Read this Broken Country review to learn why Clare Leslie Hall’s thought-provoking, emotional novel is a 5-star read. When Beth Johnson’s first love, Gabriel Wolfe, arrives back in the English countryside in the late 1960s with his son, Leo, tensions simmer until they boil over in the form of one fatal gunshot that changes the lives of Beth’s family forever. You’ll unravel the mystery of who is dead (a “farmer”: Beth’s husband, Frank, his father, David, or his brother, Jimmy), whodunit, and whether it was intentional. Explore this novel’s themes of love, family, and forgiveness below.
Broken Country Review (Without Spoilers)
Why It’s a 5-Star Read
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Broken Country is one of those books that everyone talks about for a long time. The mysteries are propulsive, and the pacing is short and quick. The love triangle feels tense, and the Johnsons’ grief of the earlier death of their son is palpable. The characters are flawed, and their actions provoke your thoughts. Ultimately, this five-star read will leave you both breathless and in tears.
Key Details
- Author: Clare Leslie Hall
- Genre: romance (love triangle trope), family drama, courtroom mystery, historical fiction
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- Publication Date: March 4, 2025
- Accolades: Reese’s Book Club pick, Barnes & Noble Book Club pick
- Pages: 320
- Age Rating: Best for ages 18+ based on graphic sexual content, violence, and adult themes, but mature teens around age 16+ may also read it.
- Spice Level: 2.5 out of 5. There are a few open-door sex scenes with graphic sexual content, but they are literary and not gratuitous.
Broken Country contains an array of potentially triggering content, including gun violence, death of a child, grief, animal violence, blood, infidelity, and alcoholism.
What It’s About
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall begins in 1968 in the English countryside with a dead farmer, but there are two possible victims, and it’s also unclear whether it was an accident or a murder.
Beth is a mother grieving the tragic death of her young son, Bobby, when this shooting death occurs within her farming family, which includes her husband, Frank, his brother, Jimmy, and their father, David. The impetus was the return to town of Beth’s first love, Gabriel, and his young son, Leo, which sets off a chain of events that lead to the penultimate gunshot.
Woven within this plot are also threads about secrets, family duties, class differences, gender differences, betrayals, forgiveness, and second chances.
What “Broken Country” Means: It refers to all the things that are broken for those living in the English countryside in the 1960s, from the violence and hard living they are forced to survive to class and gender inequality.
Main Characters
- Beth Johnson: the protagonist who dreamed of becoming a poet and the mother of a deceased child
- Frank Johnson: Beth’s husband, a farmer
- Bobby Johnson: Beth’s and Frank’s son who died tragically
- Gabriel Wolfe: Beth’s first love, an upper-class author
- Leo Wolfe: Gabriel’s son
- Jimmy Johnson: Frank’s brother, a farmer and an alcoholic
- Nina: Jimmy’s significant other
- Tessa: Gabriel’s elite mother
- David: Frank’s and Jimmy’s father
- Eleanor: Beth’s urban sister
- Louisa: an American love interest of Gabe (no spoilers, but her role does grow)
Pros and Cons
PROS
- The most dramatic types of love and mystery storylines
- Well-plotted non-linear structure
- Keep you guessing
- Tugs at your heartstrings
- Makes you think about the character’s actions
- Excellent use of literary devices
- Easy to read and propulsive
- Lots of plot twists
CONS
- The section titles were confusing (though I think this was done purposefully).
- Some of the plot twists were predictable.
“The farmer is dead, he is dead and all anyone wants to know is who killed him. Was it an accident or was it murder?”
The famous opening line of the book Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall sets the stage for one epic saga. This is the type of book that changes an author’s life: it’s well-plotted, well-executed, and very emotional, giving it mass appeal.
Intentionally, Hall doesn’t tell the reader which farmer is dead, whodunit, and why, but instead, she weaves a perfectly-crafted non-linear tale from the time in 1955 when Beth Johnson fell in love with her first love, the elite Gabriel Wolfe, to twenty years later. In that time, she marries local farmer Frank Johnson, bears a son, Bobby, who tragically dies years later, copes with Gabriel’s return to town with his son, Leo, attends the murder trial at the core of the novel, and goes on with life for years after the verdict. (These are not spoilers.)
The bits and pieces of this narrative scatter like cookie crumbs, yet remain as delectable to read as the cookie is to eat in any form.
Why?! For one, the mysteries keep us guessing as readers. We must also wonder how Bobby died and how this plays into the narrative. After all, grief is clearly a motivating factor in the lives of Beth and Frank.
Literature lovers will appreciate all the literary references and devices, like the symbolic sacrificial lambs and dual meaning of the tree. This is an emotional novel in which love and life are inextricably tied to death.
Likewise, women, particularly, will wonder how Beth’s life may have differed if she were of a higher class like Gabriel’s. There’s a lot to think about here.
Though some of the plot twists were predictable to me, some still made me gasp out loud, and that one final poetic page left me in tears, haunted by the tragic saga that unfolded, yet knowing it couldn’t (and perhaps even, “shouldn’t”) have ended any other way.
If you’re up all night finishing Broken Country, you won’t be alone.
About Clare Leslie Hall
about
Broken Country is the U.S. debut of journalist and novelist Clare Leslie Hall, who wrote two novels in the U.K. Find her on Instagram and X.
Helpful Reading Recommendations
TIPS
- Use my Broken Country discussion questions to think and/or talk about this book more deeply. It’s an excellent book club book.
- Despite the non-linear format, this book is not difficult to read, so choose your favorite format.
- Pair your reading sessions with popular 1960s music like that referenced in the novel or English favorites like hot tea and biscuits.
Is it worth reading?
Yes. Broken Country is a five-star book that’s quick and easy, yet also very emotional and thought-provoking, to read. There’s something here for many types of readers, including those who love family drama, a bit of spicy romance, the love triangle trope, courtroom mysteries, and even historical fiction. This is one of those mass-appeal books that “everyone” talks about, so if any of the above intrigues you, it’s worth picking it up.
Related Book Reviews
If you liked this Broken Country book review, check out these book reviews of similar books next for read-a-likes:
- Anna Karenina Book Review (love, family, and tragedy, all wrapped into a classic)
- The God of the Woods Book Review (class differences, family drama, missing child mysteries)
- Hello Beautiful Book Review (love triangle and family drama)
- Tom Lake Book Review (family drama and love triangle with a mother’s secrets)
remember, it’s a good day to read a book. – jules
