Shatter (Joseph O’Loughlin 3)

Author/Guide: Michael Robotham

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: The third in the Joseph O’Loughlin series

ISBN: 978-0751552027
Genre: Crime, Police Procedural

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What you need to know before your trail

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.

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Travel Guide

Travel and explore the London of Michael Robotham

The city of London is his home and home turf but his work takes him across the UK in many of the books. No matter where he goes, there is a good yet gritty guide to the city where he is. the author carves out a vivid picture of the setting, atmosphere and showcases the shadows of the city, you might not see otherwise:

Here he heads to Bath and Bristol. Bath unvesrity is where he’s lecuturing and then he’s off to Bristol as a crime has occured close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Bristol and Clifton Suspension Bridge

“Masonry rowers appear on the skyline. It is Brunel’s Masterpiece, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, an engineering marvel from the age of steam. Taillights blaze. Traffic is stretched back for more than a mile on the approach.”

“One of the attributes of bridges is that they offer the possibility that someone may start to cross but never reach the other side.”

“The Clifton |Suspension Bridge is a landmark, a tourist attraction and a one drop -shop for suicides.”

His London setting and himself:

I like this view of London. It still looks majestic. It’s only when you get close up you see the decay. But then again, I guess you could say the same time about me.

His office

My office is in a pyramid of white boxes on Great Portland Street designed by an architect who drew inspiration from his childhood. Ground level, it doesn’t look finished and I’m always half expecting a crane to turn up and hoist a few more boxes into the gaps.