Broken River

Karl and Eleanor are giving their marriage one last shot. Karl has a problem with monogamy. They have decided on a fresh start in upstate New York. They and their 12 year old daughter, Irena move to the town of Broken River. The house is old and has been empty for years, ever since the scene of a brutal double murder. The crime was never solved. With not much to do in Broken River, Karl soon reverts to his old behavior and begins cheating on his wife again. Eleanor and Irena spend their time researching the house and it’s dark and bloody past. But in doing so they unleash something dark and terrible. This is a first rate Gothic

Review: BROKEN RIVER by

BROKEN RIVER is a deeply complex, multi-layered novel of literate noir: a novel encompassing mental disorder, crime, marital collapse, crime, coming-of-age, illusion and delusion (other-directed and self-indicted), psychopathy, narcissism, cancer, drug use, creativity, an isolated unappealing house that is at the center of all these variegated threads. There is also an entity, the Observer, which inexplicably comes into being the night of the "first" crime, and which finally a dozen years later, comes into FULK realization of itself and its nature as a witness of humanity.

I started reading this late at night when everyone in the house was sleeping, that was a mistake on my part.
It was eerie and dark. The house is a character in it's own right and it keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.
A very exciting read full of rich writing and brooding story lines.
Check all your windows and doors are locked before you get too comfy.

A strong four for this compelling, literate yet very readable mixture of coming-of-age drama and crime piece. A couple with a twelve-year-old daughter move into a house they get cheaply, due to it being the location of an unsolved double-murder years before. Both mother and daughter, in their own innocent ways, conspire to keep interest in the case alive (the husband doesn't as he's too fond of being a knob), and unfortunately for them the fact it's a cold case doesn't mean the original perpetrators have forgotten about it. Perhaps there's too much here in the end – from the literary allusions caused by writer mum, a unique narrative construct based on the floating camera styled view we see things through, and too many links with petty drugs and dealers to easily follow – but it's a pretty fine read all told. I think we lost the daughter by the end as a character, but for a great portion of this novel it's really distinctive stuff.

This is a novel that carries a subtle air of atmospheric menace in its compelling narrative. It begins with a house in a town, Broken River, in upstate New York, where two brutal murders take place, and a spectral presence observes, whilst a young child hides. The killers are never caught but the cursed house proves to be unsaleable. More than a decade later, the house is finally sold at a bargain price. Karl, a sculptor and serial philanderer, his wife, Eleanor, a writer, and their precocious twelve year old daughter, Irina, move in. Relocating is Eleanor's attempt to keep their marriage intact. All is being observed in all its human frailties and limitations as numerous threads converge into a devastating and inevitable conclusion triggered by secrets, lies, and the human inability to foretell the consequences of actions. This is a novel that is literary noir, part mystery, and part a philosophical reflection on family and individual decision making.

Karl continues meeting Rachel, the woman Eleanor insisted he break up with. A breast cancer survivor, Eleanor takes care of the chores that keep the family together, and is responsible for taking care of Irina, who is writing a novel. Eleanor is struggling to write her latest novel and secretly investigates the murders that occurred in the house, posting on the website, Cybersleuths, as smoking jacket. Irina, who is privy to the mess that is her parents marriage, is also secretly drawn to delve into the historical murders, drawn particularly to Samantha Geary, the child, who is now seventeen, but whose whereabouts are not known. Irina projects her delusions on Sam, a twenty year old woman who has just moved to Broken River to be with brother, Daniel, soon to be released from prison. The killers are drawn back to the house and Broken River as a chain of events leads once again to murder and mayhem. Amidst all this we have the observer, who has moved from simply seeing to becoming aware of cause and effect, compelled to make judgements.

This is an intelligent examination of family, lies and secrets, and a headlong collision of the present with the past. It is a thoughtful meditation of individual human shortcomings and lack of self awareness, and the useful device of having the observer paint the bigger picture of the law of unintended consequences. If you are looking for something different to read, I can strongly recommend this thought provoking novel. A great read. Thanks to Serpent's Tail for an ARC.

Broken River is a complex crime novel set in a very strange world. It is entirely compelling and engaging making it near impossible to put down. Equal parts psychological thriller, horror, crime fiction, family drama. You are thrown into this world that could belong in a Coen Brothers movie. The house is a piece of intrigue that borders on comparisons to Amityville Horror, though this story is very much it's own. The plot has a lot going on, but it all comes together in quite a brilliant way. I was drawn in the entire time. If you're looking for a creepy read that'll keep your interest, look no further. Check out Broken River today!

Broken River is a fairly broken sort of small town. It has a closed down cinema and a few stores: the only part that is really thriving is the local prison. Its main claim to fame is the brutal murder, many years previously of a couple living in an isolated house on the edge of town. The story follows the family who move into the house – a writer, her unfaithful sculptor husband and their precocious 12 year-old daughter – the men responsible for the original shooting and, slightly oddly, an entity referred to as the Observer. This means the book is a blend of thriller, a contemporary family saga and something a bit stranger but it does it very well. The Observer character could have been a distraction but it actually tied together the various groups of characters pretty well as well as allowing us to shift our focus between groups.

This is an interesting book and it is certainly a change from the run of psychological thrillers. In fact, since many of the characters follow the same website which delves into unsolved crimes, it is possibly more interested in the psychology of those who are fascinated by murder.

This book has all the elements of a good crime novel, a double murder in the first few pages, a survivor of this crime, the potentiality of hidden loot and a psychopathic baddie who is intent on recovering it. Yet this thriller by J. Robert Lennon has other elements to it that transcends the crime genre and encompasses elements of family drama, gothic horror and indeed with reference to the part of the unseen narrator elements of surrealism which will no doubt be pleasing to those who like Twin Peaks.

As stated, the novel begins twelve years in the past with a double murder in the grounds of an old house near the upstart New York town of Broken River. There is a survivor to this tragedy, a young girl called Samantha Geary who as the novel returns to the present day would now be seventeen but whose whereabouts are not known.

After twelve years of standing empty the house is renovated and occupied by a somewhat dysfunctional family from New York City. Karl and Eleanor are trying to save their marriage and the story of their relationship adds an extra layer to the unsolved murder that previously took place at their home. Their daughter Irina is one of the central characters and her belief that she has met in the street Samantha Geary living now under an assumed name is the catalyst for all that ensues. (Is it really the real Samantha Geary will not be revealed until the end).

How the past effects the present and the moral choices that need to be made are covered and it becomes as the story reaches its bloody climax a real page turner, the body count in the final chapters is not insignificant. Also like a lot of current American writing there is also a feeling of how moral decay is mirrored by the actual decay of small town America with the closed businesses and the run down environment. Perhaps the word Broken in the title is synonymous with this.

I would certainly recommend this book to someone who is looking for a little more from a crime story.

This was an intense read. I loved the plots and how the story unfolded. I literally didn't want to put this book down and found I kept going back to it every chance I had!