Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is a 320 page standalone novel published in 2025 by Simon & Schuster.

Genre:

Literary Fiction

Subgenres:

Romance, Suspense

Opening Line:

The farmer is dead, he is dead and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.

My Thoughts:

4.5 stars

This is an emotional story following Beth, a young woman in North Dorset, England. Chapters alternate between timelines, one in 1955 when teenaged Beth meets and falls in love with Gabriel Wolfe, and one in 1968 when she is married to a farmer named Frank Johnson. Interspersed are also chapters showcasing a murder trial occurring after the other timelines, although who is on trial for whose murder is not made clear until near the end.

There is a touching story here about relationships before and after the loss of a child, both broken relationships and healing ones. A love of the natural world is on display in the writing. I found the parts describing infidelity difficult to read, but everyone at least winds up addressing their wrongdoings. Beth’s complicated feelings and the looming murder we know is going to happen create a tense atmosphere set against the simple pleasures of the pastoral setting and the love for a child.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC of this moving story in exchange for my unbiased review.

CW: death of a child, infidelity