It hooks us somewhere deeper than reason or civilisation, in the fragments of our cells that rocked in oceans before we had minds, and it pulls till we follow mindlessly as rutting animals.'īroken Harbour is a tale about the different facets of obsession and insanity, and it winds up to a finale that is almost too distressing. 'The smell of the sea swept over the wall and in through all the empty window-holes, wide and wild with a million intoxicating secrets. And despite his protestations that he's 'the least fanciful guy around', Scorcher is prone to many a flight of fancy, played out in French's enticing, threatening, atmospheric prose. It allows her to explore her protagonists from multiple perspectives: Scorcher presents himself as a good guy, uncomplicated, 'decent looks if I say so myself', but readers of Faithful Place, told by his rival Frank Mackey, know he's a little edgier than that. Instead of focusing on a single detective, she's chosen the fictional Murder Squad, with each of her novels told from a different investigator's viewpoint. Meanwhile, Scorcher is battling demons of his own: a sister clinging to sanity by her fingernails, a rookie partner and memories of a tragedy earlier in his life.įrench has adopted an unusual tactic with her series of thrillers set in and around Dublin. Nothing feels right in the Spain family's classy, expensive home: the walls are full of holes, there are video monitors planted all over the place, and it looks like Pat was trying to catch some sort of beast in the loft. Being broke, says Scorcher, 'can scour away at a lifetime of mild, peaceful decency until all that's left is teeth and claws and terror'.Įxcept things are far from simple, and the case quickly starts to spiral out of control. The finger is pointed, at first, at Pat, who lost his job months earlier. Ninety nine times out of a hundred, it gets there because they open the door and invite it in,' says Scorcher. 'You would be amazed at how seldom murder has to break into people's lives.

Broken harbor