Broken Harbor: A Novel (Dublin Murder Squad) [Kindle Edition]

Tana French (Author)

Book Description

The latest New York Times bestseller from the acclaimed author of In the Woods and Faithful Place
 
Tana French’s rise can only be called meteoric. Starting with her award-winning debut, French has scored four consecutive New York Times bestsellers and established herself as one of the top names in the genre. Broken Harbor is quintessential French—a damaged hero, an unspeakable crime, and an intricately plotted mystery—nestled in a timely examination of lives shattered by the global economic downturn.
            Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy always brings in the killer. Always. That’s why he’s landed this high-profile triple homicide. At first, he thinks it’s going to be simple, but the murder scene holds terrifying memories for Scorcher. Memories of something that happened there back when he was a boy.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, July 2012: In Tana French’s fourth novel, detective Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy and his rookie partner, Richie, are sent to a half-constructed, abandoned housing development called Broken Harbor to investigate the brutal murder of the Spain family. They expect an open-and-shut case, but it quickly gets complicated when Jenny Spain is found barely alive and the family’s circumstances come to light: hidden baby monitors, a strained mortgage brought on by the housing crisis, and the increasingly erratic signs of people in crisis. The tension of the investigation is intensified by the eerily abandoned estate and a creepy lead suspect. French fans will appreciate this new look at Scorcher, who was a minor character in Faithful Place; he shines as the successful but jaded detective with a troubled past. All told, French delivers a layered psychological thriller and satisfying whodunnit. She spins a masterly plot rife with tension and a haunting mood that rivals the best of the Gothic writers. --Heather Dileepan

Review

'The queen of Irish fiction ... This is a writer working at the height of her powers. As always with Tana French, you can expect humour, pathos and well-observed social commentary, but above all, a cracking story that keeps you guessing until the end' -- Sunday Independent 20120708 'Broken Harbour is a complex, well crafted psychological thriller as well as an exemplary dissection of the plight of the disappointed and desperate human wreckage washed up in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland. As always, French's carefully wrought prose is a delight ... A hugely impressive and intelligent book, with writing to savour. It confirms French as the First Lady of Irish Crime.' -- Irish Independent 20120630 'Gripping' -- Image magazine 20120601 '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.' -- Daily Mail 20120614 Praise for Tana French -- : 20120614 'I've been enthusiastically telling everyone who will listen to read Tana French. Her novels are poignant, compelling, beautifully written and wonderfully atmospheric. Just start reading the first page. You'll see what I mean.' -- Harlan Coben 20120614 'Every holiday needs a good crime novel and French's skilful thrillers are tailor-made to terrify' -- Guardian 20120614 'A gripping, literate thriller laced with black humour' -- Irish Times 20120614 'If you're only going to buy one thriller this year, let it be Tana French's Faithful Place. Searing, utterly Dub, and very funny ... Tana French, Dublin author of international hits ... is a wonder. Just don't plan anything if you pick this up; you won't be able to put it down.' -- Evening Herald (Dublin) 20120614 'Gripping. Tana French's third novel hooks the reader from the outset; the characters are masterfully drawn, and the author's ear for Dublin dialogue is pitch-perfect.' -- Irish Independent 20120614 'The first thing that Ms. French does so well in Faithful Place is to inhabit fully a scrappy, shrewd, privately heartbroken middle-aged man. The second is to capture the Mackey family's long-brewing resentments in a way that's utterly realistic on many levels. Sibling rivalries, class conflicts, old grudges, adolescent flirtations and memories of childhood violence are all deftly embedded in this novel, as is the richly idiomatic Dublinese.' -- New York Times 20120614 'Ambitious and extraordinary' -- Washington Post 20120614 'Crime fiction at its best' -- InStyle magazine 20120614 'One of the most startling debuts I have seen any writer make: polished, assured, ferociously intelligent, at once very original and effortlessly engaged with the conventions of crime fiction' -- Sydney Morning Herald 20120614 'Nothing short of a masterpiece. French's first three thrillers were all brilliant but this is by far her best and reaches a level of spine-chilling, gripping moreishness that will leave readers open-mouthed with admiration. If I encounter a better novel than Broken Harbour before French publishes her fifth, I'll eat a milliner's shop full of hats.' --Sophie Hannah, Daily Express 20120617

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 863 KB
• Print Length: 456 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0670023655
• Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (July 24, 2012)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0072O00YI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,003 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #15 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature
  • #37 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals
  • #70 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 94 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific book July 27, 2012

By Sid Nuncius TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

A 500-odd page novel set in the Irish recession isn't a description which attracts me, I must admit. I only tried this on the recommendation of a friend and I am extremely glad I did. I thought it was an exceptionally good book - well written, completely gripping and very intelligent. It is told in the first person by the detective investigating an attack on a family which leaves the father and two young children dead and the mother seriously injured. The investigation of the crime itself is very well done but it is the depth of Dana French's characters and the sharpness and humanity of her insights which marks this out as an exceptionally good book.

The narrative voice is terrifically believable and readable. The narrator, Detective Mike Kennedy is, for all his flaws, a very sympathetic character and the revelations about his personal life and past are delicately and insightfully done. The story unfolds at a very measured pace but is utterly gripping throughout and is genuine it's-very-late-but-just-one-more-chapter stuff. We get a real feel for the lives of both narrator and the victims, a heart-wrenching portrait of what the boom-and-bust economy in Ireland has really done to some of its people, and varied, poignant portraits of what it means when certainty and control of one's life begin to unravel and when well-intentioned actions go wrong.

I thought this was a terrific book. An unequivocal five stars and very warmly recommended.

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It Should Have Been a Dream House July 28, 2012

By C. Wallace VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're looking for a novel that you can lose yourself in for a few days, a book that will "get you to thinking," this is it. I have found that a really great read stirs up the emotions. This is such a work.

The book begins with a heinous crime. Two children, ages four and six, are smothered in their beds. Their father, Pat Spain, is stabbed to death. Their mother, Jenny, is repeatedly stabbed, and clings to life. All of this takes place in the space of a few minutes. Three (or is it four?) prime suspects emerge.

It's set in a new house close by the Irish Sea. This sentence might conjure up images quite different from the structure in this book. The Spain house is part of a huge development sloppily thrown up in great haste to make quick bucks just before the mortgage bubble burst a few years ago. When the economy went south the developer abandoned the project, leaving a wasteland of partially finished homes to rot away. Occupied houses, like the Spains', were significantly flawed.

Several months before the murders Pat loses his job, becoming "redundant." (The first time I saw this word describing those fired because of the recession.) The Spains are running out of money, so the pressure mounts. They are in immminent danger of losing their cherished (despite its faults) home. Pat spends a lot of time sitting at home, thinking, brooding, imagining... Jenny stays busy taking care of her children, but she sorely misses her earlier, cash-lubricated, comfortable life.

There is a swarm of subplots. Mick Kennedy is the narrator. We learn a lot about him just by the way he spins the story. He's a veteran detective with the Garda, the Irish national police. He views himself as a "straight arrow" who never breaks the rules. He has a strong conviction record, but he craves a solve in the Spain murders because it's the kind of high-profile crime that will give him star status and likely overshadow a big case that he fumbled a couple of years earlier. (A loathsome jerk detective likes to remind him of this earlier incident.)

Mick's partner working the Spain murders is young Richie Curran. This is Richie's first work as a detective, and he desperately does not want to go back to uniform. Much of the novel is about Mick's interaction with Richie. Mick views himself as Richie's mentor, and Mick is very serious about wanting to teach Richie how to be a good detective. And, not at all surprisingly, given author Tana French's style, Richie is a complex being, not always willing to conform to Mick's plan.

Then there's Dina, Mick's sister, perhaps in her late twenties. She drifts in and out of psychotic states characterized by self-destructive behavior. Dina is given to tantrums of the sort thrown by preschoolers. She is incredibly demanding and mean-spirited. She chooses to bother Mick with her problems, although she knows he is in the midst of a crucial investigation that is exhausting him. For various reasons, well-examined by author French, Mick is usually the only one available to help Dina.

Throw in a man who is obsessed with Jenny and envies every moment of happiness that Pat has with her. There is also a phantom creature that invades the Spain home.

There are several other characters, all richly developed. (French could probably craft a great novel about the despicable neighbors, the Gogans.)

French is a master wordsmith with a profound grasp of human nature.

Highly recommended.

52 of 59 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but disappointing in comparison to previous novels July 27, 2012

By mindshrink

Format:Kindle Edition

If you have not read Tana French's previous works, you will probably like Broken Harbor. If you have read her previous works, this one pales in comparison.

I love Tana French's previous novels and have been waiting for this one for close to a year. I hate to say it, but I was disappointed. I think she spent far too much time describing crime scenes, autopsies, and the like which caused her to stray from what she does best: developing complex characteries and providing amazing descriptions of their psychological makeup. Ms. French did well with the character of Scorcher but his background, current family issues, and just about everything relating to the psychology of the victims just doesn't fit with any kind of psychological truth (which she so flawlessly developed in her earlier novels).

As an avid reader as well as a clinical and forensic psychologist, I have nothing but praise for Ms. French's other novels. I can honestly say that she is the finest creator of a character's psychology ever. Hands down. No contest. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading her other novels, do yourself a favor and get them now! Those characters, particularly Cassie from The Likeness and Rob from In The Woods, have stuck with me in a way that no other character has done before. I am hoping/praying/crossing fingers that French's future works return to either of these characters.

More About the Author

Tana French grew up in Ireland, the US, Italy and Malawi. She trained as an actress at Trinity College Dublin and has worked in theatre, film and voiceover. She is the author of In the Woods (2007), The Likeness (2008) and Faithful Place (2010). Her books have won Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Barry and ICVA Clarion awards and have been finalists for LA Times and Strand Magazine awards. She lives in Dublin with her husband and daughter.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#32 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#83 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#90 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#32 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#83 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#90 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure