Broken Country

AMAZON'S BOOK OF THE YEAR - THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER

By: Clare Leslie Hall

Narrated by: Hattie Morahan

​*****AMAZON'S BOOK OF THE YEAR​​​*****
INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
REESE WITHERSPOON'S BOOK CLUB PICK
FEARNE COTTON'S HAPPY PLACE BOOK CLUB PICK
AMANDA LAMB BOOK CLUB PICK

'An unforgettable story of love, loss, and the choices that shape our lives . . . but it's also a masterfully crafted mystery that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Seriously, that ending?! I did not see it coming'
REESE WITHERSPOON

'This story of a love affair is so addictive it could be at home with the thrillers . . . A simmering book of secrets, scandal and devastating consequences' The i

'Excellent . . . a vivid, forceful love story which plays out at the pace of a thriller' Irish Times

'In this surprising romantic novel, there are decisions to be made that are heartbreaking and real, yet amid the gentle pastoral setting . . . it has all the pace of a literary thriller. A dazzling debut' Woman and Home

'Beautiful . . .So moving on the subject of how a tiny decision can have cataclysmic consequences' Good Housekeeping

'Wistful love meets murder . . . a tear-jerker' Grazia

Everyone in the village said nothing good would come of Gabriel's return. And as Beth looks at the man she loves on trial for murder, she can't help thinking they were right.

Beth was seventeen when she first met Gabriel. Over that heady, intense summer, he made her think and feel and see differently. She thought it was the start of her great love story. When Gabriel left to become the person his mother expected him to be, she was broken.

It was Frank who picked up the pieces and together they built a home very different from the one she'd imagined with Gabriel. Watching her husband and son, she remembered feeling so sure that, after everything, this was the life she was supposed to be leading.

But when Gabriel comes back, all Beth's certainty about who she is and what she wants crumbles. Even after ten years, their connection is instant. She knows it's wrong and she knows people could get hurt. But how can she resist a second chance at first love?

A love story with the pulse of a thriller, Broken Country is a heart-pounding novel of impossible choices and devastating consequences.

'Lyrical, brutal and passionate. I devoured it'
MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, author of The Paper Palace

'Evocative, sensitive and compelling . . . Fires directly at the heart and hits the mark'
DELIA OWENS, author of Where the Crawdads Sing

'Broke my heart then mended it again. An epic, tortured love story. Bring tissues'
JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things

'I stayed up until 4am to finish it, something I haven't done in years. It's a page-turner, but also beautifully written'
FLORENCE KNAPP, author of The Names

'Had me hooked from start to finish . . . a really great book' DAWN O'PORTER, author of Cat Lady

'A love story like no other'
CHRIS WHITAKER, author of All the Colours of the Dark

READERS LOVE BROKEN COUNTRY ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'This book is everything. Love, heartbreak and hope'
'Will break you into pieces and then put you back together again'
'I was absolutely gripped and didn't want it to end'
'If I could give more than five stars, I would. Perfect'©2025 Clare Leslie Hall

Critic reviews

A love story like no other (CHRIS WHITAKER, author of All the Colours of the Dark)

Broken Country destroyed me . . . it is set to be the love story of 2025. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Clare Leslie Hall's writing is beautiful, her characters raw and real. The plot is perfectly crafted and the story really is a masterpiece. Sublime. (HEATHER CRITCHLOW)

A stone-cold masterpiece - heartbreaking, life-affirming, it's a celebration of love in all its forms. I loved every line - Hall is an astonishing writer (KATE SIMANTS)

Beautiful writing you want to gorge on, characters who make your heart ache, an impossible situation. Grief, friendship, and the kind of love that makes you risk it all. All the stars. (LAURA PEARSON)

An absolute triumph. This novel has all kinds of love - young love, forbidden love, brotherly love - all wrapped up in the most beautifully evocative descriptions of a pastoral landscape. Mistakes, bad choices and accidents conspire to create a slow-burn mystery with tragedy at its heart, yet there is hope too in this story of splintered loyalties and unbridled passion. Poetic, erotic and compelling, it is quite magnificent (VERONICA HENRY)

An addictive story of an affair that reads like a thriller . . . a knotty and exhilarating story of a woman unable to make up her mind between two very appealing options. It's a classic recipe, and Clare Leslie Hall executes it to perfection

An absorbing novel about love and the weight of the past, this is a beautifully written read

In this surprising romantic novel, there are decisions to be made that are heartbreaking and real, yet amid the gentle pastoral setting . . . it has all the pace of a literary thriller. A dazzling debut

This is a love story and a thriller - irresistible. Read it now before it hits your screens

This story of a love affair is so addictive it could be at home with the thrillers . . . A simmering book of secrets, scandal and devastating consequences

Beautiful . . .So moving on the subject of how a tiny decision can have cataclysmic consequences

Excellent . . . a vivid, forceful love story which plays out at the pace of a thriller

Wistful love meets murder . . . a tear-jerker

Powerful

Tragedy, misunderstandings and guilt fuel abundant trysts and twists, but cool-headed meditations on grief and desire prove equally compelling (Hephzibah Anderson)

Startling . . . a vivid, forceful love story that plays out at the pace of a thriller

I stayed up until 4am to finish it, something I haven't done in years. It's a page-turner, but also beautifully written (FLORENCE KNAPP, author of The Names)

Brilliant nartator

Very enjoyable book! The narrator was amazing. The layers were peeled away bit by bit.

How we can’t control things…. So much is out of our hands.

Gripping, interesting reads with loads of twists and turns, the intrigue, the relationships, the unexpected!

Beautifully read audible book

This book kept you in its clutches right till the end. At no time did the story loose its momentum in telling the tale.
Loved the book. I thought that a single narrator would spoil the listen. Not at all
Highly recommend

A beautiful story

A beautiful story of love and loss and hope. Thoroughly enjoyed this book from chapter one! Highly recommend it.

One of my favorite audiobooks this year

This was an Excellent story and well crafted production. I really enjoyed this story. Highly recommend.