More About The Broken Shore

In the past few days I've remembered two things I forgot to mention in my previous post about The Broken Shore, by Peter Temple.

1. It's very funny in a very very dark kind of way. The dialogue is just wonderful and I especially loved his gift for understatement. I think this might be a signature trait of Australian humor but I am not sure.

2. Temple did leave some ends hanging. Maybe his gift for understatement made him understate some plot points. I could have missed some, but others I really tried to resolve, skimming back through the book trying to figure out who someone was, that kind of thing. Oh well. If you are the kind of mystery reader who needs everything wrapped up in a complete package at the end, you might want to take notes as you read this. For myself, as long as I am entertained and the main problem is solved I don't mind a few loose ends.