The Broken Shore
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Review
A towering achievement that brings alive a ferocious landscape and a motley assortment of clashing characters. The sense of place is stifling in its intensity, and seldom has a waltz of the damned proven so hypnotic. Indispensable.' Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian
It's hard to know where to start praising this book. Plot, style, setting and characters are all startlingly good… The Broken Shore is one of those watershed books that makes you rethink your ideas about reading.' Sydney Morning Herald
'He is writing the kind of books I've been trying to write and writing them better than I do' John Harvey, The Guardian.
It's hard to know where to start praising this book. Plot, style, setting and characters are all startlingly good… The Broken Shore is one of those watershed books that makes you rethink your ideas about reading.' Sydney Morning Herald
'He is writing the kind of books I've been trying to write and writing them better than I do' John Harvey, The Guardian.
Review
'A towering achievement that brings alive a ferocious landscape and a motley assortment of clashing characters. The sense of place is stifling in its intensity, and seldom has a waltz of the damned proven so hypnotic. Indispensable.' Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian 'It's hard to know where to start praising this book. Plot, style, setting and characters are all startlingly good The Broken Shore is one of those watershed books that makes you rethink your ideas about reading.' Sydney Morning Herald 'He is writing the kind of books I've been trying to write and writing them better than I do' John Harvey, The Guardian.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Packed with earthy, Aussie outback realism this is a fine, if bleak, crime novel on a familiar theme. Cashin is a marvellous and original creation and the book is studded with some terrific dialogue. Perhaps the ending was mildly underwhelming though.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
You know you've read a good book because it stays with you long after you've read the final page, and the hair on the back of your neck is standing on end. When I closed The Broken Shore, I felt a tingle throughout my body and I knew that I had read possibly one of the best crime books this year. This novel marks Temple out as a truly superb (crime) writer, his skilfull use of language compliments the plotting. He has the unerving ability to create vivid characters and the sense of place within a few sentences similar to Hemmingway. Temple not only explores the themes of justice but also of family. This is crime writing at its best.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read Peter Temple's latest book, 'Truth' before I found this book. I became so engaged with the author, I knew I wanted to read all of his books. What I found within 'The Broken Shore' are all the characters that are bound for their own novels.
Joe Cashin is a former homicide detective, still recovering from severe injuries suffered in a botched stake-out. The injuries so severe, he was sent home from Melbourne to Port Monro to run the small police station. Cashin's routine day in this new job was not as simple at it might seem. One of his colleagues was beaten and used as a sex doll by someone who followed her. You need smarts to run a department like this, a feel for the neighborhood. Cashin is a mixture of kindness, a man of few words and prone to outbursts of temper. He has one liners that catch his opponent off guard. He has a sense of humor and be prepared to laugh.
One of the aspects of Temple's writing is that he catches you unaware. We meet Joe Cashin as he is walking his dogs near a creek. The dogs, are two unlikely giant poodles. Poodles, yes, who chase the wildlife and in particular, rabbits. Peter Temple is an exquisite descriptive writer who makes magic with his words. The novel is in fact a blend of crime fiction and a literary wonder. Temple is well known in Australia, where he lives, "The Broken Shore" has already won the Ned Kelly Award for crime fiction.
In Port Monro a wealthy citizen is beaten to death in his home. Three teenage Aborigines, are charged with the crime. It is important to know that prejudice against Aborigines is central to the novel. Cashin is not convinced of their guilt, and he disobeys his superiors and follows leads that point to several of the region's leading citizens.
Peter Temple gives us rich portraits of his characters. There is Cashin, who comes from a troubled family. He medicates himself from his constant pain with minimal narcotics and booze. He has an ex girlfriend who won't let him see their son. Cashin meets a swaggie or hobo, and he invites him to stay on his property and help rebuild his home. I see an entire book written around this character. We meet Cashin's boss, Villani who shows up as the main character in his newest book, 'Truth'. There is a politician, another detective in a neighboring town who is so nasty that I wanted to slap his face. An old classmate of Joe's who is a newly minted lawyer and a looker. His cousin Bern, who helps him with building materials and gossip of the surrounding towns. So many wonderful layers are built within these characters, that it is difficult not to ponder what they are all about.
This is world class writing, mixed with very nasty criminals who commit outlandish crimes that make you wince and blind your eyes. The superb writing and characterization make for one of the best crime novels I have read in a long time. I look forward to reading about all of the characters I have met in this book.
Highly Recommended. prisrob 03-14-11
Joe Cashin is a former homicide detective, still recovering from severe injuries suffered in a botched stake-out. The injuries so severe, he was sent home from Melbourne to Port Monro to run the small police station. Cashin's routine day in this new job was not as simple at it might seem. One of his colleagues was beaten and used as a sex doll by someone who followed her. You need smarts to run a department like this, a feel for the neighborhood. Cashin is a mixture of kindness, a man of few words and prone to outbursts of temper. He has one liners that catch his opponent off guard. He has a sense of humor and be prepared to laugh.
One of the aspects of Temple's writing is that he catches you unaware. We meet Joe Cashin as he is walking his dogs near a creek. The dogs, are two unlikely giant poodles. Poodles, yes, who chase the wildlife and in particular, rabbits. Peter Temple is an exquisite descriptive writer who makes magic with his words. The novel is in fact a blend of crime fiction and a literary wonder. Temple is well known in Australia, where he lives, "The Broken Shore" has already won the Ned Kelly Award for crime fiction.
In Port Monro a wealthy citizen is beaten to death in his home. Three teenage Aborigines, are charged with the crime. It is important to know that prejudice against Aborigines is central to the novel. Cashin is not convinced of their guilt, and he disobeys his superiors and follows leads that point to several of the region's leading citizens.
Peter Temple gives us rich portraits of his characters. There is Cashin, who comes from a troubled family. He medicates himself from his constant pain with minimal narcotics and booze. He has an ex girlfriend who won't let him see their son. Cashin meets a swaggie or hobo, and he invites him to stay on his property and help rebuild his home. I see an entire book written around this character. We meet Cashin's boss, Villani who shows up as the main character in his newest book, 'Truth'. There is a politician, another detective in a neighboring town who is so nasty that I wanted to slap his face. An old classmate of Joe's who is a newly minted lawyer and a looker. His cousin Bern, who helps him with building materials and gossip of the surrounding towns. So many wonderful layers are built within these characters, that it is difficult not to ponder what they are all about.
This is world class writing, mixed with very nasty criminals who commit outlandish crimes that make you wince and blind your eyes. The superb writing and characterization make for one of the best crime novels I have read in a long time. I look forward to reading about all of the characters I have met in this book.
Highly Recommended. prisrob 03-14-11
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Australia's Reginald Hill
I came across The Broken Shore by chance in my local library. What a find - as deeply satisfying as a Reginald Hill crime novel - ie it works on many levels. Read more
Published 1 month ago by JudithSansom
like dragging a bag of gold
I agree with some of the reviews that the book can be a little drawn out here and there.
If you like action all the way then its not for you. Read more
If you like action all the way then its not for you. Read more
Published 1 month ago by P. Winthrop
Language barrier ...
If the author could have been bothered to use full sentences in the dialogues described at the start of the book, I may have read further than the first chapter. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Thomas Goetze
A good read
Peter Temple's laconic style takes a little while to adjust to but adds to the atmosphere in this engrossing detective novel. Read more
Published 11 months ago by CAROLINE M
Just about does the job...
This is the second Temple I've read (the first being `Truth'); to be honest it has the same virtues and flaws of the previous one. Read more
Published 12 months ago by bloodsimple
hard going
This was my first Peter Temple book and will almost certainly be my last. I found the story very laborious and there were far too many characters so I was never sure who had done... Read more
Published 12 months ago by dixie dean
Disappointing
I am very surprised with the reviews on this page - that is 7 hours of my life I will never get back, appalling development, slow and pondering, irrelevant characters and an ending... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Fawders
Each to their own
I have just finished Peter Temple's The Broken Shore. He's an Australian writer, with very good reviews, but I found it hard going. There is the issue of language. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Rex W. Davy
Routine Australian police procedural
Top Australian cop recuperates with two big dogs on his homestead, keeping the peace in a coastal town where stealing a tin of beans represents a crime-wave. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Officer Dibble
Brilliant But Flawed
The search for the perfect thriller goes on. This ain't it but The Broken Shore is certainly worth an honourable mention. Read more
Published on 30 April 2010 by I. Read-Books
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