| Shatter | |
| Author: | Michael Robotham |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Novel |
| Publisher: | Sphere Books, London |
| Release Date: | 2008 |
| Media Type: | Print Hardback & Paperback |
| Pages: | 466 pp |
| Isbn: | 978-1-84744-177-5 |
| Isbn Note: | (first edition, hardback) |
| Oclc: | 176833215 |
| Preceded By: | The Night Ferry |
| Followed By: | Bombproof |
Shatter is a 2008 psychological thriller novel written by the Australian author Michael Robotham.[1]
Professor Joseph O'Loughlin (referred to as Joe throughout the novel) is tasked by the police with stopping a woman, Christine Wheeler, from committing suicide, only to fail. When Wheeler's teenage daughter appears onto his doorstep, she insists that her mother would not have jumped off a bridge as she did, for she was not suicidal and had a fear of heights. Haunted by his failure to save her and driven by a need to understand what caused her death, Joe searches for the truth, only to be caught up in a string of murders all while dealing with his own problems with Parkinson's disease and his marriage.
Sue Turnbull, in The Age, was impressed with the novel: "Thematically complex, artfully structured, beautifully written and observed, Shatter confirms Robotham's place in the front row of crime."[4]
Reviewing the book in Dark Scribe magazine, Rick R. Reed compared the villain to Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lecter and went on: "Shatter really has it all when it comes to the thriller genre: it’s fast-paced, has uniquely and wonderfully-drawn characters, contains a great mystery at its center, and makes you want to read more from Michael Robotham."[5]