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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Sep 2005, 320 pages
Paperback:
Jul 2006, 320 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
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From the book jacket:
A gripping tale of psychological suspense
perfect for the readership of Minette
Walters and Ruth Rendell, Half Broken
Things is a novel that peers into the
lives of three dangerously lost people…and
the ominous haven they find when they find
each other. Jean is a house sitter at the
end of a dreary career. Steph is nine months
pregnant and on the run. And Michael is a
thief. Through a mixture of deceit, good
luck, and misfortune, these three damaged
loners have come together at a secluded
country home called Walden Manor. Now all
three have found what they needed most: a
new beginning, a little kindness, a little
love. Living off the manor's riches, tending
its grounds and gardens, they leave the
outside world far behind and build a
happiness so long denied them. That is,
until the first unexpected visitor
arrives...igniting a chain reaction that is
at once spellbinding and disastrous.
Comment: A number of reviewers
compare Morag Joss to Minette Walters, as does the book jacket cover. Other than that they've both British and write psychological suspense I don't really see the comparison - I've tried a few of Minette Walters's books but
found them too gory for my tastes - but I
did not feel this when reading Half
Broken Things.
As Joss herself says, "Although Half
Broken Things has a crime in it, I
didn't set out to write it as a crime novel.
It's been published as a crime novel and one
can see why but if it is a crime novel, it's
one by accident.....I've started to feel
queasy about murder as entertainment. I've
begun to think there are so many more
interesting things about death than the
whodunnit.....I wanted to explore what
people will do when they're in such terrible
need of love. If there was a big idea then
that was it."
Selected Reviews
"Offers psychological suspense of the highest
order....a must-read." - PW.
"A grim, courageous work that crosses
into dark, interior regions American readers
rarely dare to tread." - Kirkus.
This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in October 2005, and has been updated for the
August 2006 edition.
Click here to go to this issue.
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