The Broken Shore

"Byzantine plot twists and incisively drawn characters combine" to make this Australian crime novel from an award-winning author "an unforgettable read" (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
The Broken Shore, Peter Temple's award-winning eighth novel revolves around big-city detective Joe Cashin. Shaken by a scrape with death, he's posted away from the Homicide Squad to a small town on the South Australian coast where he grew up. Carrying physical scars and more than a little guilt, he spends his time playing the country cop, walking his dogs, and thinking about how it all was before. But when a prominent local is attacked in his own home and left for dead, Cashin is thrust into what becomes a murder investigation. The evidence points to three teenagers from the nearby aboriginal community—everyone seems to want to blame them. Cashin is unconvinced, and soon begins to see the outlines of something far more terrible than a burglary gone wrong.


"A deeply intelligent thriller." —Booklist, starred review


"Peter Temple's moody prose is far too satisfying. . . . brilliant." —The Globe and Mail

"The Broken Shore by Peter Temple is a great discovery. . . . I was fully taken by this book." —Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Waiting

"A towering achievement. . . . seldom has a waltz of the damned proven so hypnotic. Indispensable." —The Guardian (UK)