On the Broken Shore

Have you ever wanted to just leave everything and disappear?

Can the instinct for survival overcome almost anything…?

Leo Kemp's life should be idyllic. He has a job that he loves at the Institute of Marine Biology and he lives in Cape Cod with his wife and daughter. But beneath the tranquil surface of their lives, heartbreak lingers; a few years ago their son was drowned in an accident at sea and the family cannot come to terms with his death.

When Leo loses his job thanks to his outspoken views, he decides to go on one last field trip with his students. But the outing turns to tragedy when the sea rises up and Leo is thrown overboard. Despite everyone's best efforts, Leo is missing, presumed dead; lost at sea just like his son.
The aftermath of the tragedy hits the community hard. But, amidst the grief, rumours that a man has been sighted living on an uninhabited island a few miles off shore begin to circulate. Could there be hope yet…?

Reviews

Praise for ‘Ocean Devil’:

'James MacManus, a seasoned foreign correspondent who discovered the story, has presented it with admirable clarity, illuminating both the contortions of the war in China and the strength of character of this young Englishman who persuaded everyone he met to behave as honourable as he did.'
Daily Mail

About the author

James MacManus graduated from St Andrews University
in Scotland in 1966 and has worked as a reporter and
foreign correspondent for a number of national newspapers
in the UK. He was the Paris correspondent,
Africa Correspondent and then Middle East correspondent
for the Guardian between 1974 and 1986. He
joined The Times in November 1992 as Assistant Editor
and took over as Managing Editor in September 1996.
He is now Managing Director of the Times Literary
Supplement. His first book, Ocean Devil, The Life and
Legend of George Hogg, has been made into a major
feature film called The Children of Huang Shi, directed
by Roger Spottiswoode. On the Broken Shore is his
first novel.