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About this item
Highlights
- "Stirring and mysterious...fires directly at the human heart and hits the mark.
- About the Author: Clare Leslie Hall is a novelist and journalist who lives in the wilds of Dorset, England, with her family.
- 320 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Family Life
Description
Book Synopsis
"Stirring and mysterious...fires directly at the human heart and hits the mark." --Delia Owens, New York Times bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing A love triangle unearths dangerous, deadly secrets from the past in this thrilling tale perfect for fans of The Paper Palace and Where the Crawdads Sing. "The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him." Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth's brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn't realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager--the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident. As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel's life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become. A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.Review Quotes
"Stirring, poetic and mysterious, Clare Leslie Hall's novel, BROKEN COUNTRY, reveals how tender and innocent love between a boy and a girl can alter the lives of families for generations. Even on a quaint and quiet sheep farm of rural England, misguided passion brings murder and criminal charges against the most innocent of players because human nature is far from tame. Yet, even as love destroys, it can return to heal on the same sacred meadow where it was first conceived. This evocative, sensitive and compelling novel fires directly at the human heart and hits the mark." -DELIA OWENS, New York Times bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing "BROKEN COUNTRY is a beautifully observed and brilliantly constructed page-turner of novel. It has everything - love, loss, fury, forgiveness - and I was absolutely immersed from page one."--MARY BETH KEANE, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes and The Half Moon "BROKEN COUNTRY is mesmerizing: delicate and forceful, lyrical, brutal, and passionate. I devoured it." -MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, New York Times bestselling author of The Paper Palace "Broken Country combines the intoxicating passion of Sally Rooney's Normal People with the hard-won wisdom of Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach. It is also as romantic about the British countryside as Elena Ferrante is about Naples. Both a love story and a pulsing suspense, you could wait a lifetime for a novel as good as this."--Jo Furniss, author of The Last to Know
About the Author
Clare Leslie Hall is a novelist and journalist who lives in the wilds of Dorset, England, with her family. Under the name Clare Empson, she published two domestic noir thrillers, Him and Mine, that were published in the UK and Germany. She has always loved The Go Between by LP Hartley and Broken Country is a nod to it, featuring a forbidden love affair with catastrophic repercussions. Broken Country is her US debut.Dimensions (Overall): 9 Inches (H) x 6 Inches (W) x .83 Inches (D)
Weight: 1.13
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Sub-Genre: Family Life
Genre: Fiction + Literature Genres
Number of Pages: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: Hardcover
Author: Clare Leslie Hall
Theme: General
Language: English
Street Date: March 4, 2025
TCIN: 92388422
UPC: 9781668078181
Item Number (DPCI): 059-01-5788
Origin: Made in the USA
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Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 0.83 inches length x 6 inches width x 9 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 1.13 pounds
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5.0 out of 5 stars with 9 reviews
100% would recommend
3 recommendations
Top 2025 favorites list!
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
ks924 - 2 months ago, Verified purchaser
Wow. This will easily be a top favorite of 2025! Seriously, put this at the top of your TBR right meow! Finished this in a day because I couldn't put it down & have just been sitting here staring at the wall for an hour in a book coma, & wishing I hadn't read this yet, JUST so I could experience reading it for the 1st time all over again! This one is a romance, mystery, thriller, & historical fiction with a bit of a twist that had me audibly say out loud ARE YOU KIDDING ME, all rolled into one. The characters are so beautifully written, genuine & so realistically flawed. I found myself completely immersed in their world! I was literally sucked in within the first few pages. Every turn of the plot hit me like a wave, leaving me needing to know where the story was going to take me next & emotionally drained in the best way possible. The way this author wove together love, loss, passion & hope was nothing short of masterful!
5 glowing stars
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
B Rex - 2 months ago
Wow. I am writing this about an hour after having finished the book, and my heart is heavy. This book about bad choices and their repercussions is tragic and heartbreaking, which is what also makes it so moving. Be warned: several of the characters are deeply flawed and completely unlikeable at times, but they are also very real, which is something I appreciate so much in my books. There were times where I absolutely hated what was going on with the plot of this book (and the decisions the characters were making), but I understand why it was entirely necessary to the story. I did find myself struggling with how the chapters were titled as "before" or "1968". I think it was confusing me because obviously in 2025, I think of 1968 as "before". So it kept throwing me off when it would go "back" to the 1968 chapters, because in the book, those were actually present-day chapters. I would quickly figure it out based on what was happening, but my brain never got used to that (and I honestly kept forgetting that the book was set in an older time period. It would only be when something came up that was obviously from an older time that I was remember it was set in the 60s. I don't know why it was such a struggle for me, but I definitely think that's just a "me" problem.). Anyway, I really don't want to spoil anything, but just know that your heart will break for nearly every single character in this book, but the reasons for that heartbreak will be different for each of them. I have sympathy for all of them, even the ones I found unlikeable. I love the way the book was laid out and the way things were revealed. It was brilliantly done, but I don't want to expand on that, because I want everyone to experience it for themselves. I adored this book and will recommend it to anyone that likes books about families and flawed characters. Truly stunning and one that will stick with me for a very long time.
Utterly captivating
5 out of 5 stars
Thumbs up graphic, would recommend
carvanz - 2 months ago
This story was utterly captivating. The characters felt so real, their struggles so raw. I found myself completely immersed in their world. Every turn of the plot hit me like a wave, leaving me breathless and emotionally drained in the best way possible. The way this author wove together love, loss, and hope was nothing short of masterful, making this a story that will stay with me long after I’ve turned the final page.