“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.
“Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is an unforgettable story of love, loss, and the choices that shape our lives…but it’s also a masterfully crafted mystery that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Seriously, that ending?! I did not see it coming.”—Reese Witherspoon
“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.
Book Info: Print length: 319 pages. Publisher: John Murray. Publication Date: 4 March 2025
My Thoughts.
WOW. Just WOW and in case you aren’t sure if I LOVED this book – here’s another WOW!
I met Clare years ago when she published under the name Clare Empson and was involved in her blogtours for HIM and MINE which are both OUTSTANDING psychological thrillers. In fact Mine went into my TOP TEN Books of 2020!
I kept seeing Broken Country EVERYWHERE – all over social media, the windows of all the major bookstores, newsletters, recommendations from all the biggers influencers and even Reece Witherspoon featured it on her book club, but I didn’t realise it was the same author (duh!)
I share my kindle library with my 2 non-reading sisters who ONLY read on holiday and told them both to read the book as it’s been so highly recommended, so you can imagine my joy when they BOTH read the book within a day and BOTH said it’s one of the BEST books they’ve ever read. Obviously my FOMO kicked in so I abandoned my current crime book and settled down to read Broken Country.
This is a haunting and emotionally charged story that combines historical fiction, family drama with a courtroom mystery.
The story opens with a murder trial, but the identity of the victim and the killer remain unclear. Through alternating timelines, we follow Beth Johnson, a woman torn between her past and present. In 1955, she fell in love with Gabriel Wolfe, but circumstances revealed throughout the story means their love was cut short. But by 1968, Beth is married to Frank Johnson, a devoted farmer, and grieving the loss of their young son, Bobby.
When Gabriel’s return to the village with his own son, Leo, reignites old feelings and sets off a chain of events that culminate in a fatal gunshot.
The main themes of this book are grief due to heartbreaking death of Beth’s young son Bobby. This loss affects every relationship and decision the main character makes. Love and betrayal all play a major part as Beth, Gabriel and Frank struggle with the fall out of the past colliding with the present, the simmering passion between the young lovers and Beth’s torn between loyalty and love.
I don’t normally highlight sentences in books – but this one didn’t just speak to me, it crept under my skin and caused goosebumps and it’s so good I have to quote it here: “With him, for a few hours, I get to be unbroken.”
I don’t know what else to say to convince you to read this book except it’s so beautifully written that it’s practically lyrical. Broken Country touched me so deeply and I struggled to read the final chapter as I was crying so much. A standout read for fans of literary fiction, historical drama and psychological thrillers.
Absolutely STUNNING and straight into my TOP TEN of 2025.
