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Six Minutes cover art

Six Minutes

By: Petronella McGovern
Narrated by: Nicole Winkler
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Publisher's Summary

How 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? 

©2019 Petronella McGovern (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Impossible to put down and full of twists and turns you won't see coming! I loved this fabulous debut novel." (Liane Moriarty, best-selling author of Nine Perfect Strangers)

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What listeners say about Six Minutes

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Only 6 minutes....

Loved it!

Brilliant story of how it can take only 6 minutes for someone’s world to come crashing down & a child could simply disappear...

How trusted friendships could simply turn, community support & social media can harm as much as it can help... How ones past never remains in the past...

Parents questioning their own trust & multiple suspicions can erode any security of anyone...

So who then took Bella.....

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

an engaging Australian modern mystery.

this is a terrific mystery, set in Canberra and exploring intrigues and dynamics of local families with some quirky twists and unexpected turns. Extremely enjoyable!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Frustratingly slow

A great story with good characters which is quite relatable. It could have been told within about half of its length. I had to force myself to keep listening through some parts.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book!!

Loved the diverse characters in this book, the plot, suspense, twists and turns!!

The narrator did an excellent job which added to the enjoyment and feeling you were part of the whole experience.

A highly recommended book!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • M&M
  • 03-08-2022

Twists and turns at every corner

This is a great book book by Australian author Petronella McGovern. It is the first book that I listened to, but certainly not the last. When a child goes missing, everyone is a suspect and in the end, it's the one you would never guess!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Kath and Kim vibes from the narrator.

Great story. Didn’t pick it. Had moments where I was a bit 🤦‍♀️🙄 about the main character. Struggled a bit with the narration though. Got very strong Kath and Kim. Narrator may be better suited to older characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Page turner- kept me guessing.

This book ought to have a Warning! Very hard to stop listening. Gripping page turner.
Characters are believable and compelling. The narrator was brilliant and managed the characters with aplomb. What a stellar debut novel.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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Boting

The narration was unpleasant with the silly baby talk. Exaggerated.
I got sick of the swearing and cursing. What’s wrong with some authors.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Boring and badly narrated

Flat, one dimensional characters and a slow, predictable story. This book felt like the author had created a decent structure but had no idea how to fill it in, there were a couple of interesting hooks which kept me listening but they failed to deliver anything interesting.

The narrator was horrible, all the characters sounded like bogans which made me dislike the characters even more.

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4 people found this helpful

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.