Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

 

Title:  Broken Country

Author:  Clare Leslie Hall

Narrated by:  Hattie Morahan

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 57 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank-you!

What has been your favorite read of 2025 so far? I’ve read a lot of great books so far this year. Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall was one of the best and will be on my top books of the year list.

One spring day in rural England, Beth, her husband Frank, and her brother-in-law, Jimmy, are tending to their sheep when a dog appears out of the blue killing the lambs.  Jimmy shoots the dog, but the owner of the dog, a sad young boy, Leo, and his father, Gabriel, appear.  Gabriel was Beth’s teenage love. Beth and Frank are in love, but there are some strains in their relationship because of the tragic death a couple years before of their young son, Bobby.  As Beth spends more time with Leo, her love starts to reignite for Gabriel.  As the Beth, Frank, and Gabriel become part of a love triangle, tragedy strikes.  What will become of them all?

My thoughts on this novel:

 

·       This was a nonlinear story set in the present of 1968 and flashing back to 1955.  There is also a setting slightly in the future at a murder trial.

·       I usually don’t like tales of infidelity, but it was a really good story, and I couldn’t stop listening to the audiobook.

·       I do love a good love triangle, especially when it makes so much sense as this story did.  Beth was really conflicted and there was a lot that happened in their lives.

·       Nonlinear story line made this a brilliant telling of the story.  As facts came out from the earlier timeline, it changed the readers entire understanding of the present timeline.  I loved the way this was written.

·       The symbolism of the family oak tree was interesting.  When it stood the family was together, when it fell, the entire family was splintered.

·       There were shades of the classic novel, Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, in this story.  Frank was like Gabriel Oak and Beth is Bathsheba Everdeen.  It was interesting after having recently read Far from Madding Crowd with my Classics Book Club.  They were both fascinating, well-developed characters.  I felt like I knew them and their world.

·       As the novel neared its conclusion, there was more to the court trial.  It was riveting and reminded me a bit of the courtroom drama of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

·       This was a Reese’s Book Club pick.

·       Hattie Morahan was a great narrator, and it was a fascinating audiobook to listen to.  There were many twists and turns, and very surprising moments that kept me wanting to continue with the audiobook even after I reached my destination.

Overall, Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall was a beautifully written drama with extremely well developed and complicated characters.  I could not stop listening to this audiobook.  It’s one of the best books of 2025.