Series:

P.S.

Main description:

Until that fateful afternoon, Skunk Cunningham had been a normal little girl, playing on the curb in front of her house. Rick Buck­ley had been a normal geeky teen­ager, hosing off his brand-new car. Bob Oswald had been a normal sociopathic single father of five slutty daughters, charging furiously down the side­walk. Then Bob was beating Rick to a bloody pulp, right there in the Buckleys' driveway, and life on Drummond Square was never the same again.

Inspired by Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird, Clay's brilliantly observed and darkly funny novel follows the sudden unraveling of a sub­urban community after a single act of thoughtless cruelty.

Review quote:

“Bold, prescient, engaging.”

Review quote:

“Clay’s debut novel is remarkably controlled and disciplined as it depicts those who spiral out of control.... Clay succeeds in inciting pity even for a murderer [and his] triumph is in exploring the kindness and love that might heal and restore – and what it is to feel fully alive.”

Review quote:

“Daniel Clay tells the truth about childhood in the modern world, and captures all the elements of a great novel: suspense, desperation, love, and death.”

Review quote:

“It’s funny and sad and moving.”

Review quote:

“This intense and intricate novel charts the fascinating, often frightening lives of three families in suburban Britain. Daniel Clay shows a masterful empathy for his characters, while never shying from their frailties and agonies. BROKEN is surprising, shocking, and cruelly funny at times. It’s an unforgettable book.”