Half Broken Things - Tapa blanda

'Morag Joss's distinguished debut demonstrates an interesting setting, characters, both sympathetic and villainous, who are drawn with wit and perception, good writing and a plot which combines tension with credibility.' - PD James - 'Both literate and sardonic, filled with persuasive characters' - The Sunday Times - 'The skilful plotting, strong sense of place and colourful but credible characters would alone mark this book out. What makes it not only convincing crime writing but also a fine novel is its lively sense of social comedy and sharp wit' - The Good Book Guide - 'Well written and well plotted, with a good Bath background' - Evening Standard 'A mesmerising psychological thriller set in beautiful surroundings, it suggests that Joss is the most persuasive chronicler of the city perhaps best known to some as Jane Austen's stamping ground' - The Times - 'A literate and surprisingly lyrical read, as well as a mesmerising thriller' - What's On - Birmingham - 'Morag Joss gets better with each book. Fruitful Bodies finds her sympathetic heroine, cellist Sara Selkirk, preparing to record the Dvorak cello concerto [when] things turn out to be not quite as they appear. But there can be no uncertainty about the high quality of the writing and the plotting.' - Donna Leon on Fruitful Bodies - 'Morag Joss writes with razor sharp, wry observation' - Bath Chronicle

Jean, Michael and Steph are three reluctant loners. Damaged and fearful of life, they cannot survive alone for much longer. A mixture of deceit, good luck and misfortune draw them together to Walden Manor, a secluded and gracious country house that promises sanctuary, freedom from failure and impending destitution. Out of an invented past they shape a beautiful present, full of hope and happiness. For the first time in their lives they lose their dread of the future. If their sense of safety is built on a delusion, does it matter? When the idyll is threatened, Jean, Michael and Steph discover that because their lives are now worth living they are also now worth preserving. But at what cost? Half Broken Things is a dark story, richly told, about love and our need for it: the damage done when we go too long without it, and what people might be driven to do in its name.