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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I didn’t like this book much. The main character is boring and too vague. I had no idea what was going on half the time.
The Broken Shore is a very deliberate read for the first 200 pages---at times it seems that nothing particularly important or relevant to the story has occurred in a long while. But that is an inaccurate impression, because author Peter Temple uses those pages to patiently and exactingly establish the setting, the characters, and lay the foundation for a complex and masterfully woven murder mystery. The last 130 pages fly relentlessly forward, and greatly reward the reader who paid attention to the details offered during those deliberate first 200 pages.
Though I struggled at times with the beginning of the book (in addition to the initial slow pace, it takes awhile to get accustomed to and understand the Australian dialect used by the characters), at the end I was left very impressed with Temple's achievement---a realistic and suspenseful (and occasionally humorous) murder mystery that honestly portrays police work and the racial and economic rifts found in Australian society. A very good read.
Though I struggled at times with the beginning of the book (in addition to the initial slow pace, it takes awhile to get accustomed to and understand the Australian dialect used by the characters), at the end I was left very impressed with Temple's achievement---a realistic and suspenseful (and occasionally humorous) murder mystery that honestly portrays police work and the racial and economic rifts found in Australian society. A very good read.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Excellent crime noir, drama, corruption. I liked that it was making some big comments about society without overdoing it and really appreciated the humour gave it a true sense of place
Going back to my high school years, I remember loving an Aussie cop show called Blue Heelers. This drama series is set in a small town where everybody knows everybody. This is the setting this book reminds me of, a small town where you’d know everybody and certain wheels of ‘politics’ which kept the town running ‘peacefully’. The story is being told, however, from the perspective of Detective Joe Cashin, a city detective seconded to this little town, where he grew up, to ‘recover’.
I found it a little hard to get into it at first because of 2 things. I was a little disoriented as I’ve just finished reading Stormdancer (Japanese steampunk) so the difference in setting threw me off a bit but I just had to get my head screwed on right. The second thing was that it felt I was picking up a book in the middle of a series which it is not. There were names bandied about as if the reader would know who they are or what, in context, they imply. This may refer to the fact that in this small town, you would either know the person mentioned or someone in their family or be related to them one way or another.
Another thing that kinda threw me off is the Aussie lingo. Yes, I know I’m Aussie but unfortunately, it’s not often that I read Aussie books. Or maybe, it’s just the humour that is so close to what my friends & I would joke around with, as I found myself smirking snorting and chucking over bits throughout the book.
He pissed from the verandah, onto the weeds. It didn’t bother them. – I really didn’t know whether to laugh or to be disgusted! I guess if you live in Whoop Whoop, you can do whatever you bloody want to.
‘Not a fucking joking matter this.' - as opposed to the grammatically correct, ‘This is not a fucking joking matter.’ Yes, we do speak this way a lot of the time – disjointed much?
Irreverent humour which at times is borderline coarse combined with the disjointed Aussie speech are what made the book felt like home for me. Let’s not forget that The Broken Shore is a crime fiction which explores something truly dark (crimes from which each one of us will flinched from) but it also made overtures of what it means to live.
…The neighbour was here. Left something for you. Wrapped like a present.’
‘I need a present,’ said Cashin. ‘Long time since anyone gave me a present.’
‘Being alive’s a present,’ said Rebb. ‘Every minute of every hour of every day.’
Whilst the mystery was well woven, there were other things which were called into question. Things that were happening in our society which we let passed, things not quite fitting into procedures being let slide, things where you’re told to let go… I’m left to reflect whether I do too let little things bypass me even when they don’t seem to be quite right, is it the right thing to do?
If you like your crime / mystery fiction with lots of drama, I would recommend this book to you.
I found it a little hard to get into it at first because of 2 things. I was a little disoriented as I’ve just finished reading Stormdancer (Japanese steampunk) so the difference in setting threw me off a bit but I just had to get my head screwed on right. The second thing was that it felt I was picking up a book in the middle of a series which it is not. There were names bandied about as if the reader would know who they are or what, in context, they imply. This may refer to the fact that in this small town, you would either know the person mentioned or someone in their family or be related to them one way or another.
Another thing that kinda threw me off is the Aussie lingo. Yes, I know I’m Aussie but unfortunately, it’s not often that I read Aussie books. Or maybe, it’s just the humour that is so close to what my friends & I would joke around with, as I found myself smirking snorting and chucking over bits throughout the book.
He pissed from the verandah, onto the weeds. It didn’t bother them. – I really didn’t know whether to laugh or to be disgusted! I guess if you live in Whoop Whoop, you can do whatever you bloody want to.
‘Not a fucking joking matter this.' - as opposed to the grammatically correct, ‘This is not a fucking joking matter.’ Yes, we do speak this way a lot of the time – disjointed much?
Irreverent humour which at times is borderline coarse combined with the disjointed Aussie speech are what made the book felt like home for me. Let’s not forget that The Broken Shore is a crime fiction which explores something truly dark (crimes from which each one of us will flinched from) but it also made overtures of what it means to live.
…The neighbour was here. Left something for you. Wrapped like a present.’
‘I need a present,’ said Cashin. ‘Long time since anyone gave me a present.’
‘Being alive’s a present,’ said Rebb. ‘Every minute of every hour of every day.’
Whilst the mystery was well woven, there were other things which were called into question. Things that were happening in our society which we let passed, things not quite fitting into procedures being let slide, things where you’re told to let go… I’m left to reflect whether I do too let little things bypass me even when they don’t seem to be quite right, is it the right thing to do?
If you like your crime / mystery fiction with lots of drama, I would recommend this book to you.
This is a noir detective novel, so if you don't like that genre, this review and book is not for you. The plot of Peter Temple's police procedural is not new--a divorced cop recuperating from wounds from a previous case is ordered to take a vacation in one of Australia's coastal towns. When a local wealthy man is murdered he's asked to look into it. For a change this character is not a drunk or violent; he's rather a nice person and it's a pleasant change and of course when things don't add up he won't let go despite orders from higher up. What makes Temple's book worth reading however is the writing--it is so good I stopped to reread certain paragraphs and there are many that deserve rereading. This book won awards in Australia and rightly so. I highly recommend this and Peter Temple's other detective novels. I have read quite a few and have never been disappointed. He should be better known and appreciated in the US.
Did not like the audio narration. Will try to read
One of the better whodunits I've read. Lots and lots of Leonard-like dialogue, snappy characterisations, all wrapped up in some telling observations of small town Australian life, including some very salient racism. The Australia the author depicts is a sad and sorry one.
The Broken Shore was an immersive and often brutal book to read. It is a mystery in the hard-boiled tradition which takes place in Australia. Our detective is Joe Cashin, who used to work homicide in Melbourne but for reasons which come out later in the story has been re-assigned to a post in a small coastal town.
When a rich local is found near death after an attack in his country home, Joe is first on the scene. Eventually, the case is given over to the slightly larger police force of another precinct, but Joe keeps being drawn back to the case both officially and unofficially. What eventually unspools is a complicated web of deceit, complicity and depravity. Peter Temple provides a glimpse into modern Australia with class and racial divides that are deep and violent which may be all too familiar for many American readers, albeit couched in a slightly different accent.
I know that there is a second book focusing on a side character from The Broken Shore but I don’t think this book is really part of a series, though it easily could be. I really had the sense of being dropped into an ongoing story and had to immediately start swimming for orientation. I imagine that might be frustrating for some, but I liked this aspect of the book.
When a rich local is found near death after an attack in his country home, Joe is first on the scene. Eventually, the case is given over to the slightly larger police force of another precinct, but Joe keeps being drawn back to the case both officially and unofficially. What eventually unspools is a complicated web of deceit, complicity and depravity. Peter Temple provides a glimpse into modern Australia with class and racial divides that are deep and violent which may be all too familiar for many American readers, albeit couched in a slightly different accent.
I know that there is a second book focusing on a side character from The Broken Shore but I don’t think this book is really part of a series, though it easily could be. I really had the sense of being dropped into an ongoing story and had to immediately start swimming for orientation. I imagine that might be frustrating for some, but I liked this aspect of the book.
It's a slow-burn crime thriller, with some great character development, snappy and sometimes funny dialogue, and a crash course in Aussie slang. Excellent writing not just good genre writing. Couldn't put it down, especially as the pace picks up toward the end.