"Neither pure horror nor run-of-the-mill police procedural crime fiction, The Broken Ones is a supernatural thriller that is full of dark ideas, scary characters and horrifying glimpses of a terrible future. With echoes of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones and more than a strong whiff of Stephen King at his very best, Stephen M Irwin has written a masterpiece." ABC Radio

"If you think The Dead Path is some excellent reading then you ain't seen nothing yet, Stephen M Irwin simply goes one step beyond with The Broken Ones. Irwin can write a Detective story, his character Oscar Mariani is certainly a match for any of the downtrodden police officers you might care to mention. Full recommendation on this novel, it'll rock your house down. 9 stars." ScaryMinds

"Tautly plotted and acutely visual, with an appealingly rumpled, flawed yet doggedly incorruptible central character, it seems tailor-made for cinematic adaptation.  Gothic, gripping and genuinely scary, The Broken Ones is one to read late into the night." Who Weekly

"Some of the best work being produced across all the art forms in this century derives its quality and its energy from the mixing up of forms and genres... This ambitious novel combines not just two genres, but three, mixing up the conventions of supernatural mystery, police procedural and speculative fiction to produce a futuristic dystopian society that has broken down after an invasion of ghosts, with a hero straight from the hard-boiled school of crime... The writing is at once witty, gritty and grim.  The horrors are genuinely horrible and the imagined scenario is satisfyingly rich and suggestive." Fiction Pick of the Week by Kerryn Goldwsorthy  Sydney Morning Herald

"Irwin's novel is a genre-bender, a refreshing take on two themes. The Broken Ones is a well-written adrenalin pumper likely to keep you awake into the small hours.  Verdict: natural-born thriller." Herald Sun

"Brisbane author Stephen M Irwin’s last book published in 2009, was described as one of the scariest of that or any other year – a tough act to follow. But Irwin takes readers on another creepy and haunting ride in his newest supernatural thriller The Broken Ones."  bmag