Broken: A Novel

By Daniel Clay

A "bold, prescient, engaging" novel about the breakdown of a British suburban community in the aftermath of a violent crime (The Guardian).

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.


"Beautifully written." —Booklist

"Broken is surprising, shocking, and cruelly funny at times. It's an unforgettable book." —Scott Helm, author of Mysterious Skin and We Disappear

"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

"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

"Funny and sad and moving." —The Observer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 27, 2008
• ISBN: 9780061982514

Daniel Clay

Daniel Clay is thirty-eight years old and married with no children. He lives in Hampshire in the UK. ‘Swap’ is his second novel.

Book preview

Begin Reading

‘Skunk, Skunk. Wake up, beautiful darling.’

Archie, my father, holds both my hands as he says this. I sense his words rather than hear them:

‘Skunk, Skunk. Wake up, beautiful darling.’

I also sense his life now.

It seeps through his palms into my palms. It deadens the blood in my veins. My heartbeat slows. I shudder. Poor old Archie. This is the way that his life is. I see it. I feel it. I know it. Tonight, from midnight through to two in the morning, he will sit all alone in the front room and watch a video of the day I was born. Almost twelve years ago now. There I am. You can see me. A wrinkled pink sack of flesh that does little but lie on its back with tubes feeding into its nostrils. Not a lot different to now then. Here I lie, on my back, with tubes feeding into my nostrils. But tonight I will be a newborn. All that hope. All that promise. Poor old Archie. He’ll sit all alone and he’ll watch me. He’ll drink and he’ll think, how did it happen? How did it end up like this? Then he’ll go to the bed that he shares with Cerys and listen to her crying. He’ll cry a little himself.

Finally, he will sleep and dream that the harsh ringing sound by his bedside is the Royal Hampshire County Hospital phoning to say I am dead. He will sit up, gasping, but it won’t be his phone that is ringing, it will be his alarm clock, and it will be time to get up, go to work.

In work, Archie will sit at his desk and recoil every time the phone rings, then he’ll rush here to see me.

‘Skunk, Skunk. Wake up, beautiful darling. Don’t you leave me. Don’t you dare.’

All of this will happen. I know for sure it will happen. I know everything now. Especially about Broken Buckley. Poor old Broken Buckley. Hunched over his mother’s corpse. Hands pressed to his temples. How and why? Oh how and why? His story started with Saskia Oswald: Broken loved Saskia Oswald. Had. Once. Loved. Saskia. Oswald. But Saskia Oswald never loved him. She just loved his car. She said, Hey, soldier, fancy taking me for a ride? Did he? Oh, did he. Poor old Broken Buckley. He was nineteen years old and a virgin, the sort of guy who spits when he speaks, just little flecks of saliva that hang in the air and distract you from whatever he’s saying. Saskia Oswald ate him for breakfast–ate him up and then spat him out. Not enough for her though. She had to tell everyone about it, and that’s when it started for him.

‘Skunk, please, God, blink, just blink if you can hear me…we’re here, darling. We’re all here beside you.’

It didn’t finish there though. It never does with the likes of the Oswalds. They’re the family in one of the Housing Association properties on the opposite side of the square. Single parent. Lots of children. Music all hours of the night. Trash bags in the front garden. Portsmouth FC flags hanging from the windows. Maori-style tattoos on overdeveloped biceps. This is Bob Oswald. The father.

Bob Oswald. The father.

The first time I saw him hitting someone, I was coming up ten years old.

It was summer, hot, and Rick Buckley was washing the car his father had bought him as a present for passing his driving test. Skunk Cunningham was skipping on the tarmac drive that had once been their front garden. Other than Skunk and Rick, Drummond Square was empty.

The attack happened out of nowhere. Skunk didn’t hear anyone speaking. She didn’t hear anyone shouting. The first thing she heard was the scream: it was high-pitched, like a horse, and before she knew what was happening, Bob Oswald had Rick Buckley in a headlock and was twisting him sideways, like wrestling a bull. The two of them staggered out of the Buckleys’ front garden and into the otherwise empty square. Rick Buckley shouted, Stop it, I haven’t done anything wrong.

Bob Oswald hit him. Not a punch, but a blow with the point of his elbow. It landed in the small of Rick’s back. Rick collapsed to his knees.

Skunk stood frozen, hot in the sun, her small hands held up to her mouth. Bob Oswald hit Rick again, and Rick fell flat on his face. Bob Oswald kicked him in the gut then the side of the head. Skunk recoiled at the sound of the thud. Then Bob Oswald took hold of Rick’s hair and lifted his head up. He made a lot of noise dredging his throat clean, then spat into Rick’s face. After that, he studied Rick closely for a moment, then pushed him back down to the ground. Rick lay very still. He was silent. Bob Oswald stepped over him and made his way back into his house. Once inside, the throb of music that had played like a soundtrack in the background rose to a deafening thud.

As far as I can remember, after Bob Oswald left him, Rick stayed on his face in the road. He was sobbing. I wanted to go and get someone to help him, but I was too frightened to move. I stood with my hands raised to my mouth and my heart beating fast in my chest. Maybe as much as half an hour later, Mr Buckley returned from the funeral parlour he managed and helped his son into their house. I sat down on the kerbside and stared at the blood on the tarmac. I don’t remember if I cried. I don’t remember if I was sick. If I ever asked Jed or Archie about it, I don’t remember what they said. In fact, before I fell into this coma, the only thing I really remember about seeing what Bob Oswald did to Rick Buckley was trying to forget it had happened. Even though this is how it all started, I pushed the whole thing from my mind.

The police turned up three days later. The squad car stood out like a beacon as it sat on the Buckleys’ front drive. Bob Oswald saw it through his kitchen window and thought about what he should do. Finally, he stepped out of his house and leaned against his jeep. From here, he watched the Buckley house until the policemen let themselves out. Then he marched over towards them.

‘You,’ he shouted. ‘I want words with you.’

The two policemen looked at each other and sighed. The Buckleys had just told them how Bob Oswald had beaten their son up for no apparent reason, but with no known witnesses and no permanent damage done, the officers had convinced Mr and Mrs Buckley to let the matter drop: if what they’d heard about Bob Oswald was true, he was only going to deny attacking their son, and did the Buckleys really want to be involved in a drawn-out court case with someone who lived so close to them? Now Bob Oswald continued towards the two policemen. A huge man, shaven-headed, he yelled, ‘I want to report a rape.’

It was his third eldest daughter who had been raped.

She was a skinny slip of a girl with lank blonde hair and an underfed gymnast’s body. She never wore many clothes–hot pants, bra tops, stilettos. Her favourite expression was fucker, as in, that fucker over there’s giving me the evils, or, that fucker down the road wants to watch herself or I’ll do her.

Now that fucker Rick Buckley had raped her.

She told her father this just a few minutes before the fight in the square, though she never said it was rape, she only said it was sex, and she only said it was sex because he refused to believe the real reason she had contraceptives under her bed.

He said, Susan, you’re thirteen years old, what the fuck do you want the pill for?

She said, I dunno.

He said, Yes, you do, you want them for having sex.

And then he got very angry.

Which made Susan very scared.

So she said that she’d nicked them.

For once, she was telling the truth. She’d nicked them off Mrs McCluskey, who’d made the fatal mistake of leaving an open handbag within reaching range of an Oswald. Mrs McCluskey never did realise they’d been stolen. She just assumed she’d lost them and got another prescription. As teachers go, she was sensible like that. As for Susan Oswald, once she’d nicked them, she didn’t know what to do with them. They tasted of nothing and didn’t get her going the way her old man’s vodka did. What good were contraceptives? She chucked them under her bed and forgot they even existed. Bob Oswald found them six months later when he was looking for a new place to hide his drugs. He yelled, ‘Susan. Get up here.’

Susan Oswald sighed. Her old man. He could be a right fucker.

‘What?’

‘Get your arse up here,’ Bob yelled. ‘Now.’

Susan climbed the stairs. ‘What?’

Bob Oswald threw the contraceptives at her. ‘What are these?’

‘I dunno.’

‘Yes, you do. They’re contraceptives.’

A pregnant pause.

‘Your contraceptives. I found them under your bed. Susan. You’re thirteen years old. What the fuck do you want the pill for?’

‘I dunno.’

‘Yes, you do. You want them for having sex. Who the fuck are you having sex with?’

Susan Oswald didn’t answer. She couldn’t. She hadn’t been having sex with anyone. Bob Oswald leaned into her face.

‘Susan. Tell me. And don’t try to give me no bullshit. I know you’ve been at it with someone. It’s written all over your face.’

‘Dad, it isn’t, I haven’t.’

‘Then what are you on the pill for?’

‘I’m not. Those tablets ain’t mine.’

‘Yeah. Right. Whose are they? Saskia’s? Saraya’s?’

‘Nobody’s.’

‘Nobody’s?’

‘Nobody’s. I nicked them. I swear.’

Bob Oswald drew a fist back. ‘Nobody nicks the pill, Susan. You get it for free off the state.’

Susan stared open-mouthed at her father’s fist.

‘Tell me,’ he told her. ‘Who are you having sex with?’

‘Dad–’

‘Don’t Dad me, Susan. Give me a name.’

‘But, Dad–’

Bob Oswald punched the wall beside Susan’s head. She screamed and fell down on the floor. Bob leaned down above her and pressed his bleeding fist into her face.

‘I want a name, Susan. You’re gonna give me a name. If you don’t give me a name, I’m gonna count to ten, and if I’ve not got a name by the time I’ve counted to ten, I’ll be punching you, not the fucking wall. You get me? I don’t want to. You’re my daughter. I love you. I’m out to protect you. But if you don’t help me protect you, I’ll break every bone in your body. Now give me the dumb fucker’s name.’

Susan Oswald had never been punched by her father before. Staring into his knuckles, she didn’t want to be either. They were huge. His onyx rings would slice through her flesh. She sobbed and screamed that the tablets weren’t hers, but Bob drew his fist back and started to count. One, he said, two, he said, three. Susan screamed for someone to help her, but her sisters were cowering on the stairs and there was nobody else who could hear. Bob’s voice rose with each number, so it was four, tell me, five, tell me, six, you’d better fucking tell me, SEVEN, right into her face. Then he screamed EIGHT, I’m gonna kill you, I’ll break every bone in your body. Give me the dumb fucker’s name. NINE. He tensed his fist even tighter. The knuckles were dripping with blood. Seeing it before her, Susan gave up trying to reason. She had to come up with a name. But there was no name she could think of, because there was no one she had shagged. She did know, however, that Saskia, her second eldest sister, had recently shagged Rick Buckley, the weird kid from the other side of the square. Susan knew this because she’d heard Saskia talking about the size of Rick’s penis. Saraya, the eldest, had yelled, ‘How small? You’re like totally kidding me,’ then the two sisters had laughed hysterically. Now, just before Bob could scream TEN and start punching, Susan shouted up into his face:

‘Rick Buckley.’

‘Rick Buckley?’ Bob Oswald stared, wide-eyed. ‘He’s–what–seven years older than you are?’

Rick was six years older. Bob didn’t care much for maths.

Susan tried to make the lie convincing: ‘We’ve been doing it in his car.’

‘Fucking hell.’

Fucking hell, the two policemen thought. Rape?

They looked back at the house they’d just come from. The Buckleys seemed a nice enough family. The old man was a bit wet and the mum was a bit dull. In keeping with the parents, the boy had seemed a little bit flaky when Mrs Buckley had finally got him to come out of his bedroom and tell them who’d beaten him up for no apparent reason. But rape? He didn’t look capable of sex, let alone rape.

Still. An allegation was an allegation.

They radioed it through to the Child Protection Unit, then went for a chat with Bob Oswald. As he filled them in on the details, they looked through the grimy kitchen window at a beaming Susan Oswald. She was doing dance steps with her two younger sisters in a scruffy wasteland of a garden full of swings and beaten-up toys. When one of her younger sisters got her steps wrong, Susan’s beam was shattered. You stupid fucking bitch, Sunrise. You do it like this, not that. Sunset, the youngest of Bob’s daughters at two years old, looked from one sister to the other, then threw her arms around both. The policemen turned away. Bob Oswald told them Susan’s version of how it had happened: Rick Buckley–always a bit of a weirdo, very quiet, very, very creepy–had offered to take her for a drive in the brand-new car his old man had just bought him as a present for passing his test. He had driven her onto the nearby Oak Tree Place development that was currently just a wasteland of unfinished houses and mudflats, held her down, and raped her.

Both of the policemen took notes.

Just over eleven miles away, in Winchester, seven officers of various rank climbed into an assortment of cars and made their way out to Hedge End. Within fifty-six minutes of the allegation being made Rick Buckley was arrested under suspicion of raping Susan Oswald. In the back of a squad car that smelled of burgers and cigarettes, a constable twice Rick’s age leaned in close against him and whispered, very thickly, I hope for your sake you didn’t do it. Otherwise, you’re dead.

The officer on the other side of him said, She’s thirteen years old, you wanker.

Back at the Oswalds’ place, Susan Oswald was observed as she played with her younger sisters by two highly trained social workers and the Woman Police Constable who would be her chaperone throughout the investigation. All three women noticed the child swung from agitated to content to agitated again. The social workers took notes. The WPC asked some loaded questions. She got some loaded answers. At just after seven thirty, Susan, Bob, the social workers and the police all made their way from Hedge End to the rape suite in Winchester.

In the Buckley home, Mr and Mrs Buckley sat at their kitchen table and watched as officers carried items of Rick’s clothing from the house. Mr Buckley put his head in his hands. Mrs Buckley didn’t hide her tears. They ran freely down her face and fell to the table from her chin. Upstairs, the discovery of a small collection of porn was greeted with satisfaction.

In the rape suite, Susan was put in a room with a PlayStation and some dolls and pens and paper and jigsaws and brightly coloured walls. The WPC who would be her chaperone sat with her to make sure she was OK. It was at this stage that Susan began to suspect she had done something wrong: people were never this nice to her, and no one ever let her use their stuff for nothing. She said, What’s all this about?

The WPC said, Nothing.

Susan was not fooled.

‘Is it about what I told my old man about Rick Buckley?’

The WPC said, There’s no need to look frightened, honey. You haven’t done anything wrong.

Susan Oswald thought, Shit.

It was then that the police doctor came in. She was a very tall, very thin woman who tried her best to disguise the fact she hated children.

‘Hello, Susan. How are you?’

Susan said, ‘What’s it gotta do with you?’ She looked from the WPC to the doctor then down at the PlayStation control in her hands. She thought, Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

The WPC said, ‘This is Dr Mortimer, Susan. Her first name’s Susan too.’

‘Big fucking deal.’

The WPC smiled. ‘She just needs to look at you a moment. Examine you. Make sure you’re OK. There’s nothing for you to be afraid of. I can stay with you, if you like.’

‘Whatever.’ Susan stared at the doctor. The doctor stared at Susan. Then she took a step forward. With the curtains drawn and the door shut, it took a matter of minutes to determine Susan Oswald was a virgin. The doctor stood back and took her gloves off.

She said, ‘I’d best go and speak to DS Westbury.’

The police questioned Dr Mortimer for a further half an hour. They said, Even if Susan Oswald is a virgin, couldn’t she have been interfered with? Couldn’t the act of sexual intercourse have been simulated? Shouldn’t we ask her to describe Rick Buckley’s penis? The doctor said, For Christ’s sake, the child’s lying. It’s written all over her face.

Bob Oswald had to be restrained when this was put to him. My Susan’s many things, but she ain’t no fucking liar. Bob Oswald was many things, and he was a fucking liar. Susan lied to him all the time. She got it from her father. He folded his arms and said, That man’s been at my daughter. My little baby girl. She’s only thirteen years old. How the hell do I get her through this? He took a deep breath. There were tears in his eyes. I want him charged. I want him strung up by his bollocks. Pervert. Fucking creep. If you don’t kill him, I will. He’s ruined my poor baby’s life.

Detective Sergeant Westbury ran his hands through his thick brown hair.

‘Look, Mr Oswald. If Rick Buckley has been sniffing around your little girl, I want him off the streets as much as you do. But try to see this from my point of view. I’ve got your daughter saying she’s been raped, and I’ve got a doctor saying she’s a virgin.’

‘Then get a second opinion.’

‘Well. I’m not so keen to put your daughter through another internal examination. How about we bring her in here and have a little chat with her? Just see if we can clarify things a little?’

Bob Oswald raised his eyes up towards the ceiling.

Fifteen minutes later Susan turned on him and yelled, ‘I never said he raped me. I said we had sex. And I only said we had sex cos you made me, cos you wouldn’t bloody believe me. I don’t even know Rick bloody Buckley. I told you those tablets weren’t mine.’

She put her head in her hands and because she knew she was really in trouble this time, Susan Oswald wept.

The adults in the room were silent. Then DS Westbury leaned forward.

‘Susan. I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen very carefully. I don’t want you to be scared. I don’t want you to be frightened. If Rick Buckley’s done something, said something, been anywhere near you or exposed himself to you in any sort of way–or even if he hasn’t, even if he’s just done something to make you feel vulnerable, or threatened, or maybe just suspicious even–I want you to know you can tell us, and whatever Rick Buckley has said to you, or whatever he might have threatened you with, or whatever he might have done to you in the past…well, we won’t let it happen again. We’re all on your side here, Susan. All of us. So feel free to tell us what happened.’

‘Nothing, you silly fucker. Nothing bloody happened. Jesus. Jesus Christ.’

Bob Oswald shook his head. He cleared his throat. ‘Something must have happened,’ he yelled at everyone who was staring at him. ‘Look at her. She’s terrified. He must have threatened her somehow. She’s lying to cover his back.’

The WPC cuddled Susan. She whispered, It’s OK, sweetie. You don’t have to cry. Susan Oswald cried harder. DS Westbury stood up.

‘OK,’ he said. ‘I suggest a comfort break. Susan. Would you like a game of Sonic the Hedgehog? WPC Davies can get up to level eight.’

Susan was led away. She was given a cup of hot chocolate. She was allowed to play Sonic the Hedgehog. Her tears dried. Her mood brightened. She had learned a valuable lesson: sex was good. It got you attention. It got you affection. It was a good way to get on in life.

And if these things came from just saying she’d done it, she couldn’t wait to start doing it for real.

The two Oswalds were dropped off by a squad car at three o’clock the next morning. Caught between charging them with wasting police time and Bob’s blind insistence that something had gone on between Rick Buckley and his daughter, the police decided to do nothing. No caution. No slap on the wrist. Free to go.

The same was now true of Rick Buckley. The charges against him were dropped and, as they hadn’t been sent to the lab yet, the clothes he had been wearing when he’d been arrested were handed back in a clear plastic bag. In a cold room with bright white lighting, Rick hurriedly dressed in front of two male constables and a female nurse who watched his shrivelled penis bob as he stepped into light blue Y-fronts and then pulled up his trousers. Despite his total humiliation, Rick Buckley did not cry: he finished getting dressed, he put his watch on, he signed for the loose change that had been in his pockets. One of the officers marched him down a darkly lit corridor and out into early morning. It was just after 7 a.m.

No one had told Mr and Mrs Buckley their son was being released without charge. Rick stood in a dreary drizzle and, as he had hardly any money and hadn’t had his mobile phone on him when he’d been arrested, started the eleven-mile walk to Hedge End. Rain saturated his wavy hair and thin summer cotton T-shirt. He walked with his arms wrapped around himself. He walked with his head down. He talked as he walked.

On each first step he said, I.

On each second step he said, feel.

On each third step he said, dirty.

He said these words over and over.

I feel dirty. I feel dirty. I feel dirty.

He said them all the way home.

It was 11 a.m. by the time he got back to Drummond Square. I don’t remember seeing him hurry round the corner and disappear down the Buckleys’ side alley, but I do remember Mr Buckley coming over to our house later that evening. I was pretending to be asleep in Archie’s lap. He had his hands in my hair. I could hear the depth of his voice through the itch of his polyester shirt. Mr Buckley’s voice was distant in contrast.

‘The police were utterly useless. They ignored what we said about Bob Oswald, then took every word he said on oath. You know, after they dragged my son down the station, they stripped him naked and took loads of swabs.’

‘They couldn’t have done that without his permission.’

‘He didn’t know what he was agreeing to. Since he took that beating, he doesn’t seem to know if he’s coming or going.’

‘You should have phoned me,’ Archie said. ‘I really wish you’d phoned me.’

‘It all happened so quickly. We didn’t know what we should do.’

I looked over at Mr Buckley. I didn’t really know him, but I couldn’t imagine Mrs Buckley not knowing what she should do. After my father, she was the cleverest person in the square. Sometimes, when she was out in her front garden, I’d go over and ask her about multiplication or spelling and she always knew the right answers. How could she not have known to call my father? She must have known he was a solicitor. I’d told her about loads of his trials.

‘That bloody Bob Oswald,’ Mr Buckley continued. ‘He’s reduced my son to a nervous wreck and got away without even a caution.’

‘You need to go back to the police, Dave.’ Archie’s voice rumbled from deep inside his stomach. ‘A vicious attack on a nineteen-year-old boy…no matter what Bob Oswald thought he’d been up to…they have to do something about that.’

Mr Buckley laughed in a way I found scary. ‘What like? An ASBO? A caution?’

‘It’s GBH at least,’ Archie said after a moment. ‘Bob should be facing prison.’

Mr Buckley’s voice was high and shaky where my father’s was soft and deep. ‘You know better than I do he’ll be facing no more than community service. What’ll probably happen is the police’ll decide to charge me with wasting their time. It’s been an eye-opener, this has. A real bloody shock.’

A long silence followed. Finally, Archie broke it.

‘How’s the boy, anyway?’

Mr

Reviews for Broken

[sheriawilkinson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Broken (Will Trent #4) by Karin Slaughter

We meet Lena, Grant County Detective. Dr. Sara Linton, coming home to the County where she grew up and had her medical practice. Then Will, he is investigating the murder of a co-ed (and) also caught between the two women who have a less than desirable (connected) past.

Moving at a fast pace, with secrets revealed, some twists, turns and never ending suspense. I was engrossed from the start, and could not put it down. Procedural crime thriller at it's best, Karin Slaughter knows how to pull you in and not let go.

Overall I found Broken quite enjoyable. I highly recommend to those who like a great thrilling criminal suspense. This is a must read for fans of the Will Trent series.

[tomdonaghey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Broken (2010) (Will Trent #4) by Karin Slaughter. If you haven’t read the Grant County series of crime novels by this author, don’t worry. I haven’t read them either but I found myself comfortable in this book which melds that world with the one starring Will Trent. Will has met Sara Linton in a previous book, but now she is home in Grant Co. for her first Thanksgiving since her husband, the former Chief of Police Tolliver, was murdered a few years before. The first distraction from her homecoming is the murder of a young woman from the local college The a killer confesses and promptly kills himself while in police custody. And there are many other complications. The GBI, represented by Will Trent, is called to take over the investigation.
We meet Lena Adams, a detective on the force who Sara blames for the death of her late husband. As the setting is so far from Atlanta, most of the usual cast isn’t present except by phone so this is a Will and Sara novel and the romance stirs. Will gets to meet Sara’s parents which is a real treat.
There are more murders and Will does his savant thing and he and Sara, who is acting in the roll of County Coroner for the moment, work through the puzzle together. This book is more complicated than I have portrayed it, but why deprive you of the taut paced journey and the joy of the discoveries.

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Broken
4 Stars

Sara Linton returns to Grant County for the Thanksgiving holiday. When the body of a young girl is pulled from the lake and another young man dies in police custody, she requests GBI assistance and Will Trent is sent to investigate.

The character development is the main focus of the story. Will's skills as an investigator are at the fore, yet it is his deepening friendship with and growing attraction to Sara that is the real highlight. Sara, herself, finally makes the bittersweet decision to put her love for Jeffrey in the past and move forward with her life. There are also updates on Lena Adams, who is as irritating as ever, and the twist that she is now involved with Jeffrey's son, Jared has a very icky feel to it.

The mystery is interesting enough although underdeveloped. In hindsight, there are several clues interspersed throughout, but not enough to actually figure out the who-dun-it. The climax and resolution also feel very rushed.

In sum, another great installment in the series and I'm looking forward to the next one.

[techeditor_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

BROKEN is a book in a series I've been reading out of order, and I enjoyed it so much. I've read all of Karin Slaughter's series books out of order, and I've always enjoyed them. No one book depends on another; each can be read as a standalone. That’s the best kind of series, each book well written and complete.

This book combines Slaughter’s Will Trent series with her Grant County series when Sara, a doctor at an Atlanta hospital in the Will Trent series, is visiting family in Grant County, where she formerly practiced medicine. She becomes concerned about the apparent suicide of a former patient in the Grant County jail.

Trent, as special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, is assigned to investigate the suicide. He normally lives and works in Atlanta and is already acquainted with Sara. Together and separately they encounter resistance from the Grant County police, not only in their investigation of the suicide but, also, in the department's own dealings with other cases. The corruption in that department is quite different from how it was run when Chief Jeffrey Tolliver, Sara's husband in the Grant County series, was alive.

In the meantime, although Trent and Sara are not romantically involved, the beginnings of something are hinted at. This is probably mostly because Trent is married. Because I've already read books later in the Will Trent series, I know how awful she, Angie, is and how lucky I was that she did not appear in this book.

If you think you are familiar with Angie because you watch the Will Trent television series, you're not. The Angie on TV and the Angie in the books do not look alike, sound alike, or act alike.

[lcmcsr-812737 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"When the body of a young woman is discovered deep beneath the icy waters of Lake Grant, a note left under a rock by the shore points to suicide. But within minutes, it become clear that this is no suicide. It's a brutal, cold-blooded murder. All too soon, former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton - home for Thanksgiving after a long absence - finds herself unwittingly drawn into the case. The chief suspect is desperate to see her, but when she arrives at the local police station she is met with a horrifying sight - he lies dead in his cell, the words 'Not me" scrawled across the walls. Something about his confession doesn't add up and, deeply suspicious of Lena Adams, the detective in charge, Sara immediately calls in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Shortly afterwards, Special Agent Will Trent is brought in from his vacation to investigate. But he is immediately confronted with a wall of silence. Grant County is a close-knit community with loyalties and ties that run deep. And the only person who can tell the truth about what really happened is dead . . ."
Small towns are quaint and usually full of secrets. That is glaringly obvious in the characters who are introduced in this book. Such a spider web of connections that makes you think of the old "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game of old. Typical for Ms. Slaughter, the story goes in lots of possible directions, the clues are scattered throughout, the reader thinks it is definitely one person and then, nope, you're wrong. She throws you a fantastic curveball. Love it!

[rosalita_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I accidentally read the previous book in this series, Undone, thinking it to be the first book in the Grant County/Sara Linton series and finding instead it was the first book in a new series that combined characters from Slaughter's other two mystery series. What I learned in that book makes going all the way back to the beginning impossible at least for now, so I decided to move forward and pick up the next book in the new combined series.

In Broken, Sara Linton is back in her Grant County home visiting for Thanksgiving. A murder, a suicide, and her distrust of the local police force lead her to drag Georgia Bureau of Investigation detective Will Trent in to investigate. Together, they find the answer to the contemporary mystery and help Sara find some closure to a past heartache. The characters once again are the stars, though the plot is fully functional.

[dooney-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is not my favorite of the Will Trent series so far, but it is necessary for bringing the stories together and was therefore well done. I should up my rating based on that, but I struggled with the way the story dissolved into petty grudges at times — memory, loss, letting go. Necessary but not my favorite read.

[lewilliams-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book did keep me turning pages I had no idea who the murderer was until that fact was revealed. The story moves along at a good pace.

[olivermagnus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The fourth book of the Will Trent series opens late one night when a young woman is pulled from the lake. At first it looks like a suicide until the medical examination proves it is most definitely murder. Detective Lena Adams, a central character is Slaughter's Grant county series , along with Police Chief Frank Wallace go to the victim's apartment where they discover a masked intruder holding a knife. Things fall apart immediately and before long, one of the police officers is in the hospital. They take the suspect, Tommy Brahm, to jail and he eventually confesses. Lena and Frank and the entire local police force are convinced of Tommy's guilt, but this is just the beginning of a fascinating story.

Meanwhile Dr. Sara Linton is back home in Grant County for Thanksgiving. She gets a call from Frank telling her that her former patient, Tommy, desperately wants to see her. When she arrives at the jail, circumstances cause her to place a call to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Will Trent is brought in. He starts investigating the police force, but it slowly turns into an investigation into the murder of the woman pulled out of the lake.

This is a difficult book to review without adding spoilers. The author has merged two series together and there's a lot of backstory here, especially Sara's hatred of Lena, the woman she blames for her husband's death several years ago. I've read the series before and am currently listening to them in audio. The author dies a wonderful job of portraying both good and bad sides of each character. Her ability to create realistic, three-dimensional characters is what makes this such a standout suspense series.

[threadnsong · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh yes, it's a great one by Karin Slaughter. It takes place down in south Georgia, more so than Atlanta, and a bit in Macon. Which are really three different worlds.

Lena, Sara, and Faith are all the women in the book, all of whom are whole women who have experienced different levels of shattering. Faith is a voice on the phone, Sara Linton (mother is Catherine Earnshaw Linton - great literary reference!) is the doctor come home for the holidays, and Lena Steele is the cop. And both Sara and Lena have their blind spots towards one another which gives the book a depth that one does not get from a cozy mystery. These could be real women dealing with real life.

Will Trent is down to investigate a murder/suicide and a possible cop cover-up and finds himself, with both Lena and Sara, in the midst of something he never imagined. Part of what I enjoyed about this book is that Lena has to work her way through Will: his thought processes, his questioning, and what he really wants to find out. And she knows what it is, but she is loyal to her boss until she realizes where it will get her. Then she does the brave and courageous thing and she and Will and Sara all uncover something truly tragic.

So this seems to be a prelude to a love relationship that is examined in further books by Karin Slaughter, as well as the setting for what becomes of Will and Faith later on.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Twenty-one year old Allison Spooner is at the end of her rope. She is short of money, her boyfriend has disappointed her, and her rusted-out hulk of a car is on its last legs. She is struggling to keep up with her college classes at Georgia's Grant Tech while earning a pittance as a waitress in a diner. Sadly, her dream of escaping her tedious life is shattered by and unknown assailant. Evidence tells a darker story.

Karin Slaughter depicts the characters as three-dimensional human beings, warts and all, most of whom would like to fix what is broken in their lives. Unfortunately, not everyone has the courage, honesty, and motivation to face the truth and take the necessary steps to rectify what is wrong.

[oldriverbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is another great read in the Georgia Series. I find Will Trent to be an interesting character and I look forward to his story development.
This novel was set in Grant County so we meet up with Sara Linton and Lena Adams again.

When Special Agent Will Trent arrives in Grant County, he finds a police department determined to protect its own and far too many unanswered questions about a prisoner’s death. He doesn’t understand why Officer Lena Adams is hiding secrets from him. He doesn’t understand her role in the death of Grant County’s popular police chief. He doesn’t understand why that man’s widow, Dr. Sara Linton, needs him now more than ever to help her crack this case.

While the police force investigates the murder of a young woman pulled from a frigid lake, Trent investigates the police force, putting pressure on Adams just when she’s already about to crack. Caught between two complicated and determined women, trying to understand Linton’s passionate distrust of Adams, the facts surrounding Chief Tolliver’s death, and the complexities of this insular town, Trent will unleash a case filled with explosive secrets—and encounter a thin blue line that could be murderous if crossed.

[olegalca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I continue to really enjoy Will Trent as a unique character in law enforcement fiction.

[judithdcollins · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Karin Slaughter’s BROKEN (Will Trent #4) is another compelling crime novel, with more background information into some intriguing characters, corruption, murder, and dirty deeds; while Will teams up with the doctor, (both with a past) for a dynamic duo!

In Grant County, GA student Allison Spooner has been murdered after her breakup with her boyfriend Jason. Mentally disabled Tommy, is the prime suspect after he runs from what is believed to be the scene of the murder and accidentally stabs police detective. His confession and subsequent suicide seals the deal for arresting officer Senior Detective Lena Adams.

Lena, has a past which is not always by the law, and she is protecting alcoholic Acting Chief of Police Frank Wallace who has dark secrets and skeletons in his own closet.

Then you have Dr. Sara Linton (former coroner and Hartsdale Children’s Clinic director), and the widow of Jeffery Tolliver, murdered and she blames Lena for his death.

Of course, Special Agent Will Trent of the GA Bureau of Investigation is called in to solve the case and begins working closely with Dr. Linton as they begin to unravel the cover-ups. These two are from different walks of life; however, both have a past and inner demons which offer them insights into the crimes.

There is something which connects these murdered students, each of them need money; what is the driving force behind the plot to kill? There is also the police force which Will is more interested in as something smells fishy. He also is in the middle of two women, trying to figure out how all is connected.

I started reading the latest versions of Will Trent and working my way back. Broken was helpful to provide me some background on Sara and how these two came to connect. With many characters, each brings a big part to the story line as there are many things broken.

This was not my favorite of the Will Trent series; however, by starting with the latest and working your way backward, assume this will occur, as the author of course matures with each and every book in the series. However, would highly recommend the series and helpful to read each one to get the background of the characters (not as intense or page-turning, as the others).
I listened to the audiobook and Natalie Ross did a good job with the performance.

[jillnyc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love the Will Trent series! This doesn't disappoint. A must read!

[lorettar-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Slaughter is a awesome story teller. I loved the diversity of the characters and the twists and turns in the story. Intriguing and suspenseful to the end. A great read. I really enjoyed it.

[rolandb_15 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great story keeps you riveted until the very end.

[romsfuulynn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I haven't exactly forgiven Karin Slaughter for her "another damn dead lover" a couple of books back.

(My tag for authors who kill off a character after the character has become part of a committed (mostly married) couple and both characters have been around for several books.)

And I don't tend to like authors who have a number of characters used as viewpoint characters, who are so flawed and unhappy and broken as Slaughter's tend to be.

But she pulls it off - sort of. I still care what happens to these people.

Sara Linton, a doctor is back in the town where her husband was killed four years ago, and gets some beginnings of being able to move on. Will Trent, from another sequence by this author moves forward a little in his ongoing coping with his demons - a broken childhood and dyslexia.

Not a book to read if you are looking for a happy read, but well enough done to overcome my strong prejudice against books like this.

[pidgeon92_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome novel.

[julie10reads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Georgia student’s murder is solved all too quickly and violentlyin a way that tears apart her community, fuels the hatred between Det. Lena Adams and former Medical Examiner Sara Linton, and promises still further violence. Dr. Sara Linton reluctantly returns to Grant County, Ga., where her chief of police husband was killed, to spend Thanksgiving with her family. The last thing she wants is to become involved in the apparent murder of a young college student, but with the suicide of the prime suspect, the simple-minded Tommy Braham, Sara is soon deep into an investigation that isn’t only about murder, but coverups and corruption in the police department as well. With the help of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s special agent Will Trent, Sara discovers a tangled web of deception and danger. Summary BPL

With Karin Slaughter, it’s never just a who-done-it, although there is always a twist. It’s how she draws her recurring characters into jeopardy as they are sucked into the danger and drama of their investigations. Double jeopardy, you might say. Graphic, but not gratuitously so.

8 out of 10 For fans of murder investigations and procedural suspense.

[lrobe190 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Special Agent Will Trent arrives in Grant County, he finds a police department determined to protect its own and far too many unanswered questions about a prisoner’s death. He doesn’t understand why Officer Lena Adams is hiding secrets from him. He doesn’t understand her role in the death of Grant County’s popular police chief. He doesn’t understand why that man’s widow, Dr. Sara Linton, needs him now more than ever to help her crack this case. While the police force investigates the murder of a young woman pulled from a frigid lake, Trent investigates the police force, putting pressure on Adams just when she’s already about to crack. Caught between two complicated and determined women, trying to understand Linton’s passionate distrust of Adams, the facts surrounding Chief Tolliver’s death, and the complexities of this insular town, Trent will unleash a case filled with explosive secrets—and encounter a thin blue line that could be murderous if crossed. (Desc. Amazon.com)

Karin Slaughter is one of my favorite suspense authors. Her characters are well-drawn and there are lots of twists and turns to her plots. Many of her novels are part of a series and the characters in the novels often show up in other series. Each book offers a little more back-story of the main characters, which helps the reader understand the characters better. If you are a reader of suspense novels, pick up Karin Slaughter.

[peppuzzo_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book has the great merit of being written in a grammatical correct manner; not much more than that, and I am inclined to think that the merit goes to the dutch translator...
In this book the world is divided between two kind of people: the heroes, good, honest, disciplined, loving, suffering, but destined to a bright future and true happiness; and the villain, corrupted, alcoholics, addicted, greedy, enjoying themselves in ways we might all be jealous in our deepest dreams we would never share; those will die in pain, by cancer and in solitude, or killed by the heroes. There is even a third category: people in between, they might go wrong or they might redeem, but they will never join True Happiness.
What a waist of ink, and what a waist of talent. I have read a short story from Karin Slaughter, and it was funny and full of irony. This one is not even worth recycling.

[ceh0017 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I would have to agree with most of the reviews below. I thought when one of the main characters back a few books was killed off that the books would never be the same, and that is true but they are still worth reading. This one wasn't my favorite of Karin's, but definitely worth reading if you are into the series. Hopefully Fallen will be better!

[senorag163 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Truly one of Slaughter's best books! I was so disappointed when a few books back a main charactors was killed off and I thought the books would never be the same. They were still great but this one tops them all.Can be a stand alone read but I think it will be enjoyed much better if you have read the other Grant County books in the series and know the backgrounds of the old characters.Thanks so much First Reads for a chance to read this before it's release. I highly recommend it!!

[ravenswoodpublishi-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Karin Slaughter is the absolute best crime/mystery writer I have come across in this day and age. Her novels will simply astound you with their heart-racing moments and intrigue. Every time I pick one of her novels up I cannot stop reading until I'm done and I still find myself begging for more. She's a writer with no fear! She wields her instruments like a knife ready to dig in deep and take you by surprise at every turn!

[maryloudinon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A medical doctor, she returns to the town where her husband was killed in the line of duty (a cop). She believes his partner was responsible for his death and she is unable to move on. There are a couple of murders; one is drown in the lake and the other is stabbed. A third is also killed. They find the killer and the partner is exonerated.

[jamesterck · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My opinion: Like I've said before, I try not to read other peoples' reviews on books, or even their ratings before starting on a book. Especially when it's one of my favorite authors and I'm going to read it regardless. I saw some less than stellar reviews for this book and I thought "Uh oh, I hope this isn't going to be dry like Fractured (the only book by Karin Slaughter that I really couldn't get into). I've had trouble getting past Jeffrey's death, which is so weird to say because he's just a fictional character. But after that many books, you begin to feel like you actually know them and when one of the characters dies (especially a main character), you feel like you lost a best friend. This book is essentially based around the corruption that has befallen the police department after Jeffrey died. Frank, Lena's partner has taken over Jeffrey's job and he is definitely letting too many things slide, not doing things by the books at all. Sara is back in Grant County for a few days and still wants Lena to pay for causing Jeffrey's death. She tries her hardest not to get involved in the homicide investigation, but she soon becomes engrossed in it and with the help of Will Trent, starts to uncover some shocking omissions and coverups by the police. Lena knows Frank is covering up and hiding evidence, but since she was involved in the case she tries to go along with the official story (and I think with her history with Frank she still feels a certain loyalty to him as well).

I found this book to be pretty fast-paced; I finished it in one sitting. Karin Slaughter's books just suck me in and I get lost in their world all over again. I keep hoping Sara will wake up and Jeffrey's death will all be just a dream, but I know that won't happen. When Will first came on the scene, I just couldn't fathom him and Sara becoming an item (how dare she even think about finding someone else, no one can replace Jeffrey!). The more we get to know Will though, the more I just want Sara to be happy and I think they would be good for each other. Unforunately we run into the road block that is Will's sometimes present wife, Angie, who treats him like dog crap and cheats on him, yet he always runs right back to her. I get that he has a long past with her that no one else understands, but I hope eventually he sees how toxic she is for him. I think Sara really starts to heal in this book and that's nice to see. All in all, a great read. Slaughter delivers again, a great new addition to the Grant County series. Already looking forward to the next one!

My rating: 5/5 stars

[bohemiangirl35 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Karin Slaughter is one of my favorite authors, so I might be biased. I started reading after dinner last night and I went to bed at 3:30am when I finished the book.

My favorite quote in the novel is, "I'm a missionary, you dumbass. What do you think I've been doing for the last three years?" Sara Linton's little sister Tessa is hilarious!

Okay, all that said, there was something just slightly off with the ending and I've NEVER felt anything off kilter in a Karin Slaughter book before. ***SPOILER ALERT*** I think it had something to do with how neatly everything wrapped up with Darla, Frank and Frank's ex. Darla just came out of nowhere. I'll have to go back to the other books, but I don't remember Frank having a rotten daughter. Maybe she had a minor role and I don't remember. And as dirty a cop as Frank is, and with his and Lena's shared history of covering up their mistakes, I don't get why he thought she would just do as he told her to without him telling her anything about his daughter. He knows how impulsive she is!

And Jared! What is he thinking?! Lena might not be maliciously evil, but for her to willfully ignore her own tendencies to bring misery to those close to her with her bad decisions and then hook up with Jeffrey's son as an escape...I could just throttle both of them! Ugh! It's killing me to think what might happen to him in the future!

Will Trent caught my heart in Tryptich and I am so glad Karin merged the two series. The anticipation of Will and Sara getting together is making me crazy. I am so ready for the next installment.

[mikedraper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The title of this book could describe the characters.

Officer Lena Adams of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, is called to the scene where a suicide note was found at a lover's lane by Lake Grant. When divers recover the body of a young woman, Lena sees a stab wound toward the rear of the woman's neck and knows it's a murder.

The girl is identified as Allison Spooner, a college student and waitress at a nearby restaurant.

Lena accompanies acting chief, Frank Wallace, to Allison's apartment. On route, Lena smells alcohol on Frank and observes him drinking from a flask.

They are met by a young and overly enthusiastic detective, Brad Stevens. Brad looks in the apartment window and sees a person who they believe is Allison's boyfriend, Tommy Braken. He has a mask on and is holding a knife.

In the attempt to question Tommy, Brad is stabbed and taken to a hospitol. Tommy is arrested.

In the jail, Tommy commits suicide and in looking at his background we find that he was a flawed character, a boy of only nineteen-years-old with an i.q. of around eighty.

Dr. Sara Lingon arrives home for Thanksgiving. She had been married to the former chief of police and was the coroner. She's asked to come to the jail to speak to Tommy before people learn of Tommy's suicide.

When Sara learns of the suicide and that Lena was the interrigator, Sara believes that this is another case of Lena not doing her job correctly. She calls in Special Agent, Will Trent, to investigate a possible case of police neglect.

Of the characters, Lena's flaw is that she feels guilt over the former chief's death. Even though she was cleared of any wrong doing, she feels responsible.

Acting Chief Wallace's flaw is that he is an alcoholic and heading toward a breakdown.

Sara's flaw is that she cannot forgive Lena and wants her to pay for causing Sara's husband's death.

The police investigate Allison's murder and Tommy's suicide. Will Trent is an appealing character and someone the reader can route for. His flaw is that he has dyslexia and has some difficulty relating to people since he grew up in a foster home.

There is an interesting portrayal of town and university. The university doesn't want any bad publicity and sometimes attempts to hinder investigations.

I believe that readers will enjoy the contemporary story and see that it could have been lifted from the pages of a local newspaper of a city that has a large university.

[murdermysterymayhem · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Everyone has a secret in Karin Slaughter's new book Broken.

Dr. Sara Linton has reluctantly returned home to Grant County for the Thanksgiving holiday. Since the death of her husband, the town's former police chief Jeffery Tolliver, Sara has avoided the entire police force and in particular police officer Lena Adams, her nemesis, but within hours of arriving home she finds herself in a jail cell with a dead prisoner. Immediately suspicious of the circumstances and Lena's involvement Sara calls in special agent Will Trent. Is Lena the dirty, dangerous cop Sara has always accused her of being or is the whole force corrupt? Trent will need to remain emotionally detached and follow the facts but as the bodies pile up his own secrets could get in the way.

Broken brings together Slaughter's Grant County and Atlanta series but readers can jump in here with no knowledge of any of the previous events. A tight suspense.