The Broken Shore

The Broken Shore (2005) is a Duncan Lawrie Dagger award-winning novel by Australian author Peter Temple.

Synopsis
The novel's central character is Joe Cashin, a Melbourne homicide detective. Following serious physical injuries he is posted to his hometown Port Munro, where he begins the process of rebuilding the old family mansion and his physical and mental strength. Against a background of family tragedy, politics, police corruption and racism, he investigates the death of a wealthy local man, Charles Burgoyne. His closest friend and police superior is Villani, who is the central character in Truth.

Style
Written by the award-winning author Peter Temple, the book continues with his trademark stark, staccato dialogue, where superfluous words are removed and the meaning of each sentence must be dug out. In a typical example of Temple's flourish he describes a nearby derelict town as “hardcore [where] – the unemployed, under-employed, unemployable, the drunk and doped, the old-age pensioners, people on all kinds of welfare, the halt, the lame".

Awards

 * Crime Writers' Association (UK), The Duncan Lawrie Dagger, 2007: winner
 * Miles Franklin Literary Award, 2006: longlisted
 * Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA), Australian General Fiction Book of the Year, 2006: winner
 * Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Novel, 2006: joint winner
 * Colin Roderick Award, 2005: winner

Interviews

 * Time Out New York

Reviews

 * "The Age"
 * "Daily Telegraph"
 * "Detectives Beyond Borders" Part 1, Part 2
 * Island Volume 104 accessed 2007-08-13
 * "Light Reading"
 * "Mostly Fiction"
 * "Reading Matters"
 * "The Times"

Telemovie
The Broken Shore was adapted for television by writer Andrew Knight.

The movie had its world premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival on 15 October 2013. It aired on the ABC on 2 February 2014.