A novel about death that’s full of life

Something strange is happening in Australia. People who should be dying, aren’t – even a tourist dismembered by dingoes. The non-deaths create havoc across the country, but sixteen-year-old Nick Hartford just feels relief. His terminally ill grandfather can now live forever.

But Nick soon realizes eternal life can bring eternal suffering.

Determined to help his beloved grandfather, Nick investigates a phenomenon that traps people between life and death, leaving them unable to communicate with the living or join the dead. What he discovers is linked to the last person to die: a reclusive neighbor who may be Death himself.

As his grandfather’s condition worsens, Nick and three classmates race to unravel the mystery. Their urgency grows when he learns one of those friends could be next to enter the chasm between living and dying.

Darkly funny and deftly paced, Unsilent Heart is a coming-of-age novel about what death adds to life, the demands of loyalty, and how to find love when time is short.