If your favoured reading material is a novel with a good sprinkling of history and mystery, academic intrigue and a soupçon of romance, then feel at liberty to read Toni Jordan's latest offering - The Fragments.

Toni Jordan gives the reader some excellent characters, most of whom have appeal despite their flaws and of course, there are a few suitably nasty ones who are meant to be despised.

Told in alternating chapters from between New York City in the 1930's and 1980's Brisbane, Australia, the back and forth worked in retaining my interest and attention and even though parts of the novel were quite slow-moving, I was never bored but instead, was lured ever deeper into this wonderful tale.

Nothing was what it seemed, and Toni Jordan released her clues and information in such a way that I did not want to put down my kindle and wait for the next chapter.

The writing really flowed and there were wonderfully crafted descriptions of the places as well as the people. What stood out for me was the Australian setting and the portrayal of the academic life with its niggling jealousies, providing a rich arena for intrigue and backstabbing. What worked less well was the motive for the murder.

Overall, I'd say that The Fragments is a little gem and a book that I'm so pleased to have read!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Text Publishing via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Sometimes I pick up a book with no preconceived notions about it. I have no idea what to expect and I don’t anticipate anything out of the ordinary. And then, I am pleasantly and thoroughly surprised. The Fragments by Toni Jordan is a perfect example. It is unexpected gem of a book that is a story about the love of books and literature, redemption, and hope.

Inga Karlson wrote a popular novel in the 1930s but, before she could publish her second book, she tragically lost her life in a mysterious fire. The fire also destroyed all copies of her yet-to-be-released novel and only a few fragments of the pages were found in the debris. In 1986, Caddie Walker is a young woman who sells books for a living. She was named after a character in the book Inga Karlson wrote and when an exhibition about Karlson comes to Brisbane, Caddie attends. There she has a chance encounter with an old woman and that begins a chain of events that Caddie could never imagine.

The story follows these two timelines and moves effortlessly between them. As Caddie tries to solve the mystery of the fire that killed her beloved author, the reader is also introduced to Rachel and that troubling period of time between the two World Wars.

The Fragments is well-written, with interesting and varied characters that seem to jump off the page. Although some of Caddie’s decisions seem to be flawed and unexpected, the story ends well and is very satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

A wonderful book. Beautifully evocative, both of 1980s Australia and Depression-era Pennsylvania and NYC. The characters all ring with truth and the writing itself is lyrical. I highlighted more than a dozen passages, but this is the one I’ll share, since I think it incapsulates one of my favorite things - the personal and aspirational way a reader experiences the characters in a really well written story: “She reads Calico Bush and knows that Maggie’s burden is far worse than her own, she reads The Good Earth and hopes for the constancy and good sense of O-Lan.” I wish I had Caddie’s passion and determination and Rachel’s strength. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It is a book for people who love books and stories and words.

When a revered author and her manuscript perish in a fire, the world is shocked. Through the ash, only fragments of Inga Karlson's work remain. Those pieces, literally called "The Fragments" end up on display years later in Brisbane, Australia as part of a travelling exhibition.

Caddie, who was named after a character in Inga's first novel, is ecstatic to see The Fragments in person, and on her way out of the exhibition bumps into someone who sparks her interest in finding out what really happened to Inga.

The Fragments has two timelines, one follows Caddie as she attempts to dig into the past, and the other that follows Rachel Lehrer. Rachel's timeline is set in the 1920's and follows her life.

Overall, I devoured this novel. I read it in only a few days and was able to get into the flow of it quickly. I had no problems with Rachel and her side of things. However, Caddie was where I got into some issues. Towards the end, no spoilers, Caddie really started to grate on my nerves with her actions. I felt that she took some rather roundabout and ,frankly, poor choices that didn't make sense. Besides that, I did guess the ending, but I still enjoyed it.

This is one of those reviews I had to sit on for awhile because I just had to let my thoughts about the book whirl until they settled. I've finally decided on 4 stars.

Caddie Walker, who works in a book store, is a huge fan of iconic, controversial, Pulitzer Prize winner Inga Karlson who published her first and only book All Has An End in 1935. Caddie is waiting in a long line to view a traveling exhibit on Karlson's life. The exhibit contains the fragments of only 7 pages of what was to have been her second novel. The finished book and all copies of it was lost, along with the lives of Karlson and her editor in a warehouse fire shortly before her second book was to be published. The fire was ruled arson; the case was never solved. Karlson was 28 when she died, the same age Caddie is now.

After leaving the exhibit, the old woman who had stood before Caddie in line, strikes up a conversation with her, asking which of the fragments contained the phrase Caddie liked best. After Caddie recites her favorite fragment, the woman says that's her favorite one as well, reciting it back with an extra phrase at the end. She then hops into a taxi she had called and disappeared. Caddie is immediately intriqued - who was this woman, and how could she know additional words that are not part of the fragment in the exhibit? Little did she realize that her inquiries would not only lead her to the woman, but also enable her to solve one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the 20th century!

The book is advanced by alternating between the voice telling what is occurring in Brisbane, Australia in 1986 with Caddie's efforts to solve the mystery, and the voice describing the happenings in New York in the late 1920's and 1930's. It is beautifully written and quite an intriguing tale as it turns out! The only thing I had an issue with was believing all that Cady was willing to do to solve the mystery. But then I should realize as a book lover myself, we are capable of just about anything!

My many thanks to NetGalley and to Text Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The book will be available to the general public on September 20, 2019

A manuscript that was destroyed in a fire - except for the few fragments that survived. The author? Tragically died at the same time.

Fast forward 50+ years later and Caddie, a bookseller, visits an exhibit and sees the fragments. There, she meet Rachel - who somehow knows more about the book than previously know. And this is virtually impossible...as everyone who knew about the book had died.

This book is that delicate balance between historical fiction and mystery. While there are (fairly obvious) twists, it's still a fabulous read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Australian novelist Toni Warren divides her latest novel, The Fragments, between Brisbane, Pennsylvania, and New York City, between the 1980s and the Interwar period, between the research realm and the literary realm being researched.

Caddie Walker, a young bookseller, takes time off to attend the art gallery showing of burned fragments of Inga Karlson’s lost second novel, The Days, The Minutes. Karlson and her publisher had died a tragic and mysterious death in a New York City warehouse fire nearly a half century earlier, and all copies of The Days, The Minutes had gone up in flames along with the printing plates just before Karlson’s book was scheduled for release to the eager public. Because of the first novel’s fame, the strange circumstances surrounding the author’s death, and the destruction of the anticipated second novel, Inga Karlson had captured the attention of literary researchers hoping to solve the mysteries of her death and the nature of her lost novel. Over the years, scholars had already churned out articles and books revealing the little they could glean about the reclusive author who died before her thirtieth birthday and spawning conspiracy theories while attempting to explain her tragic death.

After viewing the fragments, a few charred pages that had survived the fire and were now on a world tour, Caddie encounters an elderly woman outside the museum. When Caddie quotes her favorite sentence from one of the fragments, the old woman tells Caddie there was more and adds several words to what already sounded like a complete sentence.

Later, thinking about the strange encounter and thinking that this old woman may know something about Inga Karlson, Caddie determines to find the stranger, who had identified herself only as Rachel.
Hoping for leads, Caddie turns to others interested in Inga Karlson and sets off a search for Rachel, who might be able to tell the world at least a little something about Karlson or her lost second novel. With a bit of romance but more old-fashioned research in the pre-Internet 1980s, the story of Caddie’s search for the elderly Rachel alternates with young Rachel’s story from the 1920s and ‘30s, and culminates in a brilliant scene back at the museum on the eve of the fragments’ removal and shipment to the next museum on the tour.

Toni Jordan’s The Fragments is a book for book lovers, a book for researchers determined to unearth the unknown, a book for mystery lovers eager to figure out the next mystery.

A enjoyable book, The Fragments is about a manuscript that gets destroyed by fire in 1930's New York, only a few fragments of the book remain. It's revered author famously perished with it. Fast track to 1980's Brisbane where bookseller Caddie goes to an exhibition featuring the fragments of the book, where she meets mysterious stranger Rachel, who seems to know more lines in the book than the fragments reveal. This seems impossible however, as the only people who had ever read the book perished in the fire.

This sends Caddie off on a quest to discover the truth about the book, it's author, and the elusive Rachel. What was the truth behind the fire? Did anyone else really read the book? And is Rachel legit or an imposter, making the words up on a whim?

While I did enjoy this book, I much preferred the timeline set in Brisbane, probably because I live there and am aware of the locations mentioned in the book. On the other hand I found the New York timeline quite tedious and found myself bored on those alternate chapters. And as for the twist at the end, I could see it coming a mile off. I am happy that I've read this book, but I don't think it's particularly memorable.

My thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Toni Jordan, and Text Publishing. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Fragments of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am thrilled to recommend this work to friends and family.

'The Fragments' is a taut, intricate tale told very well. We have Allentown, PA from 1928 through 1938 told in the first-person voice of this young student, then silk-weaver Rachel Lehrer, a woman who understands male dominance and abuse from a tender age. We travel with her in 1939 to New York City. We see this glorious city through Rachel's eyes, always something newly built, something cutting edge, books and movies and film stars - and the slow slide to the financial crash, European rumbles of impending war, life on the fast track, faltering. Then Rachel meets Inga Karlson, author of an inspirational and widely acclaimed Pulitzer prize-winning first novel, 'All Has an End' with the second novel in its middle stages and the general public waiting impatiently for book two. Until the fire. All the copies of the second novel, 'The Days, the Minutes', along with the only two people who had read the novel, publisher Charles Cleborn, and author Inga, are burned in a warehouse arson fire. Left are half-burned fragments of several assorted pages of type, a melted glass necklace, and memorabilia and correspondence between Inga and Charles found in their offices.

Then we have Brisbane, Queensland, 1986. Cadence "Caddie" Walker was named by her gentle father after the main character in 'All Has an End'. She inherits a bit of her father's obsession with Inga Karlson. Caddie is a bookseller in a local private book store and takes an afternoon off to attend a traveling display of memorabilia from the life of Inga Karlson including those fragments, funeral photos, obituaries, letters, and correspondence from people all over the world to Inga, both after her death and still today. There Caddie meets an older lady who laughingly quotes from the second book - including a line that was not present on the fragment of paper in the display. Caddie was feed Inga from birth - her father read her passages from 'All Has an End' at bedtime and often quoted her work in the everyday life they shared. She knew Inga's work intimately. The concluding line fit too well to be random. But no one else has ever read 'The Days, The Minutes'. Or had they?

In trying to solve the puzzle of 'The Days, The Minutes', Caddie is torn between an old love and a new possibility. How can she be sure she is making the right choice? And what happened to Inga's secretary, Rachel?

"Inga Karlson died in a fire in New York in the 1930s, leaving behind three things: a phenomenally successful first novel, the scorched fragments of a second book - and a literary mystery that has captivated generations of readers.

Nearly fifty years later, Brisbane bookseller Caddie Walker is waiting in line to see a Karlson exhibition, featuring the famous fragments. A charismatic older woman quotes a phrase from the Karlson fragments that Caddie knows does not exist. Caddie is jolted from her sleepy life in 1980s Brisbane, and driven to uncover the truth about this fascinating literary mystery."

This is the kind of literary mystery I'd personally love to solve!

This book is part mystery and part historical novel. Inga Karlson was the literary phenomenon of her day. Her one book was considered a masterpiece. But then, right before the publication of her second book, she dies in a warehouse arson fire and the book is almost completely lost as well. Only a few pages, fragments, remain.

Fast forward fifty years and Caddie Walker is a bookseller in 1986 Brisbane. She goes to see an exhibit on The Fragments and meets an elderly woman, Rachel, who quotes from the Fragments. But her quote is longer than what appears on paper.

We also see Rachel’s life starting in Depression Era Pennsylvania. The chapters alternate as Rachel grows up and Caddie tries to solve her mystery of who the elderly woman is and what she knows.

This book took a while to grab my interest. It’s slow moving and it really wasn’t until almost the halfway point that I was drawn in. Which doesn’t mean I didn’t get incredibly frustrated with Caddie. I’m sorry, I like my main characters to be smart. The ending was predictable and a bit of a disappointment.

My thanks to netgalley and Text Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

An interesting literary mystery that makes you think about authorship and what ifs.
A long lost manuscript appears out of nowhere after 50 years, helping a lost researcher (Caddie) to get back on track with her academic work and also get her revenge on the person who pushed her away.
On the other hand, the manuscript itself has its own story: the only galley saved from being burnt together with all the books and casting matrices, one of the few things a lover is left with for 50 years.
I liked the twist in the end, but I would have liked a few more plain answers, closure.

Well done.

A mystery, fifty years in the making that will have Caddie Walker looking into that long-ago fire and the woman who may just have the answers, that the World has been waiting for.

Told from two alternating timelines, 1938 and 1986, The Fragments is a lovely and well-executed concept!

Now that I’ve sat down to write a review of Toni Jordan’s The Fragments, I’m not sure what I should say. On the one hand, I devoured this literary mystery. On the other hand, the ending twisted in a way that made me reconsider all of the positive feelings I had for one of the plot lines and not in a good way. Normally, I have a strong no-spoilers policy. With The Fragments, I think I might have to recommend this book with a whopping caveat about an ending that may or may not make the potential reader dislike the book.

In Brisbane in 1986, a young bookish woman attends an exhibit of the life of author Inga Karlson, who was tragically killed along with her editor when an arsonist set fire to the warehouse that held the only copies of her last novel. Only fragments remain of that book. Karlson’s first novel is frequently referenced by the characters as one of the greatest books of the twentieth century; our protagonist is even named for the main character. At this exhibit, Caddie has a chance encounter with a woman named Rachel. Rachel is a prickly woman, but Caddie is instantly hooked when Rachel quotes a line from Karlson’s last novel…one that does not appear in the recovered paper fragments.

While Caddie and a reluctant bookseller (who grows closer to Caddie over the course of the book) try to track down Rachel and maybe, finally, solve the mystery of who killed Karlson and her publisher, another plot takes us back to the United States in the mid-1930s. Rachel, a poor young woman from a violent home, escapes to New York and begins to build a new life for herself. She meets Inga Karlson while working as a waitress. Inga would have caught her eye anyway, even if the young author hadn’t turned out to be a bit of a kleptomaniac around the chocolate.

The two plots race along. We know from the beginning that Rachel is in danger the longer she stays with Inga. Caddie’s danger is less physical, but no less real. As she tries to find answers in library archives and interviews, she runs the risk of losing everything to an unscrupulous professor who wants to make another big, academic splash. I was totally hooked on both stories. I adored the characters, but it was the plot that really had me. Unlike a lot of other literary-themed mysteries, this one had real, believable stakes and a lively plot.

The ending, though. I’m not going to totally ruin The Fragments by saying what actually happened. I will say that the twist at the end was so abrupt that I flipped back and forth more than once to figure out if I’d missed something. I had not. When I realized what actually happened in those critical paragraphs, I had to immediately revise everything I knew about a major character. I flipped from sympathy and sadness at their fate to anger about their lies. In the past, I haven’t really had qualms about recommending books that were mostly good. The good usually outweighs the bad or unpleasant. I’m honestly not sure if that’s the case with The Fragments, which is a pity because I was really enjoying this novel.

So, for the first time that I can remember, I’m recommending a book not just with reservations, but with a spoiler warning.

The Fragments tells 2 stories, separated by time and location, but are intertwined in an unexpected way.

Caddie grew up with and loved Inga Karlson's one iconic novel. Inga died in a terrible fire before her second novel could be published. All that is left are some fragments. At an exhibit about Inga's life and work, Caddie comes across an elderly woman who quotes a line from Inga's work that does not appear in any of the existing fragments, thus the mystery begins. Caddie is sure that there is something going on and she works tirelessly to figure out the truth.

The novel alternates between Caddie's life in present day Australia where she investigates what really happened to Inga, to the story of Rachel in America, a friend of Inga's.

The story is lovely and I enjoyed learning about all of the women involved, from the shy Rachel, to the eccentric Inga, and the tormented Caddie. Their lives were woven together masterfully. The one thing that bothered me were Caddie's decisions sometimes -- they seemed strange and more designed to further the plot than feel authentic. However, the ending and good writing more than makes up for any shortfalls.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book.

I've always been intrigued by serendipity, and this book is filled with it. It starts in Brisbane in 1986, when Caddie, a bookseller, visits an exhibition of bookfragments saved from a fire. She meets a mystery woman who quotes more from the book than what's on show. Before Caddie gets the chance to ask questions, the woman is gone.
The story moves to 1938 New York City, where Rachel, a young girl new in town, meets a lady writer, who takes her under her wings.
From here we move from Brisbane back in time, solving the puzzle of the missing fragment by trying to find the mystery woman. At the same time we move from New York onward in time, finding out what really happened to the book.

The characters are true to life, each one as indepth and exciting as the other. There's no rush. History has a lot of stories to tell and the book has just the right pace to keep me glued. There's a good distinction between American and Australian culture with a touch of European added to the mix. Being surrounded by books makes this one a soft place to fall.
As the plot thickens, there's a sudden shift in honesty and I start to dislike some of the characters. Luckily, it's all for the good of the story and the twist in the end is amazing.

Thank you Netgalley and Text Publishing for the ARC.

So well written kept me racing through the pages a book that takes us back in time .A book so well written I never saw the twist coming.#netgalley#textpublishing.

A mystery involving the charred remaining fragments of a highly anticipated second book from a celebrated author who died in tragic circumstances and a young book seller in Brisbane , The Fragments by Toni Jordan was an entertaining and captivating book. Inge Karlson died in a mysterious fire in the 1930's leaving behind a world famous book, the scorched remains of her new work and a riddle that has never been solved. So famous is her story that she and her work are featured in an exhibition which has travelled the globe. When it visits Brisbane, bookseller Caddie , who is named after the main character in Inge's famous first work, is eager to experience the exhibition, but finds her curiosity truly piqued when an elderly lady at the show quotes a line from the fragmented manuscript remains, one that Caddie believes to be real, even though it is not to be found in any of the official exhibits. So excited is Caddie by this, she embarks on a quest to try to solve the mystery of what really happened that fateful night when Inge died along with every copy of her book. While we as readers follow Caddies research as she works to solve the mystery, we also learn the truth of Inge's story through a second narrator, the elderly woman who Caddie met at the expo, and the one person who may really know what happened that fateful night.
Both stories and timelines are deftly woven together, in a way that manages to keep the reader equally interested in both aspects of the story, something that is not easy for a writer to accomplish. The writing itself is assured and polished throughout, and the pacing of the book is excellent, it never flags and reaches a dramatic and satisfying conclusion. The character of Caddie really resonated with me, her struggle to figure out what she really wants from life is one that is all too familiar to many of us I am sure.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I liked the concept of this novel
but felt it was lacking something
which made me feel I could not connect with it
I did like the twist at the end

Thank you netgalley, Toni Jordan and Text Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book

I loved this book by Toni Jordan, an award winning Australian author. The book is set in Brisbane in the 1980's but the plot takes us back to the 1830's in New York an revolves around a literary mystery. Perhaps the greatest literary mystery of all time! You will enjoy the twists and turns and mind-minding suspense as the book hurtles you forward to a surprise ending. Five stars!