What audience would you recommend Broken Country to? Is there another book or author you’d recommend that you feel has a similar theme or style?
This might be on a “beach/summer” read list.
Readers who like a love story!
Someone who likes a good romance focused mystery.
This will be on my schedule for several of my book clubs. Most are made up of “mature” suburban women. This book held my attention throughout. The topic is a total change of pace from the historical fiction we have been reading. The structure is also quite different and is something we will discuss.
Those who like a romance if it’s part of a mystery with lots of twist and turns! I’m currently reading Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore and would recommend it as being similar. It is an atmospheric, isolated Island murder mystery with a romance buried in that I’m very much enjoying! I would also recommend for a similar read Isola by Allegra Goodman, another atmospheric mystery with a romance subplot that doesn’t distract from the story as a whole.
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This book is for so many audiences. With courtroom drama, a love story, and familial relationships, what more could you ask?
If you liked this, try Wild Dark Shore, or God of the Woods, or The Frozen River.
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At first, I wanted to recommend it to everyone (and I still might), because it has love, mystery, loss, laugh-out-loud parts, murder, pain, and so many feelings that almost ev ery person has experienced. I first recommended it to my 70+years old high school friend. She loved it. Then I recommended it to my 44 year old daughter. She didn’t think it wasn’t anything special. How could she not feel the beat by the beautiful words that were written and choke back emotions during the truly sad and joyful parts. I. Love. This. Story.
I don’t think I’m a good person to recommend this book. I like character driven books and usually come away with one likable one. I was so disappointed in the characters in this book. Frank was a little too good to be true and Beth was too self centered. Having read some of the other replies, comparing it to Wild Dark Shores, I was taken with it. I did not come away from Broken feeling the same.
You mentioned two books I also loved -Isola
and Wild Dark Shores. Our book club will be discussing Isola next month.
Yes! I loved it. There is a lot to discuss so will make a great bookclub book!
Good recommendations . I read Wild Dark Shore too but it was a “dark” story.
It really was but oh the twist and turns kept me ganging on!! I thought Isola was also dark, abandoning a child like that?? You have to be truly evil to do a thing like that!!. The fact that it is based on a true story just sent shivers up my spine!
All three of these books are very good reads, but I think Broken Country will have broader appeal to general readers.
I would recommend it to Book Clubs. It has a few good themes to discuss, a few of them would lead to a great discussion.
To me there is a slight similarity to author’s like: Delia Owens: “Where the Crawdads Sing” and William Kent Krueger “Ordinary Grace”.
This novel broached the dangers of dwelling on the “what-ifs” in life. As older readers have had more time in which to entertain such thoughts, then I feel that they are the audience who would most connect with this book. I would also recommend it to someone looking for a compelling beach read filled with village drama.