Synopses & Reviews
Until that fateful afternoon, Skunk Cunningham had been a normal little girl, playing on the curb in front of her house. Rick Buckley had been a normal geeky teenager, hosing off his brand-new car. Bob Oswald had been a normal sociopathic single father of five slutty daughters, charging furiously down the sidewalk. Then Bob was beating Rick to a bloody pulp, right there in the Buckleys' driveway, and life on Drummond Square was never the same again.
Inspired by Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird, Clay's brilliantly observed and darkly funny novel follows the sudden unraveling of a suburban community after a single act of thoughtless cruelty.
Review
“Bold, prescient, engaging.” The Guardian
Review
“Daniel Clay tells the truth about childhood in the modern world, and captures all the elements of a great novel: suspense, desperation, love, and death.” Amy Bryant, author of POLLY
Review
“Its funny and sad and moving.” The Observer
Review
“Clays debut novel is remarkably controlled and disciplined as it depicts those who spiral out of control.... Clay succeeds in inciting pity even for a murderer [and his] triumph is in exploring the kindness and love that might heal and restore and what it is to feel fully alive.” The Independent
Review
“This intense and intricate novel charts the fascinating, often frightening lives of three families in suburban Britain. Daniel Clay shows a masterful empathy for his characters, while never shying from their frailties and agonies. BROKEN is surprising, shocking, and cruelly funny at times. Its an unforgettable book.” Scott Heim, author of MYSTERIOUS SKIN and WE DISAPPEAR
About the Author
Daniel Clay lives in Hedge End, England, with his wife, Alison. His short stories have been published in Writers' Forum, The Ashes, and World Wide Writers in the UK. Broken is his first novel.