have they done?' as their past was slowly being revealed. I had so many questions in my head as I tried to figure out what was happening.
The alternating chapters with little reveals here and there just added to the suspense. The varied characters from harried mums to picture perfect mums, a school teacher that gave me goosebumps and a cop that wouldn't give up, gave this story plenty of realism.
This was so well paced and easy to read that I flew through it and enjoyed every second.
July 7, 2019
A really enjoyable read and insightful look into the secret society of mothers of young children and the anxiety, isolation and pressure to be good enough. I'd quite forgotten.
July 11, 2020
Although there is nothing really wrong with this book it isn’t the type of book you can’t put down and the who and why is not totally unpredictable
November 25, 2020
Loved the storyline. Just a pity the narrative was extremely irritating. The narrator's voice was GRINDING
October 12, 2025
4⭐️ Super pacey and loved that it is set in Canberra!
August 9, 2019
*thank you to Allen & Unwin for an ARC of this book*
4 stars.
Ohh my gosh this was such a good read! Right from the beginning this story reached out, grabbed me and held on the whole way through. What the author, Petronella McGovern, did with those twists and turns was impressive! She would throw out just a crumb of information and suddenly it changed some major part, or even a small part, and we the reader are left with so many questions as to what that clue was all about. Some of them were pretty shocking and I personally actually loved that she did this. I think I was not even half way through and my head was beating with all these questions! I just had to keep reading. We get taken down so many different pathways that it's just like being in a maze. The story, if I had to pick one word, would be 'Addictive.' I just HAD to know what happened to little Bella.
Bella goes missing one day while attending playgroup with 4 other Mothers. Julia, Mel, Tara and Imogen. When her Mum leaves playgroup to race to the shops, she is gone only 373 seconds, which is 6 minutes. Only once she is back, Bella is not there. How can that be possible with the other Mothers and their kids around? That is the question that you will be wondering right until the end.
You will probably come up with many theories along the way, but if you come up with the same ones I did, you won't believe how this story ends.
Ok. So this was something that was like nails down a chalkboard for me. Tara. Ahhh!!!! I could not for the life of me, stand her! I would come up to a chapter where she was the narrator and actually sigh. She was such an attention seeker and a real right drama queen. Plus. The swearing! I know people are rather divide about this, you are either totally fine with it and like it or you can't stand it, and thats the side I'm on. I can take the occasional F word but my god, Tara seemed to live and breathe swearing. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but it felt like she swore a lot. So yeah she was a pet peeve of mine. But at the same time, I'm glad that the author did add her in. Yeah she bugged me but it made the story more interesting.
The other Mothers I didn't give much thought too. I did like them and they all seemed like nice people, but nothing really stood out. Though, Imogen I thought was a real sweetie.
I really can't think of anything wrong or that I didn't like with this book. There was one thing that worried me at the beginning but it turned out that it wasn't such an issue and that was the amount of character narrators this book has. I thought it was going to be a bit too many but, it wasn't, it was rather simple to follow. And I'm a person who can get confused rather easily.
The story was interesting. It didn't get boring. It threw so so many questions into my mind. (In a positive way) And I wasn't disappointed in the ending. It didn't quite have that big blast of a shock to be 5 stars but it came pretty darn close!
I would highly recommend this.
4 stars.
Ohh my gosh this was such a good read! Right from the beginning this story reached out, grabbed me and held on the whole way through. What the author, Petronella McGovern, did with those twists and turns was impressive! She would throw out just a crumb of information and suddenly it changed some major part, or even a small part, and we the reader are left with so many questions as to what that clue was all about. Some of them were pretty shocking and I personally actually loved that she did this. I think I was not even half way through and my head was beating with all these questions! I just had to keep reading. We get taken down so many different pathways that it's just like being in a maze. The story, if I had to pick one word, would be 'Addictive.' I just HAD to know what happened to little Bella.
Bella goes missing one day while attending playgroup with 4 other Mothers. Julia, Mel, Tara and Imogen. When her Mum leaves playgroup to race to the shops, she is gone only 373 seconds, which is 6 minutes. Only once she is back, Bella is not there. How can that be possible with the other Mothers and their kids around? That is the question that you will be wondering right until the end.
You will probably come up with many theories along the way, but if you come up with the same ones I did, you won't believe how this story ends.
Ok. So this was something that was like nails down a chalkboard for me. Tara. Ahhh!!!! I could not for the life of me, stand her! I would come up to a chapter where she was the narrator and actually sigh. She was such an attention seeker and a real right drama queen. Plus. The swearing! I know people are rather divide about this, you are either totally fine with it and like it or you can't stand it, and thats the side I'm on. I can take the occasional F word but my god, Tara seemed to live and breathe swearing. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but it felt like she swore a lot. So yeah she was a pet peeve of mine. But at the same time, I'm glad that the author did add her in. Yeah she bugged me but it made the story more interesting.
The other Mothers I didn't give much thought too. I did like them and they all seemed like nice people, but nothing really stood out. Though, Imogen I thought was a real sweetie.
I really can't think of anything wrong or that I didn't like with this book. There was one thing that worried me at the beginning but it turned out that it wasn't such an issue and that was the amount of character narrators this book has. I thought it was going to be a bit too many but, it wasn't, it was rather simple to follow. And I'm a person who can get confused rather easily.
The story was interesting. It didn't get boring. It threw so so many questions into my mind. (In a positive way) And I wasn't disappointed in the ending. It didn't quite have that big blast of a shock to be 5 stars but it came pretty darn close!
I would highly recommend this.
July 19, 2019
I loved Six Minutes, very suspenseful, intriguing and a wonderful debut novel for an up and coming author Petronella McGovern
Three year old Bella disappears under the care of a small group of playgroup mums, while her mother Lexie has been requested to go off to the nearby shops to purchase biscuits for playgroup. The setting is in a small community near bushland and not far from Canberra in the ACT, Australia.
Six minutes was all it took and on Lexie’s return she finds Bella has disappeared, every parents worse nightmare! This story had me hooked, plenty of drama and the perfect mystery seeing that everyone had their own secrets and were under suspicion, including the parents. Not child’s play to work out the culprit that’s for sure, had me second guessing!
This story really makes you wonder about people and if you really know someone as well as you think you do? It also reinforces how vulnerable children are.
Thank you to A&U for the Advance Copy
Three year old Bella disappears under the care of a small group of playgroup mums, while her mother Lexie has been requested to go off to the nearby shops to purchase biscuits for playgroup. The setting is in a small community near bushland and not far from Canberra in the ACT, Australia.
Six minutes was all it took and on Lexie’s return she finds Bella has disappeared, every parents worse nightmare! This story had me hooked, plenty of drama and the perfect mystery seeing that everyone had their own secrets and were under suspicion, including the parents. Not child’s play to work out the culprit that’s for sure, had me second guessing!
This story really makes you wonder about people and if you really know someone as well as you think you do? It also reinforces how vulnerable children are.
Thank you to A&U for the Advance Copy
November 18, 2020
This was fantastic, it had me on the edge of my seat! Right from the start you are thrown into the mystery of Bella's disappearance. And from there I felt like I was being pushed and pulled in every direction. I had SO many theories about what happened, and I am so glad with the ending of the book!
The book is told from multiple character's perspectives, I love books like this and it was done so perfectly. Written in this way, we were drip fed clues and sucked in to each person's thoughts on where Bella is. I didn't guess it until it was basically revealed. There were other little things going on too, secrets being kept which made many people seem guilty.
As a mum of a 2.5 year old, I connected with each of the Playgroup mums. I felt like I could've been one of them, and how I would deal with the situation. So awful to think about!
Make sure you have plenty of time on your hands to read this because you won't want to put it down. Unfortunately, it took me a little longer because there's not much time to sit and read with a toddler. But every time I picked it up I was right back into the story and hoping Bella was OK and would come home safe.
I will definitely be reading anything Petronella McGovern releases.
The book is told from multiple character's perspectives, I love books like this and it was done so perfectly. Written in this way, we were drip fed clues and sucked in to each person's thoughts on where Bella is. I didn't guess it until it was basically revealed. There were other little things going on too, secrets being kept which made many people seem guilty.
As a mum of a 2.5 year old, I connected with each of the Playgroup mums. I felt like I could've been one of them, and how I would deal with the situation. So awful to think about!
Make sure you have plenty of time on your hands to read this because you won't want to put it down. Unfortunately, it took me a little longer because there's not much time to sit and read with a toddler. But every time I picked it up I was right back into the story and hoping Bella was OK and would come home safe.
I will definitely be reading anything Petronella McGovern releases.
August 11, 2019
An enjoyable read. Good plot and I liked the way in which the book was written from the viewpoint of so many of the important players
Will certainly be looking out for the next offering from this author
Will certainly be looking out for the next offering from this author
July 29, 2019
Enjoyable, and I read it in almost a sitting.
Nothing much was made of the 6 minutes though. It would have been interesting to bring that in as we unravel Lexie’s and Marty’s past.
SPOILER!
Brendan was not a very good red herring.
Also, the outcome was not very believable. Women are guilty of crimes of child abduction, but they are usually heat of the moment, affected by mental health issues, and rarely psychopathic which Melissa needed to be to pull off everything else.
Nothing much was made of the 6 minutes though. It would have been interesting to bring that in as we unravel Lexie’s and Marty’s past.
SPOILER!
Brendan was not a very good red herring.
Also, the outcome was not very believable. Women are guilty of crimes of child abduction, but they are usually heat of the moment, affected by mental health issues, and rarely psychopathic which Melissa needed to be to pull off everything else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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