Finished January 6
The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
A little history of my copy of this novel: I picked up this book in a bookstore along the Great Ocean Road when I was in Australia in 2006. On my flight home, my luggage was delayed and soaked, and the book I bought was damaged. I got the airline to reimburse me for the replacement, which I ordered from Dymocks in Australia (along with another book not available in Canada at the time), but then never read it until now, nearly six years later.
Joe Cashin has had bad experiences in his Melbourne police career recently and come close to death. Subsequently he has been posted to the quiet coastal community he grew up in. When a prominent local is killed, three local aboriginal boys are fingered for the crime, but Cashin doesn't believe it is that straightforward. It would be easy for him to go along with this story, but even as the deaths pile up, he moves forward in a different direction, searching for the truth.
Cashin is a man who has lived a difficult life, whose father died when he was young, who cares about people, and has a strong moral centre. This makes for a very interesting character.
We see him develop and the characters around him are also interesting. The plot is complex, yet never hard to accept. A great and gripping mystery with many facets.
This book counted towards my Global Reading Challenge, the What's in a Name Challenge and was on my TBR Pile Challenge List.
ReplyDeleteSounds like it was well worth the wait. I guess you thought it had better be good after all the fuss.
ReplyDeleteWell, I was hoping Irene, but glad it turned out. The owner of the bookstore recommended it at the time as a great choice for a souvenir book for the area.
ReplyDeleteI have another book I bought at Alice Springs in 2009 as a souvenir book that I haven't got to yet either. Maybe later this year!
Chaslin does seem like an interesting character. Would be very hard not to like him.
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