STEPHEN M. IRWIN lives in Brisbane, Australia, with his wife and children. He is the author of The Dead Path.
Favorite Books of 2012, Chicago Tribune
Best Fiction of 2012: Thrillers, Kirkus
Reviews
Best of 2012 Horror, Suspense Magazine
“I was hooked from page one. The protagonist of The Broken Ones is
a policeman in Australia, which (in Irwin’s narrative world), has
become a different country since a sudden reversal of polarity.
This reversal has changed everything: now each live person is
haunted by one ghost, visible only to that person. The consequences
of this situation utterly change society. Detective Oscar Mariani
is still trying to be a good cop in a world that does not
appreciate good cops or reward them, and the murders he is
determined to solve are horrendous. Intelligent, grim, and
challenging.”
New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris, on
CharlaineHarris.com
"A truly unique and harrowing vision--Irwin's ability to blend
genres is as remarkable as his imagination."
LINCOLN CHILD, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
"In this strange and uncanny second novel, Australian author (and
filmmaker) Stephen M. Irwin combines the gumshoe fiction of Raymond
Chandler and the retro-futurism of "Blade Runner" to concoct a
doomsday scenario that feels eerily relevant...No one in this
feverish novel emerges unscathed. You may not, either. I couldn't
shake the enveloping gloom or lyrical despair of The Broken Ones
for days."
Chicago Tribune
"In the striking retro future of this novel, bizarre and
familiar comfortably coincide. A flawlessly assembled
thriller."
Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
"A well-paced, imaginative story."
The Free Lance-Star
"Blending the supernatural thriller with hard-boiled crime fiction,
Australian Irwin, in his second novel, which follows the acclaimed
The Dead Path (2010), depicts a bleak future. Three years after
Grey Wednesday, on which the earth’s poles suddenly switched,
unemployment is rampant, while food and goods are in short supply.
Perhaps most devastating of all, however, was the appearance of the
ghosts. All are now haunted by the eyeless specters of people they
once knew. As a result, suicide and murder rates have skyrocketed,
and a unit has been created within the police department to
exonerate perpetrators driven to murder by their ghosts. Rumpled,
dogged detective Oscar Mariani works in that unit. He is poorly
paid, constantly under threat of being shut down, and disrespected
by mainstream policemen, many of whom are corrupt. But then he
catches the case of a young woman whose body has been badly
mutilated and marked with occult signs, and he is convinced her
murder is connected to the highest levels of government. How he
goes about solving his case while weighed down with guilt over his
failed personal relationships provides much of the suspense in a
story that also offers cinematic descriptions of a rain-drenched,
ruined Brisbane and smoothly incorporated supernatural elements. A
unique and thrilling blend of horror and crime."
Booklist (Starred Review)
"Stephen M. Irwin's new book is a thrilling ride, cementing him as
a formidable new talent in fiction."
Book of the Month Club
“Infusing equals parts of horror and crime, The Broken Ones is
masterfully written and an entertaining read.”
The Birmingham Times
"Highly original...Irwin’s depiction of a world falling apart under
the onslaught of supernatural forces, and the desperate measures
some will take to remedy it, is one of the more memorable in recent
weird fiction."
Publishers Weekly
“Genre-bending and imaginative, Irwin’s sophomore novel is part
fantasy, part supernatural crime thriller. Similar in style and
content to the works of Cherie Priest and Richard Matheson, this
will appeal to a variety of genre readers who enjoy intelligent
fiction that pushes boundaries.”
Library Journal
"Some of the best work being produced across all the art forms in
this century derives its quality and its energy from the mixing up
of forms and genres... This ambitious novel combines not just two
genres, but three, mixing up the conventions of supernatural
mystery, police procedural and speculative fiction to produce a
futuristic dystopian society that has broken down after an invasion
of ghosts, with a hero straight from the hard-boiled school of
crime... The writing is at once witty, gritty and grim. The
horrors are genuinely horrible and the imagined scenario is
satisfyingly rich and suggestive." 'Pick of the Week'
Sydney Morning Herald
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