To Die for

by Catherine Jinks

Twelve year-old Mercy adores 60's heart-throb Hector McKerrow, thanks to re-runs of his zany TV series. Desperate to find out more about him, she creates an Internet message board asking for information. But what begins as an innocent search quickly escalates into a fierce competition.

Genres: Young Adult

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Catherine Jinks is the Australian author of more than thirty books for all ages. She has garnered many awards, including the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award(three times), the Victorian Premier’s Award, the Aurealis Award for Science Fiction, the Australian Ibby Award, and the Davitt Award for Crime Fiction. Her work has been published in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Thailand.

Catherine was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1963. She grew up in Papua New Guinea, where her father worked as a patrol officer. Her high-school years were spent in Sydney, NSW; in 2006, her alma mater, Ku-ring-gai High School, named its library after her.

From 1982 to 1986, Catherine studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with an honours degree in medieval history. She then worked on Westpac Banking Corporation’s staff magazine for approximately seven years. In 1992 she married Peter Dockrill, a Canadian journalist; in 1993 she and her husband left Australia for a brief spell in Nova Scotia, where she began to write full time. They returned to Australia in 1994, and Catherine gave birth to her daughter Hannah in 1997. Since 1998, she and her family have been living in Leura, NSW.

She has two brothers, and two pet rats. Like most people in Leura, she has become a slave to her garden, but not to the extent that she’ll buy rooting powder.

Catherine has been writing books since she was eight years old. She doesn’t expect to stop writing them any time soon.

Author photo: Catherine Jinks in front of 'Conceptual Networks', by artist Paul du Moulin.
Photo by Paul du Moulin

Reviews

[Rachel Brand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, probably quite advanced considering when it was published. There weren't many books written in message board format in 2002. The plot was a very unique idea, so unique that it stayed in my head for six years after I read it until I came across a copy on my mum's friend's bookcase and was able to reread it! Definitely a keeper.

[Kiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this at a 10 for $40 book sale on boxing day. I thought it sounded kind of interesting but I really wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. I'd recommend it to anyone that likes the thriller/suspense genres, enjoys stories where characters from very different backgrounds are brought together, or has in fact ever used the internet in their whole lifetime. Basically, it was flawless. This could be made into a brilliant movie. It's sinister and it's funny and I wish it were better known! Nts, must look into more books by Catherine Jinks.

[Steph Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

another absolutely brilliant book from my youth

when I first read this as a teenager it absolutely blew me away. the format, the content was so innovative for the early 2000s

revisiting 20 years later and it's still an incredible read

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling but the ending was left too open (which could be hyperrealistic, given how these things usually end).
The TV show sounds wild, I wish there had been more recaps.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book-kept me up reading until 4am!!

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The structure of an internet message board was interesting, and the story held together well.