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Michael Robotham
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Shatter (Joe O'loughlin Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Michael Robotham (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 3,346 ratings

Don't miss the series that inspired the major ITV drama starring Aidan Turner - Shatter is the third Joe O'Loughlin thriller.


Can you hear it? The sound of a mind breaking?


A naked woman in red high-heeled shoes is perched on the edge of Clifton Suspension Bridge with her back pressed to the safety fence, weeping into a mobile phone. Clinical psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin is only feet away, desperately trying to talk her down. She whispers, 'you don't understand,' and jumps.

Later, Joe has a visitor - the woman's teenage daughter, a runaway from boarding school. She refuses to believe that her mother would have jumped off the bridge - not only would she not commit suicide, she is terrified of heights.

Joe wants to believe her, but what would drive a woman to such a desperate act? Whose voice? What evil?

Although the Joe O'Loughlin books can be read in any order, Shatter is the third in the series after The Drowning Man. The next in the series is Bleed for Me.

And if you're looking for another jaw-dropping thriller from Michael Robotham that will make you think and feel, don't miss his brand-new book Storm Child.

Praise for Michael Robotham's thrillers:

'I love this guy's books' Lee Child

'Will have you turning the pages compulsively' The Times

'An absolute master' Stephen King

'He writes in a voice with a haunting sense of soul' Peter James

'Heart-stopping and heart-breaking' Val McDermid

'The real deal' David Baldacci

'Superbly exciting . . . a terrific read' Guardian

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  1. Book 3 of 9
    Joe O'Loughlin
  2. Print length
    450 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Sphere
  5. Publication date
    1 Oct. 2009
  6. File size
    1.9 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Shop this series

 See full series
There are 9 books in this series.

Product description

Review

Brilliant (Company)

Shatter is a gripping journey into the weaknesses and strengths of the human psyche...it is the inevitablility of the plot's development that builds the tension and will have you turning the pages compulsively, desperate to get to the end, but not daring to miss a word (The Times)

Robotham's restrained and knowledgeable method of writing means that the story develops at just the right pace (RTE Guide)

Genuinely terrifying (Literary Review)

From the Back Cover

A naked woman in red high-heeled shoes is perched on the edge of Clifton Suspension Bridge with her back pressed to the safety fence, weeping into a mobile phone. Clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin is only feet away, desperately trying to talk her down. She whispers, 'you don't understand,' and jumps.

Later, Joe has a visitor -- the woman's teenage daughter, a runaway from boarding school. She refuses to believe that her mother would have jumped off the bridge -- not only would she not commit suicide, she is terrified of heights.

Joe wants to believe her, but what would drive a woman to such a desperate act? Whose voice? What evil?

This pulse-stopping psychological thriller is a truly gripping and chilling read from one of the greatest crime authors of today.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002TZ3C6S
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sphere; Digital original edition (1 Oct. 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.9 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 450 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0385517912
  • Customer reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 3,346 ratings

About the author

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Michael Robotham

Michael Robotham

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Two-times Gold Dagger winner (2015 and 2020), twice Edgar best novel finalist (2016 and 2020) and winner of the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (2021), Michael Robotham began his writing career as an investigative journalist working across Britain, Australia and America. Later he became a ghostwriter, collaborating on 15 'autobiographies' for politician, pop stars, soldiers and adventurers. Twelve of these books became Sunday Times bestsellers.

Michael's psychological thrillers have been translated into twenty-five languages and his Joe O'Loughlin series is are currently in development for TV by World Productions. A six-part TV series based upon his standalone novel THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS was aired on BBC1 in 2020.

Michael has twice won the prestigious Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger for GOOD GIRL BAD GIRL (2020) and LIFE OR DEATH (2015). He has twice been shortlisted for the Edgar Award for best crime fiction novel in the US, and twice won the Ned Kelly Award for Australia's Crime Novel of the Year. Having twice been shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, he won the thriller prize with WHEN SHE WAS GOOD (2021).

Michael lives in Sydney with his wife and a diminishing number of dependent daughters.

His website is: www.michaelrobotham.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,346 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book riveting with an intriguing plot that keeps them engaged until the last page. The writing quality is excellent, with one customer noting how the author describes scenes exceptionally well. They appreciate the character development, with one review highlighting how readers can identify with all the characters. The book maintains a breathtaking pace throughout.

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59 customers mention ‘Readability’59 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as riveting and brilliant, with one customer noting it's the most enjoyable series they've read.

"...But this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. As with all good books, it's the characterisation that does it: fully rounded people who keep..." Read more

"This was a great story and I enjoyed it very much. So many different threads running through one story...." Read more

"...This book, from the first word to the last, is amazing. The thoughts of the suspect, the incredible twists and turns, the amazing characters...." Read more

"...Hope he writes more and of course this would make a good TV series." Read more

40 customers mention ‘Plot’36 positive4 negative

Customers enjoy the plot of the book, describing it as a suspenseful thriller that keeps readers engaged until the end.

"...So that's it: good, strong, plausible plot; original, interesting characters (O'Loughlin's family life is beautifully drawn); fantastic sense of..." Read more

"This was a great story and I enjoyed it very much. So many different threads running through one story...." Read more

"...This book, from the first word to the last, is amazing. The thoughts of the suspect, the incredible twists and turns, the amazing characters...." Read more

"This book had me gripped from the beginning...." Read more

28 customers mention ‘Writing quality’28 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, finding it wonderful and readable, with one customer noting the exceptional scene descriptions and another mentioning the effortless flow of the narrative.

"...request to my agent for recommendations of good, solid, well written, sharp, cutting-edge thrillers. 'Who's going to be huge in 2-3 years' time?'..." Read more

"...The characters are brilliantly thought out, and keep getting better through the story. A really complex story, looking forward to the next one." Read more

"...now read 5 Michael Robotham books and must conclude that the author is a genius.This book, from the first word to the last, is amazing...." Read more

"...I shall certainly read another of his books. He's a good crime writer with a different angle...." Read more

21 customers mention ‘Character development’21 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one customer noting how well the key players are portrayed and another highlighting the convincing portrayal of the male protagonist.

"...And he's intelligent: a former journalist who can clearly do exceptional research but then integrate it into the story so that it feels integral,..." Read more

"...The characters are brilliantly thought out, and keep getting better through the story. A really complex story, looking forward to the next one." Read more

"...The thoughts of the suspect, the incredible twists and turns, the amazing characters. I couldn't put it down...." Read more

"...The characterisation of the key players grew well and I had pictures in my mind as to how they looked, felt and acted...." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Pace’5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pace of the book, with one describing it as a fast-paced story.

"...His language is sharp, fast and funny - genuinely funny...." Read more

"...read the first 300 pages quite quickly, engrossed as I was by the fast-paced story...." Read more

"...simply the best thriller I have read in a very long time, the pace is breathtaking, from the very first chapter I found it impossible to put down...." Read more

"...It was a well written, fast moving, page turning suspense novel written by a master. It makes you wonder what you would do in the same situation...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Manda Scott
    5.0 out of 5 stars Clever plot, excellent characters and wonderful writing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 June 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I'm in that glorious period when the next book is a Platonic ideal, built up in my imagination, but I haven't actually started the work of writing it yet. I'm plotting, and finding character names, and staring at geography and, in this particular instance, watching boxed sets of 'Spiral', the fantastic French police thriller series that's like Lewis on steroids, laced with a strong Burgundy and a lot more sex. Yes, I am in love with Laure. And yes, my beloved knows this...
    In amongst all of this, I'm reading around the subject and in this case, that's a pretty wide scope because the new book will not only be set in a new historical period (fifteenth century France) but will have a contemporary thriller thread - hence the Spiral-watching. Hence also the request to my agent for recommendations of good, solid, well written, sharp, cutting-edge thrillers. 'Who's going to be huge in 2-3 years' time?' I need to see where we're at.

    In amongst some others, he recommended 'Shatter' by Michael Robotham - whom he also represents: that's the full disclosure coda at the start. But I'm not into writing reviews for people simply because we share an agent: that way lies disaster and an end to review-integrity. I'm writing this, because, yet again, I was up until after 2am finishing this and woke this morning glad that I did because otherwise I'd have lost half a working day having to finish it (when, instead, I could be watching series 2 of Spiral and calling it work).

    This is the book blurb:

    *****

    A naked woman in red high-heeled shoes is perched on the edge of Clifton Suspension Bridge with her back pressed to the safety fence, weeping into a mobile phone. Clinical psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin is only feet away, desperately trying to talk her down. She whispers, 'you don't understand,' and jumps.

    Later, Joe has a visitor - the woman's teenage daughter, a runaway from boarding school. She refuses to believe that her mother would have jumped off the bridge - not only would she not commit suicide, she is terrified of heights.

    Joe wants to believe her, but what would drive a woman to such a desperate act? Whose voice? What evil?

    ******

    If I had blurb this unexciting, I'd sack my editor and find a new one, but that apart, it does give the gist of the book: Someone is talking women to their deaths - their fates become more elaborate and nastier as the plot unfolds - and our hero is Professor Joe O'Loughlin, a forensic psychiatrist who has Parkinson's disease as his added interest. Dragged unwilling into the case, he has to find out who's doing this and why before his own family falls apart under the pressure.

    I have to say that none of this sounds overly promising: every single police procedural these days seems to have a psycho-acadamic at loggerheads with the police and there are only so many variations on human wounded-ness you can manage: drink, drugs, depression, divorce... before they all seem to blend into one another.

    But this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. As with all good books, it's the characterisation that does it: fully rounded people who keep stepping out of their stereotypes (the lesbian DI is wonderfully good), but added to that is Robotham's exceptional sense of place - in this case, the area around the Avon Gorge, Bristol and Bath. For someone who lives in Australia, he has a good handle on the south west. And he's intelligent: a former journalist who can clearly do exceptional research but then integrate it into the story so that it feels integral, not tacked on to prove how much time he spent on Google before he started writing. His language is sharp, fast and funny - genuinely funny. When so many other lad-cop writers seem to have a deeply irritating nasal chortle as their writing voice, Robotham's is dryly ironic, but sharply, beautifully, interestingly observant.

    And then there's his bad guy. He's followed Val McDermid's lead in this and we have occasional short deviations from the first person present tense narrative of Joe O'Loughlin into the head of the perpetrator. They're in italics, which helps, because while they're not nearly as disturbing as McDermid's monster in 'The Mermaids Singing', they are none the less deeply affecting. In part this is because the inevitable threat to our hero is made a great deal more immediate when we can see the plot unfolding, but in main, it's because the bad guy's past history as a torturer - sorry, interrogator - sent to the unmentionable, forgettable, forgotten prisons of recent wars to drag information from unwilling victims is so utterly plausible, so inevitably damaging and so completely covered up by the authorities when their hens come home to roost, that it left my left-wing, progressive anti-war brain exploding. Which of course is exactly what it's supposed to do. I confess to having skipped some of them in the rush to the end, but I will go back and read them in depth later, promise...

    So that's it: good, strong, plausible plot; original, interesting characters (O'Loughlin's family life is beautifully drawn); fantastic sense of place and writing that flows with effortless ease. Five stars and thoroughly recommended.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Really good book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2025
    Verified Purchase
    This was a great story and I enjoyed it very much. So many different threads running through one story. Takes some keeping up with what is going but it's a great story. The characters are brilliantly thought out, and keep getting better through the story. A really complex story, looking forward to the next one.
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  • MK Ahsan
    5.0 out of 5 stars What an amazing book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I have now read 5 Michael Robotham books and must conclude that the author is a genius.This book, from the first word to the last, is amazing. The thoughts of the suspect, the incredible twists and turns, the amazing characters. I couldn't put it down. I read day and night even though I knew that reading the bits in italics would give me nightmares and think that there is someone hiding in my home!! Read it. You will not be disappointed. I will be reading The Wreckage next. By all accounts, that will be even better, if that is possible.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Mornev
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Slow Burner Then it Flames
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 January 2011
    Verified Purchase
    When I began reading this book it didn't grip me so I put it down feeling disappointed as I had read all the high rated reviews in here. I picked it up again later and then couldn't put it down until I finished reading it. I needed to know why and how and who: needed to know more about Joe and his Mr Parkinson.

    The characterisation of the key players grew well and I had pictures in my mind as to how they looked, felt and acted. I shall certainly read another of his books. He's a good crime writer with a different angle. Hope he writes more and of course this would make a good TV series.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Michelle
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read from start to finish!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This book had me gripped from the beginning. I liked the main character Joe, felt his pain and his insecurities of his illness, loved Ruiz and Darcy and her spunk and felt a kinship with Charlie as my daughter approaches her age. Julianne I wasn't so sure on, was doubtful that she was faithful so I wanted to dislike her. It amazed me that someone could twist another person's mind that much that they could kill themselves but this book made me think that actually put me in their shoes what would I do to save my child?? Will definitely be reading another of Michael Robotham's books! Highly recommended!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Brian Moffett
    4.0 out of 5 stars Intricate and Interesting
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2024
    Verified Purchase
    An unusual but convincing male protagonist and a criminal that you can't wait to snare.
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  • Brida
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - original and frightening
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This is the second novel that I have read by Robotham. Although I don't read lots of crime thrillers, I will read them if I think they offer something a bit different. SHATTER certainly offers that. Without wanting to give too much away about the plot, SHATTER tells the story of a serial killer with a difference - rather than physically killing his victims, this serial killer persuades the victims to take their own life. The title of the book is in reference to the killer delighting in the sound a mind makes when it breaks.
    This was such an original book. The killer that Robotham has created is perhaps one of the scariest I have come across so far. SHATTER was creepy, frigthening and engrossing. You'll keep on turning those pages, even if at times you wish you could pull away from it.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Sarah R.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant read!
    Reviewed in Germany on 2 August 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I was captivated by this book, therefore have now ordered the rest of the Joe O'laughlin series. I can't put them down.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting novel by a great author
    Reviewed in the United States on 20 January 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I stumbled upon Michael Robotham's first novel of this series by good fortune at my local library. I liked it so much that I read his next of the Joe O'Loughlin series and am now on the 3rd in the series: Shatter. I've already purchased "Bleed for Me" in anticipation of reading that one next. Guess you could say I'm hooked. His stories are riveting, complex, and filled with interesting characters, many of whom come across as flawed and relatable. The fact that his main character is in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease adds another interesting nuance I had never seen before. I look forward to reading the entire series and then moving on to his Cyrus Haven series and all his free standing novels.
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  • Fran Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
    Reviewed in Canada on 22 October 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Great series
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  • Ian Kendall
    5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! What a read!
    Reviewed in Australia on 16 August 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I know it’s trite, but I actually could not put this book down. It really is more than a murder mystery, it is truly a horror story. The horrific deaths, the beyond psychopathic killer and the on-going story arcs create the suspense and drama that force one onto the next chapter. I didn’t know that it was even possible for Michael Robotham to surpass the excellence of the previous two books with Joe O’Loughlin as the primary protagonist, but he has!
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  • Jayaprakash G
    4.0 out of 5 stars Mind blowing psychological thriller
    Reviewed in India on 21 May 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This is a mind blowing psychological thriller by Michael Robotham. The narration mesmerizes the reader. If you love thrillers then include this book to your read list / library. So far I have read four books by this author; two are thrillers (Life or Death and The Wreckage) and two are psychological thrillers (Say You're Sorry and Shatter). Except for The Wreckage, all the other three novels have swept me off my feet. I am eagerly waiting to read the remaining novels by Robotham.
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