Broken Country

'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

'I defy you not to be in tears by the end of this book' HARRIET TYCE, author of Witch Trial

'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

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?

After several years of living and working in London as a journalist and writing Pictures of Him and Days You Were Mine, Clare, her husband and three children moved to an old farmhouse in Dorset. The house, the ancient fields surrounding it and the farmers who have a deep connection to the land inspired the setting for Broken Country.

Broken Country will be published in thirty-one countries.

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 ― Irish Sunday Independent

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

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 & Home, Book of the Month

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

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

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

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

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

Powerful ― Sun

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

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

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

My favourite book of the year . . . Beautifully written and has a wonderful twist I didn't see coming! -- ALICE FEENEY, author of My Husband's Wife