Half Broken Things

This book caught my attention because it involves a house-sitter, just as my series does. But Morag’s story could not be more different. It depicts a terrible sequence of events arising from an innocent house-sitting assignment and a growing love for the place, which I as a reader very much shared. The house itself becomes both the setting and the main threat to the well-being of the ‘half-broken’ characters. The story is hauntingly compelling, the characters deeply likeable, and the writing a real delight. This has been one of my great favourites ever since I first read it.

Okay, so…once again, there’s a personal angle. I often find myself - at the end of a holiday at an amazing spa resort, for example - genuinely wishing in a quite ferocious way that I could just...not leave. I know many people say jokingly that they wish a holiday could last forever, but I suspect I'm the only one who really means it. If I could, I would actually live, on a full-time basis, at the Vila Vita Parc in the Algarve or at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como. Sadly, that is impossible for a number of reasons… show more.