stanro 's review for:

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple

5.0

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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My first Peter Temple book — The Broken Shore, is set in regional coastal Victoria. 

Our central detective, Joe Cashin, is psychologically damaged and back in his home town area following an earlier violent incident. A straightforward attribution of a brutal murder of a wealthy elderly man by Aboriginal youths occurs early in the book. Though he has no direct responsibility for the case, he becomes involved and the tale develops. Tensions between various branches of the police force complicate things and we quickly learn to despise Sergeant Hopgood, who is responsible for the case. 

This is very well written, with Cashin well-rounded. Confident of his skills and abilities and fragile after the recent incident his mind keeps taking him to, he provides  flashes of sardonic humour and lashings of intelligence. 

Though the details would sometimes surprise, the general plot was fairly soon predictable. We are following Cashin’s trail as he becomes suspicious of the simple and convenient attribution of guilt. You know he will uncover more.  #areadersjourney