The Broken Shore
-
-
4.4 • 189 Ratings
-
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
Named by The Times as one of the top ten crime novels of the decade and winner of the Crime Writers' Association Duncan Lawrie Dagger, the Ned Kelly Award, the Colin Roderick Award and the H.T. Priestly Medal, The Broken Shore is a masterpiece.
Joe Cashin was different once. He moved easily then; was surer and less thoughtful. But there are consequences when you've come so close to dying. For Cashin, they included a posting away from the world of Homicide to the quiet place on the coast where he grew up. Now all he has to do is play the country cop and walk the dogs.
Then prominent local Charles Bourgoyne is bashed and left for dead. Everything seems to point to three boys from the nearby Aboriginal community; everyone seems to want it to. But Cashin is unconvinced. And as tragedy unfolds relentlessly into tragedy, he finds himself holding onto something that might be better let go.
The Broken Shore is one of those watershed books that makes you rethink your ideas about reading.' Sydney Morning Herald
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Temple's beautifully written eighth crime novel, Joe Cashin, a city homicide cop recovering from an injury, returns to the quiet coastal area of South Australia where he grew up. There he investigates the beating death of elderly millionaire Charles Bourgoyne. After three aboriginal teens try to sell Bourgoyne's missing watch, the cops ambush the boys, killing two. When the department closes the case, Joe, a melancholy, combative cynic sympathetic to underdogs, decides to find the truth on his own. His unauthorized inquiry, which takes him both back in time and sideways into a netherworld of child pornography and sexual abuse, leads to a shocking conclusion. Temple (An Iron Rose), who has won five Ned Kelly Awards, examines Australian political and social divisions underlying the deceptively simple murder case. Many characters, especially the police, exhibit the vicious racism that still pervades the country's white society. Byzantine plot twists and incisively drawn characters combine with stunning descriptions of the wild, lush, menacing Australian landscape to make this an unforgettable read.
Customer Reviews
Clever Suspense
Great read
Brilliantly put together
My first Temple book, but not the last. It was the thriller genre that got me in but the beautifully descriptive phrases which kept me there. I will be thinking of those dogs pulsing through the paddocks for a long time.
Gritty, dark, clever and rewarding
It's hard to describe his style of writing, uncluttered, succinct yet incredibly descriptive. He manages to paint a detailed picture with very few well chosen words. As the main story slowly unfolds the characters and locations are authentic and recognisable. Couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading another of his books.