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Broken Harbour

Winner of the Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction Book of the Year

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Broken Harbour

By: Tana French
Narrated by: Hugh Lee
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THE STUNNING, AWARD-WINNING THRILLER FROM THE MODERN QUEEN OF CRIME FICTION

'To say Tana French is one of the great thriller writers is really too limiting. Rather she's simply this: a truly great writer' GILLIAN FLYNN

'Tana French is one of the most assured crime novelists writing today and Broken Harbour affirms her reputation' TIME OUT

'With Broken Harbour, Tana French should cement her name not only as the queen of Irish crime fiction but the queen of Irish fiction' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

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In Broken Harbour, a ghost estate outside Dublin, two children and their father are dead. The mother is on her way to intensive care.

At first Detective Scorcher Kennedy, and his rookie partner, Richie, think this is cut and dry: Pat Spain was a casualty of the recession, so he killed his children, tried to kill his wife, Jenny, and then himself. But inexplicable details keep cropping up.

Soon the neat compartments of Scorcher's life begin to break down, putting both his professional and personal life at risk. As the case reaches its apex, he will be forced to face the truth of what happened to him and his family all those years ago, one dark summer at Broken Harbour.

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IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR CRIME FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR MYSTERY/THRILLER
DILYS AWARD FOR BEST BOOK (shortlist)

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Praise for the talismanic Tana French and her novels

'With red herrings and false turns aplenty, Broken Harbour by Tana French will keep you gripped right to the shocking final page' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'I can do you no greater favour in life than recommending that you read her books' GUARDIAN

'The most interesting, the most important crime novelist to emerge in the last ten years' WASHINGTON POST

'The most breathtakingly brilliant and close-to-perfect thriller I've read for a long time' SOPHIE HANNAH

'I'm a big fan of Tana French' IAN RANKIN

'This is a tour de force of suspense and storytelling. Comes closer to perfection than anything I've read in the last decade' SARAH HILARY

'French offers a masterclass in unreliability' SUNDAY TIMES

'An audacious departure for this immensely talented author . . . not to be missed' NEW YORK TIMES

'A wonderfully assured and beautifully written debut novel' IRISH INDEPENDENT©2012 Tana French Crime Thrillers Mystery Thriller & Suspense True Crime Fiction Suspense Exciting Scary
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Critic reviews

I've been enthusiastically telling everyone who will listen to read Tana French. She is, without a doubt, my favorite new mystery writer. Her novels are poignant, compelling, beautifully written and wonderfully atmospheric. Just start reading the first page. You'll see what I mean.
The half finished housing estate with jerry-built boxes is eerily reminiscent of a J. G. Ballard dystopian setting - establishing atmosphere is one of French's many strengths. Gradually, an emotionally jolting story of love, obsession and madness is played out to incredible effect. Since her first novel, In the Woods, was larded with awards in 2007, French has garnered a huge legion of fans and they will be thrilled with this, her fourth and possibly best novel.
The most breathtakingly brilliant and close-to-perfect thriller I've read for a long time.
Tana French is one of those rare novelists who combine a gift for dialogue and characterisation, with suspense, intrigue and fabulous plotting. And she's a beautiful writer, to boot. A real treat.
Edgar-winner French's eloquently slow-burning fourth Dublin murder squad novel shows her at the top of her game . . . French excels at drawing out complex character dynamics
All stars
Most relevant
Excellent really enjoyed it, Hugh Lee narrated it very well it was like listening to a play, sorry when it finished.

BROKEN HARBOUR

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I have loved Tana French since her debut 'In the Woods' and feel that she is a much under rated writer. This was an amazing book made all the better by the outstanding narration by Hugh Lee - a reason in itself to listen. It's not often that my husband listens to audiobooks too but we were both completely gripped by this. It takes you on a long, gripping, journey and the listener is never quite sure where the plot is going. I did not want to stop listening and felt rather bereft when it ended. The only thing that stopped me awarding this 5 stars is one small aspect of the plot becomes a little dragged out but maybe this is just me being too picky!! 4 and three quarter stars.

Almost a 5 star listen

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Wow. Darn! I've finished the book! I've heard very many audio books, and enjoyed almost all of them but this had me totally in thrall. I was so engrossed in the last third I had trouble doing even the washing. I listen while driving to and from work, and at the weekend while doing the usual chores at home I would switch off the story if I need to interact with friends and neighbours. I avoided them all in order to listen... The narrator is the finest I have ever heard, his different voices melding with the characters so well that I forgot it was one person making them all, indeed I have no idea what his natural voice would sound like because his mastery of accent was so good. A true voice actor. The story? A murder mystery, yes, but from an unusual perspective, this is no ordinary tale. At one point I felt I could see the pattern and was almost disappointed, then the shape shifted and I was proved wrong, even the ending was unexpected. This is a book I would recommend without hesitation and will listen to again and again if only for the pleasure of listening to the sound of Hugh Lee's voice. Tana French gives her characters depth and veracity, genuine and believable dialogue and no cliches in sight. Oh yes, I shall certainly be looking out for more from both the author and the narrator. If you get only one book, pick this one.

Completely enthralling...

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The plot is great, the narrator does a wonderful job, but the listening is spoiled by the repeated, coarse, foul language used. Its unnecessary and really detracts from the enjoyment of the story.

Great storyline

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This is a wonderful haunted and haunting novel. It would be classified as crime fiction but it is so much more than that, whilst it does not lose pace the story is intricately woven together where the past and present resonate with each other. The author takes a horrific crime and gently and inevitably leads towards an understanding of the forces that can lead someone to commit it. None of the characters are cardboard cutouts and I found myself genuinely caring about what happened to them.



The narration is superb and enhances the enjoyment, I have enjoyed all the books that I have read/listened to by this author but this is, I think, the best so far.

I urge you to buy this book

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