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Broken Bay

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Broken Bay

By: Margaret Hickey
Narrated by: Henry Nixon
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About this listen

Old loyalties and decades-long feuds rise to the surface in this stunning crime novel, set in a spectacular Australian landscape known for its jagged cliffs and hidden caves.

Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti has taken a few days' holiday in Broken Bay at precisely the wrong time. The small fishing town on South Australia's Limestone Coast is now the scene of a terrible tragedy.

Renowned cave-diver Mya Rennik has drowned while exploring a sinkhole on the land of wealthy farmer Frank Doyle. As the press descends, Mark's boss orders him to stay put and assist the police operation.

But when they retrieve Mya's body, a whole new mystery is opened up, around the disappearance of a young local woman twenty years before . . .

Suddenly Mark is diving deep into the town's history - and in particular the simmering rivalry between its two most prominent families, the Doyles and Sinclairs.

Then Cherie Swinson, a former actress, is murdered in the Sinclairs' old home - and Mark is left wondering which is more dangerous: Broken Bay's hidden subterranean world or the secretive town above it . . .

Cutters End was the winner of the BAD Danger Prize 2022 and was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction 2022.

©2023 Margaret Hickey (P)2023 Penguin Random House Australia Crime Thrillers Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Thriller Thriller & Suspense Crime Detective Suspense

Critic Reviews

'Margaret Hickey blazed on to the Australian crime writing scene with Cutters End. [She] excels at using the setting to add tension and, here, it is the South Australian coast and limestone caves . . . A fresh setting for a crime novel, and the underwater scenes are suffocatingly horrifying.' Weekend Australian

'While the story of small-town loves, rivalries and misdemeanours is well done, it is, as always, Hickey's observations of rural life that are completely engaging.' Sunday Age

'This is the third novel featuring Detective Mark Ariti, and a ripper it is too . . . A fabulous addition to the wealth of Bush Noir novels available, and I recommend it highly.' Good Reading

'A tour de force.' Australian Women's Weekly on Cutters End

'Astonishingly assured crime novel. A pitch perfect outback noir.' Weekend Australian on Cutters End

'Hickey nicely layers the intrigue as we follow the always likeable Ariti, who once again discovers just how secretive and bizarre life in the rural hinterland can be.' Sydney Morning Herald on Stone Town
All stars
Most relevant  
I did enjoy the listen.
Kept me interested to the last 20 mins or so!

Held your interest

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great story and narrated so well, it felt more like a movie than a book.

excellent

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Really enjoyed this story.
Something a little different.
My favourite narrator does an excellent job again.

Great story

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Entertaining and witty, fun and harrowing, vivid and endearing. Love these books for the authentic, respectful and entertaining picture they paint of small town Australia. some of the dialogue and statements made me laugh out loud - best one yet of the series. And the narrator just seems to get better and better.

My favourite Mark Ariti book yet!

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This is only one of two problems I have.
The other, and if I am wrong please enlighten me, we do not have crows in Australia. They are all Ravens.

Sick of Americanisms!

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good story, related well as come from the area. YES. we have crows, our state emblem is a crow and yes we have a football team called The Crows.
listened to this book in the car going home to the south east. limestone coast. I can recommend this book. beaut narration. descriptions of area is spot on. town locals are believable. small towns have the dominant family that underneath is not what they pretend.
Oh we call flippers flippers and bathers are bathers. aka swimmers swimsuit. toggs. I enjoy the variation of the Australian vernacular. we speak English and Australian
thankyou for a book I couldn't put down.

A Great Listen

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I do enjoy novels where I learn something new. This novel, set amongst South Australia’s limestone cliffs, underwater caves and the tangled relationships of a small farming and fishing community explains some of the mysteries of deep sea diving, caving and aspects of livestock management for those of us who know little of these activities. The characters resonated with me as I recalled those I know in real life who share their particular language, style, physical appearance and emotional tone. The characters were not subordinate to the plot (as is sometimes the case in this genre), They rang true as did the police detective examining the cases, an intriguing man, who I would enjoy meeting again in future Hickey novels. Unlike many ‘who done its’, I didn’t guess the who(s) and I thoroughly enjoyed following the twisted threads from beginning to end.

A Tangled Tale

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Enjoyed this book, especially the descriptive passages of cave diving and the Limestone Coast. Plenty of twists and many Aussie references, but sometimes too much.

Good Aussie yarn

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Really good listen!!
Plot lines were great, conclusions unguessable but realistic.
The weaving together of the different murders was seamless and the story flowed beautifully.
The only criticism is that at points the narrator was making a background noise, perhaps chewing or swallowing and it was distracting. Also his voice for the main character seemed to change in places which did make it a tad disjointed at times.
Overall the small narrator issues couldn't dampen my enthusiasm for this story, totally recommend it.

Couldn't stop listening, totally enjoyed it

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Was a bit overwhelmed initially by all the characters and who was who & who belonged to whom, but once I got my head around them, I really enjoyed the book. I really like the main character and his personal life woven into his professional life. I did think there were a few untied ends and a few references to diving & farming that were a little inaccurate, but overall a good story. I must say I didn't know that sink holes like those described in the story actually existed.

Good Australian Mystery

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