Book Description 

“The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.”

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.

My Review 

I’d been hearing a lot about Broken Country, so I added the audiobook to my holds on the Libby app. I didn’t have to wait too long for it, and then I listened to the whole thing in about two days because it was so good. 

This was a riveting book from start to finish. The narrative is split between the present (which is actually 1968) and the past (1955). Beth is at the center of everything. She falls in love with Gabriell in 1955 and then they reunite 13 years later when their paths cross again. 

As the timeline shifts, more secrets are revealed, leading to more understanding regarding the death of the farmer alluded to at the beginning of the book. The writing is so gorgeous and evocative as the reader is introduced to this tale of teenage lovers separated and reunited, and the ramifications of both over the years. It’s definitely reminiscent of echoes and ripples in a pond where everything that happens affects everything else. 

I would absolutely recommend Broken Country. The surprises and plot twists are what kept me riveted to this book. You might think that you know what’s going on in this book, but you do not. This is such a beautiful book and I am looking forward to reading more from Hall in the future.