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Broken Harbour

Winner of the Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction Book of the Year

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Broken Harbour

By: Tana French
Narrated by: Hugh Lee
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THE STUNNING, AWARD-WINNING THRILLER FROM THE MODERN QUEEN OF CRIME FICTION

New York Times #20 best thriller of the 21st Century

'To say Tana French is one of the great thriller writers is really too limiting. Rather she's simply this: a truly great writer' GILLIAN FLYNN

'Tana French is one of the most assured crime novelists writing today and Broken Harbour affirms her reputation' TIME OUT

'With Broken Harbour, Tana French should cement her name not only as the queen of Irish crime fiction but the queen of Irish fiction' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

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In Broken Harbour, a ghost estate outside Dublin, two children and their father are dead. The mother is on her way to intensive care.

At first Detective Scorcher Kennedy, and his rookie partner, Richie, think this is cut and dry: Pat Spain was a casualty of the recession, so he killed his children, tried to kill his wife, Jenny, and then himself. But inexplicable details keep cropping up.

Soon the neat compartments of Scorcher's life begin to break down, putting both his professional and personal life at risk. As the case reaches its apex, he will be forced to face the truth of what happened to him and his family all those years ago, one dark summer at Broken Harbour.

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IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR CRIME FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR MYSTERY/THRILLER
DILYS AWARD FOR BEST BOOK (shortlist)

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Praise for the talismanic Tana French and her novels

'With red herrings and false turns aplenty, Broken Harbour by Tana French will keep you gripped right to the shocking final page' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'I can do you no greater favour in life than recommending that you read her books' GUARDIAN

'The most interesting, the most important crime novelist to emerge in the last ten years' WASHINGTON POST

'The most breathtakingly brilliant and close-to-perfect thriller I've read for a long time' SOPHIE HANNAH

'I'm a big fan of Tana French' IAN RANKIN

'This is a tour de force of suspense and storytelling. Comes closer to perfection than anything I've read in the last decade' SARAH HILARY

'French offers a masterclass in unreliability' SUNDAY TIMES

'An audacious departure for this immensely talented author . . . not to be missed' NEW YORK TIMES

'A wonderfully assured and beautifully written debut novel' IRISH INDEPENDENT©2012 Tana French Crime Thrillers Mystery Thriller & Suspense True Crime Fiction Suspense
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Critic Reviews

I've been enthusiastically telling everyone who will listen to read Tana French. She is, without a doubt, my favorite new mystery writer. Her novels are poignant, compelling, beautifully written and wonderfully atmospheric. Just start reading the first page. You'll see what I mean.
The half finished housing estate with jerry-built boxes is eerily reminiscent of a J. G. Ballard dystopian setting - establishing atmosphere is one of French's many strengths. Gradually, an emotionally jolting story of love, obsession and madness is played out to incredible effect. Since her first novel, In the Woods, was larded with awards in 2007, French has garnered a huge legion of fans and they will be thrilled with this, her fourth and possibly best novel.
The most breathtakingly brilliant and close-to-perfect thriller I've read for a long time.
Tana French is one of those rare novelists who combine a gift for dialogue and characterisation, with suspense, intrigue and fabulous plotting. And she's a beautiful writer, to boot. A real treat.
Edgar-winner French's eloquently slow-burning fourth Dublin murder squad novel shows her at the top of her game . . . French excels at drawing out complex character dynamics
All stars
Most relevant
Narrator was excellent, the story conveyed so beautifully and eloquently it felt like a magnificent play from a cast not a narration by a single gifted person. The lead character was cleverly portrayed as a flawed hero, the story twisted and turned every thrilling chapter.

Amazing

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Keeps you on the edge, twists & turns ensure you listen all hours.... Really good!

Phew ... what a story...

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If you could sum up Broken Harbour in three words, what would they be?

Kept me guessing

Who was your favorite character and why?

All the characters were complex and interesting and flawed, I didn't have a favourite.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

When the story of the creature in the ceiling and walls evolved, when the detectives discovered the internet chat conversations, I kept wondering what the thing was. I still don't know whether it was real or not.

Any additional comments?

Great pace, great listen. I loved the range of accents the author used. It was intriguing from the start to the end.

Kept me guessing

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I loved this book. I found it completely absorbing and couldn’t stop listening. Great narration too.

A great read

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The book is essentially about the way the lead detective and his rookie partner negotiate the investigation and draw their conclusions. Class points of view and personal history influence the conclusions they draw and provide the intellectual structure of the novel. The debate is about how the crash in Ireland influenced the lives of individuals. At times I skipped over these long passages of dialogue - "OK we get it". That is the reason for my "needs an edit" headline for the review. Coping with Mental Illness ia a stone theme in the fabric of the novel.

I had met Scorcher in Faithful Place but this character didn't seem to project the same elements as in Broken Harbour. He seemed completely different. Granted the view of Scorcher in Faithful Place was vague compared to the detail and inner world of that drawn in Broken Harbour but Scorcher was unrecognisable as the character from Faithful Place which leaves me wondering why make it the same character at all.

The big disappointment though was the ending which seemed to just disappear into Broken Harbour's sea spray. It's hard to keep going on a novel when all of the characters are unlikeable. That is how I found the majority of them, excluding the rooky detective. We as readers need to at least feel we understand them. I didn't really feel that. Maybe it was the performance, the delivery - I don't know.

Needs an edit.

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