Is it hard to read?
No, the prose is direct and spare, and the story follows a linear sequence focused on Ben’s survival. The reading challenge comes from the sustained tension rather than complicated language or structure.
Reading facts
✓ Checked- Reading effort
- 17 / 100Light
- Length
- 224 pagesLaurel Leaf · 1973
- Reading time
- 4 h 30 minat 50 pages an hour ·
- Pace
- Fast
- Emotional intensity
- 5 / 5
About 4 h 30 min · at 30 minutes a day, about 9 days
Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.
About the book
To earn money for college, Ben agrees to guide wealthy hunter Madec on a bighorn-sheep hunt in California's Mojave Desert. When Madec accidentally kills an old prospector, Ben insists they report the death, making himself the only witness Madec needs to silence. Stripped of his supplies and most of his clothes, Ben must survive the desert while staying out of his client's rifle sights.
Reader notes
The YA survival thriller follows the practical details of staying alive: protecting bare feet, finding water and reading the terrain for cover. Its suspense is physical and concrete, and the fatal shooting and sustained threat of violence make the ordeal severe.
How it reads
- Writing style
- Descriptive · Direct · Spare
- Tone
- Dark · Suspenseful · Tense
- Structure
- Linear
- Driven by
- Character · Plot
- Point of view
- Third person, limited
- Setting
- Mojave Desert
Reading complexity
- Writing
- 2 / 5
- Ideas
- 2 / 5
- Structure
- 2 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Themes
- Justice
- Knowledge and truth
- Morality
- Power
- Survival
- Wealth
Content notes
- Violence
- Strong
- Sexual content
- None
- Swearing
- None
- Substance use
- None
- Abuse
- None
- Self-harm or suicide
- None
Standing and awards
Established
- Edgar Award, 1973
Questions readers ask
Is it more of a survival adventure or a mystery?
The emphasis is on survival and pursuit: Ben must find water, protect his bare feet and use the desert terrain for cover while avoiding Madec’s rifle. The suspense is physical and concrete, with a fast pace.
How strong is the violence?
Strong violence includes a fatal shooting and a sustained threat of further violence as Madec tries to silence Ben. Being stripped of supplies and most of his clothes makes Ben’s struggle to survive the desert severe.
What themes does it explore?
Justice and morality are central: Ben insists on reporting an accidental death, while Madec seeks to silence the only witness. Their conflict also brings power and wealth into a struggle shaped by the practical demands of survival.
How long is it?
224 pages in the Laurel Leaf 1973 mass market paperback edition.
Which edition is shown here?
Laurel Leaf · 1973 · Mass Market Paperback. ISBN 9780440917403.
How long does it take to read Deathwatch?
About 4 hours 30 minutes at 50 pages an hour, based on the 224-page Laurel Leaf edition. Dense books can take longer.
About the author
Robb White
Robb White (1909–1990) was an American writer best known for adventure fiction for younger readers, though he also wrote screenplays and television scripts. Many of his novels have maritime settings, often involving the Pacific Navy during World War II, and center on practical action and physical danger. Deathwatch carries those concerns into the Mojave Desert, where a geology student’s struggle with heat, thirst, injury, and pursuit is inseparable from his determination to report a fatal shooting. Its direct, spare prose shows how White built suspense from physical ordeal and moral choice.
If you liked this
Edition and details
- Publisher
- Laurel Leaf
- Publication year
- 1973
- Format
- Mass Market Paperback
- Pages
- 224
- ISBN
- 9780440917403
- Edition language
- English
- Original language
- English
- First published
- 1972
- Genres and form
- Fiction · Novel · Mystery & Thriller · Adventure · Young Adult · Psychological thriller · Survival adventure
- Editions
- 5
- Languages
- 2 (English, Unspecified)