Book Review: 24/7

Previously I had read Jim Brown's novel Boom (click here for that review) and loved it. It has taken me awhile but I finally picked up a copy of his 2001 novel 24/7.

On a small Caribbean island a woman joins the newest reality TV show: 24/7. For Dana Kirsten, winning the $2 million prize could mean saving her child’s life. But while the country watches her every move, Dana is entering a fight for her own life–and a conflict that will shake the world. . . .


The setting of the book is Vassa Island, with a whole Survivor meets Big Brother type of scenario. Contestants are monitored all day, every day, with constant surveillance cameras that broadcast their every actions and conversations around the world. But within minutes of the first show of the new season, things go horribly wrong and the contestants are fighting for their lives to survive.

It is up to one lone camera-man turned reporter to unravel the pieces of the puzzle in time, before each contestant is picked off one by one.

The story is fast-paced, engaging and pulls the reader right in. It makes a strong statement about how we have become a voyeuristic society and how we'll judge people based on what facets they put across.

As a fan of reality TV shows for a long time now, especially the sociological aspects of the contests of Survivor and Big Brother, this novel was right in my wheel-house. I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it to folks who like the similar.