The Fragments is a historical mystery between two time periods and two different countries. Good story with strong characters.

The Fragments is slightly slow in pace, at times I struggled to keep my attention to it. For a mystery genre, it is lacking in that department. It might be a good piece of literary writing, and I can say that it is quite elegant in terms of style, but I cannot say that it is that exciting or engaging that I will reread it again and again.

I absolutely loved this book! It's my first experience with the author, but I am grateful to NetGalley for giving me the privilege to read this one - the premise of this literary mystery - a storyline split between 1930s America and 1986 Brisbane, Australia - gripped me from the very first. It opens with Caddie, named for the main character of a famous 1935 book by an author who tragically died - along with all copies of her second novel. All that remains are the titular fragments - where the book begins with Caddie at their exhibition and a chance encounter that sets the plot in motion.

This is a book lover's book! Caddie is a reader and a book seller - and in the historical chapters a love of books remains a constant thread. The characters here vibrate off the page - and I will admit at times, I wanted to shake them free of their bad choices! They are so lifelike! The descriptions of the landscape, the Depression and the push and pull of relationships both good and bad ring true. The plot is exciting, and though the ultimate twist is something that I did see coming, I still felt quite satisfied! Lovely writing, lifelike characters and some great quotes about books all add up to a genuine winner of a book! I can't wait to check out more from this author! I completely loved this!

The Fragments by Toni Jordan

Publisher: Text Publishing
Pub date: September 20,2019
Genre: fiction, women’s fiction
Rating: 4/5

I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review from NetGalley and publisher.

Caddie Walker, a Brisbane bookseller, is one of many standing in line to see the exhibit on display showcasing the life and work of author Inga Karlson. It has been 50 years since her tragic untimely death in a 1930‘s New York fire. There was a lot of mystery and controversy regarding the fire and the destruction of her long waited second novel. They were only able to save burned “fragments” of her novel which have been included in the display. While at the exhibit, Caddie has a few chance interactions with other visitors with whom she crosses path with later.

The circumstances regarding the warehouse fire which was deemed an act of arson still remained an unsolved mystery. There are several characters who are invested in uncovering the truth each their own motive. The story is told through alternating chapters from the present and the past. It tells the story of Inga Karlson and her journey to fame.

There are many stories being told which both create mystery and then eventually reveal the truths of the past. It’s a story of survival and redemption of the human soul. The struggle between wanting to achieve our greatest goals yet fearing the changes that ultimate success might bring.

"And in the end, all we have are the hours and the days, the minutes and the way we bear them.
And in the end, all we have are the hours and the days, the minutes and the way we bear them, the seconds spent on this earth and the number of them that truly mattered."

And so begins the mystery of The Fragments, when two women exchange pleasantries outside an exhibition, sharing a quote from one of the fragments left over from a long ago burnt manuscript they have both just seen, yet one woman expands on the quote, completing it, before disappearing into a taxi. How is that possible? Who is she? And why do the words she spoke seem genuine?

"The sentence in the glass case reads: And in the end, all we have are the hours and the days, the minutes and the way we bear them
There is nothing else. Nowhere can she read the seconds spent on this earth and the number of them that truly mattered. There is only the black rimmed space burnt by the fire that killed Inga Karlson and destroyed every copy of The Days, The Minutes, her long-awaited second novel, almost fifty years ago."

I adored this novel, a literary mystery, with it’s understated elegance and carefully rendered atmosphere. Told as a dual narrative through the eyes of two women: Cadence in Brisbane, 1986; Rachel, first in Pennsylvania and then later, in 1930s New York; both young and on the cusp of so much. This story appears on the surface to gently unfold, but it’s truly gripping, right from the first page through to the last. The mystery is meticulously planned, I really didn’t see the twist until the moment it occurred. The writing is just sublime, so much is conveyed through gesture and connection, the author not relying on dialogue alone to drive the narrative forward. This is a novel to savour, for much is inferred rather than explained. It’s such a delight to read. Brisbane is whimsically depicted as it was in the mid-1980s, still a big country town, with it’s cloying heat, rotting mangoes, hovering fruit flies, and blooming jacarandas. The atmosphere of this novel was truly transporting.

I loved both of the main characters, Cadence and Rachel, as well as Jamie and Inga. Buried in the mystery of the fragments is a hidden love story, one so achingly beautiful, that it wasn’t until after I finished the last page that I fully appreciated all the author had inferred in those final passages. For Cadence, unravelling the mystery of the fragments provides the impetuous for her to shrug off her past and forge a new path; her ending is coloured with hope and I was left feeling joyous at what awaited her. There is much explored within the pages of this novel, both social and political, and with deep meaning. The Fragments is a little gem, one of those rare novels you want to start all over again the minute you’ve finished. A book about a book – it doesn’t get any more perfect than that! Highly recommended to lovers of literature and those who appreciate historical fiction with ambience.

"In the years to come, even after everything she’ll achieve and everything she’ll attain, she’ll remember tonight with a knot of anguish. Looking up and wondering if there is any sight so beautiful and brutal as the night sky of your hometown."


Thanks is extended to Text Publishing via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Fragments for review.

The writing is excellent but I had a hard time getting into the story. I probably should have been more patient and gave it some more time. I think it's an excellent book, but it's not my type of a story. I will absolutely check out more books by this author though.

I don’t feel that this book was for me. I had a difficult time getting into it and felt it was so slow.

I received a free copy of this book on NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I love books about literary mysteries, like AS Byatt's Possession and Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind, and Toni Jordan's The Fragments is a worthy addition to the canon.

Switching between 1980s Brisbane and 1930s New York, the book explores two women - Caddie and Rachel who struggle to live their own lives, whether due to poverty and a violent father for Rachel, or grief and a narcissistic ex for Caddie.

Both are bewitched by the novelist Inga Karlsen, whose missing second novel provides the fragments and the mystery for the plot to develop around.

The prose is delicious, the mystery unfolds elegantly and the twist is unforgettable.

I became quite consumed in this story set around a bestselling author's death in a mysterious fire around 50 years earlier. The main character in 80s Australia is a failed doctoral student who comes accidentally upon a clue to the mystery that leads her on an intriguing investigation. There is a rich tradition of the literary mystery and while this is perhaps not in the highest canon of these, it is still a very enjoyable read if this is a genre that appeals. What worked best for me was the Australian setting and the evocation of the academic life and petty jealousies of academia - always a rich field for intrigue and petty backstabbing. What worked less well was the character of the novelist and her lover and the motive for the murder worked much less well. Overall it started well but then failed to deliver in the second half. This is a 3.5 stars.

After that emotional ending, I needed to let this one sit for a couple days before I could pen a review. Now that I’ve given it some thought I have a lot of questions, the main one being “Why isn’t EVERYONE talking about this book?!” It was a beautiful, unique literary mystery that reeled me in from the first page. It was absolutely astounding and I don’t really understand why this isn’t a massive hit across all the best-seller lists or being optioned for a movie/series.

Our shy bookseller, Cadence, visits a travelling exhibition in her hometown of Brisbane about the tragic ending of her favourite author, Inga Karlson. Inga, a one book wonder who died in a fire in 1930’s NYC that also consumed the only copies of her much anticipated second novel, is an enigmatic legend shrouded in mystery. After a chance encounter at the exhibition, Caddie suddenly finds herself close to solving this dark mystery that has plagued academics and fans for decades.

Even though I more or less realised where this was going about halfway through, it didn’t make the big reveal any less intense. I became so invested in Inga and Rachel’s backstory that I couldn’t tear myself away from the book. Caddie was a little wishy washy and went off on really odd trains of thought, but the flashbacks to the absolutely wonderful relationship between Rachel and Inga more than made up for this. It didn’t take long to realise why the world was so enamoured with the eccentric author- I was enamoured too.

I only wish that the ending hadn’t been so abrupt. Everything came to a pretty sharp conclusion, but I feel like after all the reader had invested by that point we really deserved a little more. Yes, it’s easy enough to piece together after that short final chapter, but I would have liked a few glaring questions answered. Like, who sent the letter to Charles? Does Caddie learn the entire truth? What is Philip’s reaction when he realises that Caddie is massively eclipsing his horrible self? I really wanted to see his reaction to getting it stuck to him like that because he was an egotistical nightmare.

Despite all that though, this book utterly moved me and I’m so glad I was given a chance to read this in exchange for a review. What a shame that Inga’s books aren’t real! They were described so powerfully that I’m desperate for them to be real publications.

“..and in the end, all we have are the hours and the days, the minutes and the way we bear them.”

Caddie Walker is a twenty-something woman living in Brisbane, Australia in 1986; she currently works at a local bookstore, lives with her best friends and has always had an affinity for the late Inga Karlson. Karlson is a renowned author who left behind a legacy following a deadly fire in the 1930s that claimed her life, her publisher’s life, and her soon-to-be-published second book, The Days, the Minutes.

What remains of Inga Karlson’s book become known as ‘the Fragments’. Just burned pieces of a story that no one read except for Inga and her publisher. The exhibit showcasing ‘the Fragments’ has finally come to Brisbane and Caddie can’t wait to see the pieces for herself. What transpires after Caddie meets an elderly woman named Rachel will send Caddie on an adventure that is sure to change her life.

When I first picked up Toni Jordan’s newest novel, The Fragments, and began reading, I was immediately sucked in and felt that I was diving head first down the rabbit hole that is the mystery of Inga Karlson. I couldn’t put this book down. I loved how the author switched back and forth between the 1930s and 1986, allowing me to follow along as Caddie discovered more about the enigmatic life of a woman from so long ago.

I love a book where slowly the pieces begin to come together; a name is mentioned here and is matched with a face chapters later; a cryptic note is found and you find out just how it ended up in the location all those years ago. The author dropped tiny hints throughout the story that all made sense in the end. Toni Jordan knows how to tell a story that keeps your attention.

Finally, it doesn’t get any better than when you have such a beautifully written book about a book. There was a myriad of quotes about the magic that books and libraries hold, all so eloquently said that made me pause to consider just how perfect they were.

“These are the kinds of books she likes the most – the struggle and the victory, or even honorable defeat. The tense wondering about what will happen next.”

The sincerest of thanks to Toni Jordan, Text Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC of this novel. I hope others can enjoy this story as much as I did.

I fell in love with Toni Jordan's Addition, published in 2008. The Fragments is Jordan's fifth book. I missed it when it was released in Australia last year but managed to get an electronic copy and... let's just say I was (again) smitten.

There was something beguilingly irreverent about Jordan's prose in Addition: casual commentary offered up with sass and hilarity because our lead Grace struggled with mental illness and obsessive compulsive disorder. The words and thoughts were Grace's so it was hard to separate the character from the writing.

This book was different. I liked Caddie, our lead character, but was probably more in awe of the writing in general than of the way it portrays the two or three women at its core.Of course it IS a book about writing. A book about a book, so it's only natural there should be a focus on the value of the written word and its ability to touch us, and to change and impact lives.

Although having said that, I must confess I pondered a little on Caddie's obsession with Inga Karlson and her first and only printed book All Has An End, published in 1935. I can't imagine being that impressed by someone or something that it changed my life, even if it did win the Pulitzer Prize.

Of course I've seen Jordan reference To Kill A Mockingbird and Harper Lee in an interview and guess that book (though probably not her follow-up... albeit Lee's 'first' book) inspires and affects many.So I guess others feel long-lasting passions or connections I don't; either way,  we soon learn the book reminds Caddie of her childhood and her father.

"Caddie can see the fragments, and seeing them makes her long for her father in a way she hasn't for years, an ache that spreads up her side and finishes behind her sternum, which is a bone she knows to be smooth in other people's chests but imagines laced with steely holes like a box grater in her own." p 9

The book unfolds in two timeframes.

In the mid 1980s bookseller and lover of literature Caddie meets Rachel, who seems to know more than she should about Inga and the manuscript that perished along with its author (and publisher). Caddie's intrigued by something Rachel says so keen to find out more about the fire in which Inga lost her life; and how on earth an older woman living in Brisbane can know things she shouldn't half a decade later.

And we flash back and forth to Rachel's life, meeting her in 1928 when she's just 10 and being uprooted with her family from their farm and moving to the city. Jordan then drops us into moments of Rachel's life as she struggles to overcome a violent upbringing and poverty.

There's romance for both women, with Rachel getting swept off her feet in the 1930s and Caddie teaming up with two very different men, both eager to learn more about Inga, the mystery of her death and the missing manuscript.

We get a sense of what Inga's long lost manuscript is about...

"When she began, she felt the weight of how she should react. Now that she's finished, the air has a different texture. Her heart feels different. She doesn't have to analyse her own response. She can't. She's in the thick of Inga's story, feeling the world she has made, and it is a fragile thing and everyone is connected and there is space in her heart for everyone, even people who do terrible things and must be opposed." p 250

For me this was a timely reminder as I read it in the week a terrorist killed 50 worshippers in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Inga's novel was ready to be published in February 1939, on the cusp of World War II, though she wasn't to know that at the time.

"People seem to think its all flag-waving and nicely pressed uniforms and a little playful thuggery. But these people really believe there are whole categories of humans who don't deserve to exist." p 252

On a lighter note, I enjoyed the reminders of mid 1980s Brisbane, as I was there around this time - at University (where, like Caddie, I felt like a fraud... like I didn't belong) - just before World Expo 88. The big country town was on the cusp of change. And I was reminded perhaps, for a while, it got worse before it got better!

"Buildings are vanishing, replaced by car parks and deep pits and phallic towers covered in reflecting glass. They make the city even hotter and Brisbanites soon learn to lower their eyes." p 47

There are a few interesting twists to this tale. It's often described as a mystery but I'm not sure it's that. It's more a literary version of books similar to those written by Kate Morton and Natasha Lester. And I don't mean to imply they're 'lesser' in any way, rather their focus is more on the story itself. Here (for me anyway) I kept getting swept away by Jordan's poetic words and mesmerising phrasing. (Which is perhaps apt in a book about writing!) 

"The fragment is sleeping inside its glass case as if it were a piece of Inga herself, suspended and waxen, waiting to be woken by - whom? By Caddie? Why not? Caddie understands waiting." p 16

It's books like these that make me realise perhaps I'll never finish any of my half-written or barely-started novels and perhaps I don't deserve to because I just can't string words together as perfectly as some. Not only would the plot of my novels be eye-roll worthy or tedious but they'd be clumsily written or my prose overly obvious, as if I'm trying too hard.

For others, like Jordan, it seems to come so easily.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. Toni Jordan weaves together pieces of a decades-long literary mystery, all coming together in 1980s Brisbane.

As readers, we all come across books that speak to us and stick in our minds, to the point where we are hungry to learn about the lives of the authors. Similarly, Caddie, a Brisbane bookseller, is drawn to Inga Karlsson's one surviving novel and details of her life and tragic death in a fire that killed her, her editor/publisher, and every copy of her second novel.

This story alternates between Caddie's viewpoint, and that of Rachel, a New York waitress from the 1930s. There are many things that we do not know throughout the book, and occasionally it becomes confusing switching between narrators, but the uncertainty seems to highlight the inherent mystery of the plot.

In addition, some of Caddie's thoughts and motivations could use increased fleshing-out; her romantic interest in Jamie comes out of nowhere and then flounders, with no obvious resolution, and her return to partnership with the highly suspicious Philip seems uncharacteristic. However, the overall plot line was highly engaging, and I found it difficult to put 'The Fragments' down!

On the whole I enjoyed The Fragments by Toni Jordan. I particularly enjoyed the events that took place in the 1930 s but found some of the current narrative a bit contrived.

I loved this book. The Fragments is an expertly crafted story that winds through the lives of 2 women and takes the reader to a Pennslyvian farm, Brisbane, Australia, and New York City.

Caddie Wilson is directionless in 1986 Brisbane until a chance encounter at a display of book fragments. The fragments are all that remain from the highly anticipated second book by the beloved author Inga Karlson, who was killed in the same suspicious warehouse fire in 1938 that destroyed all copies of her second book. The encounter propels Caddie into a search for a mysterious woman and the truth about the fire that killed Karlson.

The Fragments is atmospheric, compelling, and a delight to read. The characters are beautifully constructed as are the changing landscapes of New York City and Brisbane. I recommend this to readers of The Weight of Ink.

Overall this was a good story. By the end, I really enjoyed Inga and Rachel’s story in 1930’s New York. Sometimes the writing felt a little disjointed. It didn’t flow as well as it could of throughout the book. The Jamie and Caddie’s relationship was hard to follow. It seemed to go from an initial meeting to something different in a blink of an eye. I like descriptive writing with good verbs but sometimes there was so much in the words it was hard to follow the storyline. I could not tell you anything about the beginning of the book because it was hard to follow. I did enjoy the little punch it had at the end when everything came together.

Before I start, I must confess that ‘Addition’ is one of my favourite books so going into read ‘The Fragments’, would always be a challenge. The book examines the life of a famous novelist, Inga Karlsson who dies in a fire, with all that remains are the fragments of her second book. All of Inga’s life is played out during the 1930s in New York, and told by Rachel Lehrer, a young waitress, who have fled a violet home life, meets Inga. This story alternates with Caddie Wilson in 1986, who whilst waiting in a queue to an exhibition to see the fragments, meets another visitor, who appears to know missing information about the remaining fragments. It was this meeting that had me captivated and the story begins to unfold.
Without revealing too much, this is an enthralling story with a great historical perspective, made all the more interesting by the mystery, that had me guessing until the end. I enjoyed both perspectives and felt that the dialogue between characters was witty. I now have another great book from a very talented author.
I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

There is a quirkiness in Australian novels and films that I find captivating. In The Fragments, by Australian author Toni Jordan, the main character, Cadence, reminds me of so many strong but equally innocent/naive Australian heroines. I'm thinking of Jean Paget in A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute; Sybylla Melvyn in My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin; Meggie in Colleen McCullough's The Thorn Birds; and the incomparable Buster in D'Arcy Niland's The Shiralee. (All strong females who suffered, endured and survived, but who lack worldly sophistication or experience.)

Cadence Walker is an intelligent and gifted researcher who was unable to complete her university education because of her father's illness and death. She works in a book shop and is an ardent fan of her father's favourite author, Inga Karlson. (I loved the lilting quality of Jordan's writing - it is almost conversational at times:.)

"She (Cadence) is not afraid of effort but she is afraid of reward. She is thin and that's fine with her: She's suspicious of the soft, the obvious, the cozy, the comfortable, as though taking the easy road even once would lull her to death."

While attending a gallery showing of the burned fragments of Karlson's ill-fated second book, Cadence meets an older patron by the name of Ruth. During their animated discussion about which fragment was their favourite piece in the exhibit, Ruth recites:

"And in the end, all we have are the hours and the days, the minutes and the way we bear them, the seconds spent on this earth and the number of them that truly mattered."

When Ruth leaves the gallery, Cadence realizes that the last part of the quote is not in fact printed on the exhibited fragment. And so the quest to solve the mystery begins!

I loved the story and the writing style: there was an 80's beat and vibe to the language used that reminded you that part of the story is taking place in the 80's. This was a very enjoyable read: highly recommended!

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.



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This book had an excellent plot and characters who were believable. It just was a good story that held you r interest to the end .
Thanks for allowing me to review this book

When I first read the blurb for this book, I was psyched. It involved everything that automatically made a book interesting. An author character? Check. A mystery? Check. A lost book? Check. Two completely different settings that promise to intertwine with each other? Check! The Fragments sounded like the perfect book for me, so I couldn't believe my luck when I got approved for an ARC (thank you to Netgalley and Text Publishing for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review).

I don't really have much to say about this book - not because it was boring, precisely the opposite. I went into this book with high expectations, and The Fragments met all of them. Here are some of the aspects of the book that stood out to me:
- The writing style was beautiful and so instrumental in creating the perfect tone throughout the book. I have no idea what 1930s New York or 1980s Brisbane was like, but I had no trouble picturing it and even feeling what it was like to be in those cities at the time.
- The characters are complex and fleshed out, and although I admit I would've loved a deeper dive into the motivations and background of these fascinating characters, I know that in this story, they were simply the agents that pushed the bigger plot along.
- I loved going back and forth between time and places. There was no confusion in figuring out the setting, and I had fun trying to figure out how the two stories connected in the end - although to be clear, none of my guesses were accurate, which brings me to my last point-
- The plot twists! Man. As a lover of mystery, you KNOW my brain is going off the whole time trying to solve this mystery, but Toni Jordan has succeeded in fooling me every time. Just when I thought the mystery was resolved, there was one last plot twist (that I actually missed the first time around because I was skimming so fast in my excitement) that completely changed the whole narrative.

In conclusion, please, please, do yourself a favour and read this book. It's a shame that it hasn't been promoted more, seeing that the first time I knew about it was from Netgalley. I'm a new fan of the author's, and I will definitely be looking out for her other works.