Payback
ISBN13
9781911077817
Review published
21/02/2019
By Reviewer
Tanja
Star Rating
By Author / Illustrator
MA Griffin
Age range(s)
11+
Review
Otherwise known as Fletcher Moss, award winning author of the gripping mystery Poison Boy, MA Griffin has created a high octane heist thriller guaranteed to get pulses racing. In an interview with Dan Smith of Author Allsorts, he described his vision for the novel, set in a dark version of Manchester, as heavily influenced by a love of Steven Soderbergh's movies, a director who is known for his themes of anarchy and rebellion and his portrayal of "characters normally regarded as villains as warm, funny, down-trodden victims of circumstance who have the courage and determination to fight back." Payback certainly adopts "the challenge of getting the reader to root for the criminal" as the star struck Tom is catapulted into the exciting world of Coke, Ferg, Gedge and Kallie - audacious teens with an anti-capitalist agenda. Compelled to overcome injustice their mission is to rob from the rich and give to the poor Robin Hood style. They hone their talents as lock picker, hacker extraordinaire, agile free climber and planner with an ultimate goal - to redistribute wealth and make a socio political statement. Griffin uses the real life story of Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, a Spanish Mayor and politician who stole food from supermarkets in Seville and Cadiz and gave it to poor families, as a catalyst for his rollercoaster plot which includes high profile grabs and showman-like stunt drops as the gang [disguised in fox masks] engage in direct action and spread their successes through social media like wildfire. Tension and suspense build throughout as the Payback crew's heists grow increasingly daring and dangerous with the hunter becoming the hunted. Their moral compass shifts as they decide where their loyalties lie. All the while the tenacious Detective Sinclair and the criminals they have crossed are hot on their trail as they become more desperate and divisive. The denouement arrives in a spectacular chase scene through the wilds of Scotland reminiscent of Hannay's flight in Buchan's spy thriller The 39 Steps. Payback has a good balance of engaging characters, a plot with some surprises and imaginative locations. This novel will appeal to fans of adrenaline-fuelled heist movies and readers interested in the social inequality debate. 336 pages / Ages 14+ / Reviewed by Tanja Jennings
