Avalanche: Selected for Bookbuzz Secondary 2026

About this book

Tom is not impressed. He hoped that a break at a luxury ski chalet would mean getting some quality time with his mum but all she has time for is work. As Head of Security for a ground-breaking technology company, her job is obviously important but Tom finds it hard to accept that keeping other people safe comes before spending time with him.  

Things take a very dangerous turn though when hi-jackers take over the chalet, kidnapping his mum and her boss Eric, and triggering an avalanche that traps them all at the top of a mountain. Time is ticking… Tom and Eric’s daughter Emily must work together to figure out what the bad guys are after and find a way to keep it out of their hands.  

Written in the first person, and with much of the action happening in real time over just a few hours, there is an immediacy and urgency to this nail-biting action-thriller that will sweep readers along like the avalanche of the title.  

Tom and Emily use some ingenious tricks, reminiscent of James Bond or Mission: Impossible, to take out the hi-jackers which adds a fun factor to this original and gripping tale of industrial espionage and deception.