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1 Burnside Mystery- A to Z

Half Broken Things

by Morag Joss

Half Broken Things Cover

ISBN13: 9780385339407
ISBN10: 0385339402
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A gripping tale of psychological suspense perfect for the readership of Minette Walters and Ruth Rendell, Half Broken Things is a novel that peers into the lives of three dangerously lost people…and the ominous haven they find when they find each other.

Jean is a house sitter at the end of a dreary career. Steph is nine months pregnant and on the run. And Michael is a thief. Through a mixture of deceit, good luck, and misfortune, these three damaged loners have come together at a secluded country home called Walden Manor. Now all three have found what they needed most: a new beginning, a little kindness, a little love. Living off the manor’s riches, tending its grounds and gardens, they leave the outside world far behind and build a happiness so long denied them. That is, until the first unexpected visitor arrives...igniting a chain reaction that is at once spellbinding and disastrous.

A stunning, thought-provoking crime novel of chilling moral complexity, Half Broken Things is a gripping, haunting exploration of love and our need for it, of the damage done when we go long without it, and the deeds we might be driven to in its name.

Review:

"British author Joss's brilliantly conceived, finely executed novel, which captured the CWA's Silver Dagger Award, offers psychological suspense of the highest order. The catalyst for a trio of misfits is Jean, a 64-year-old housesitter on the verge of forced retirement. Her last assignment is lengthy: nine months alone at an isolated country house, Walden Manor, whose wealthy owners are abroad for an extended stay. Jean's first casual liberties with the house are almost accidental. Then, as she begins to think of the place as home, she becomes bolder. She welcomes Michael, a middle-aged, less-than-successful thief, who becomes her 'lost' son, and the pregnant, unmarried and abused Steph, who becomes her daughter-in-law. In Joss's capable hands, these three lonely losers begin to craft a family life. Even as they use another's property to do so, they're as appealing as they are appalling. How long will their idyll last? How far will they go to preserve it? What crimes are too great? This is a must-read. Joss is also the author of the Sara Selkirk mystery series (Fruitful Bodies, etc.). Agent, Jean Naggar. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

About the Author

Morag Joss grew up on the west coast of Scotland. Her first Sara Selkirk novel, Funeral Music, was nominated by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association for the Dilys Award for the year’s favorite mystery. Her fourth novel, Half Broken Things, won the 2003 CWA Silver Dagger Award. Morag Joss lives in the country outside the city of Bath and in London.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

vw, January 27, 2008 (view all comments by vw)
While reading this book's first chapters, I was somewhat disappointed and stifled a few yawns...little did I know how British author Joss would slowly, but surely, creep up on me with her seemingly innocuous and pitiable characters.The novel's last act crescendoed and caught my breath over and over...waves of suspense and dread which I could not see in the horizon. Not surprisingly, this book earned her the prestigious Crime Writer's Association Silver Daggar Award, and I am now anxious to read her earlier mystery series featuring a cellist, of all people!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780385339407
Author:
Joss, Morag
Publisher:
Random House
Subject:
Psychological
Subject:
Suspense
Subject:
Country homes
Subject:
Loss (psychology)
Copyright:
Publication Date:
September 2005
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Pages:
303
Dimensions:
9.28x6.20x.94 in. 1.20 lbs.

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Related Subjects

Fiction and Poetry » Mystery » A to Z

Half Broken Things Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$6.95 In Stock
Product details 303 pages Delacorte Press - English 9780385339407 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "British author Joss's brilliantly conceived, finely executed novel, which captured the CWA's Silver Dagger Award, offers psychological suspense of the highest order. The catalyst for a trio of misfits is Jean, a 64-year-old housesitter on the verge of forced retirement. Her last assignment is lengthy: nine months alone at an isolated country house, Walden Manor, whose wealthy owners are abroad for an extended stay. Jean's first casual liberties with the house are almost accidental. Then, as she begins to think of the place as home, she becomes bolder. She welcomes Michael, a middle-aged, less-than-successful thief, who becomes her 'lost' son, and the pregnant, unmarried and abused Steph, who becomes her daughter-in-law. In Joss's capable hands, these three lonely losers begin to craft a family life. Even as they use another's property to do so, they're as appealing as they are appalling. How long will their idyll last? How far will they go to preserve it? What crimes are too great? This is a must-read. Joss is also the author of the Sara Selkirk mystery series (Fruitful Bodies, etc.). Agent, Jean Naggar. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
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