The Broken Ones
Stephen M Irwin
Hachette Australia (2011)
ISBN: 978-0-7336-2713-2
Reviewed by: Gaile Hughes
Grey Wednesday happened, and the world changed forever.
The Broken Ones is certainly a different take on genre bending. The story is set in Brisbane a few years in the future, and blends police procedural, supernatural mystery and spec fiction with a touch of grim horror.
The hero Oscar Mariani is a flawed and rumpled, yet incorruptible detective, working in the newly created Nine-Ten Investigation Unit. The unit was formed to deal with crimes related to events that have occurred since ‘Grey Wednesday’, the day the world was thrown into chaos and the unthinkable happened – the dead have risen and everyone is haunted by an ever present, silent and eyeless spectre.
Crime and corruption are rife, and murders and suicides are commonplace. The governments have failed to deal with this catastrophic event and the police are losing control as the economy and resources begin to disintegrate and society fragments.
An apathetic Detective Mariani and his small department are under threat of closure, when a new murder snaps him out of his lethargy. A ritualistic serial killer is murdering young women, and Mariani gets caught up in an investigation that no one wants him to follow.
The world Irwin has created is a bleak place, the horrors visual and grim, with Brisbane portrayed as a wet, sodden and broken city. The story has multiple twists and turns and is tautly plotted, with enough creepiness to keep you awake until the wee hours. The cast of characters are colourful and richly developed; although there is often a surfeit of adjectives. However, it provided rich sensory insights for the reader.
Readers should be aware that the story includes the brutal killing of an animal and, although it does relate to a later event, I felt that it was unnecessary and could have been omitted.
Brisbane author Stephen M Irwin’s first book THE DEAD PATH was published in 2009. It was described as one of the scariest stories of the year. With his second novel THE BROKEN ONES it seems he has taken the readers on another creepy and haunting ride.
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