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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I love the Dublin Murder Squad novels. In this story, a woman is found dead in her living room. At first glance, it seems an easily solved domestic case; however, when Detective Conway and Detective Moran look further into the case, they discover that there is more than meets the surface. Perhaps a gang related crime. Perhaps, even, the police are involved to some extent. In the midst of this, there is also an exploration of gender relations, as Detective Conway is the only female on the murder squad and faces constant hazing as the result of it. It's difficult to discuss the plot of the book without giving away spoilers, but I loved the unraveling of this crime from beginning to end.
As always, I loved the way Tana French fleshes out and creates such complex characters. I'm always wholly involved in their stories and hate to see them leave when the book ends.
As always, I loved the way Tana French fleshes out and creates such complex characters. I'm always wholly involved in their stories and hate to see them leave when the book ends.
This was my first book from the Dublin Murder squad - a book club member highly recommended the whole series, so we started on the book that they left off on. Overall, I love the concept of the book series, reminds me of the Marvel series i.e. each book is connected in some capacity and the sidekick or smaller character becomes the main character of another book. The book started off really slow. It wasn't until more than halfway that it started picking up. The main character of this series frustrated me, and there was no resolution for the murder that happened. They "caught" the murderer but ultimately there's no detail on how or why the murder happened, it's all alluded to information. Will try again reading from the beginning of the series and see if my opinion changes when I see more of the writing style.
And (woe) I'm through with the series. While I don't think Tana French could write a bad book (or a bad mystery) if she tried, this was the least even of the series for me—I never fully got in Conway's head, I think, and I stagnated for a while in the middle while she and Moran went chasing red herrings. (I like good red herrings in mysteries, mind, so it's not those that made things slow...more just that I wasn't as interested in the characterisation here.)
It picked up eventually, though, and one thing I've really loved about this series—and that held true here—is that the outcome is never obvious. Having a different narrator for each book means that anything is possible: the hero/ine could succeed wildly, they could quit their jobs at the end, they could die. Some outcomes are more likely than others, of course, but I love how much space there is for tension in that possibility. I would love to see this series continued, but in the meantime...at least there's still [b:The Witch Elm|46007673|The Witch Elm|Tana French|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559692177l/46007673._SY75_.jpg|61397225] to read.
It picked up eventually, though, and one thing I've really loved about this series—and that held true here—is that the outcome is never obvious. Having a different narrator for each book means that anything is possible: the hero/ine could succeed wildly, they could quit their jobs at the end, they could die. Some outcomes are more likely than others, of course, but I love how much space there is for tension in that possibility. I would love to see this series continued, but in the meantime...at least there's still [b:The Witch Elm|46007673|The Witch Elm|Tana French|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559692177l/46007673._SY75_.jpg|61397225] to read.
LOVE Tana French. Interesting thoughts on what gives people power over each other.
I wanted to absolutely LOVE The Trespasser, but I just...didn't. It was good, don't get me wrong, but I'm not going to be raving about it. Definitely an intricate story with twists & turns that keep you second guessing over and over.
Tana French does some wonderful things with point of view, plotting, and atmosphere. And you can't beat "hearing" the wonderful Irish accents. Already looking forward to her next Dublin Murder Squad case!
4.5 Stars
Brilliant but not my favourite. Absolutely loved it though. Tana French could write about a west-country-village summer fête and make it creepy without even seeming like she's trying.
Characters were good, story was interesting, setting was fitting.
Definitely worth reading.
Brilliant but not my favourite. Absolutely loved it though. Tana French could write about a west-country-village summer fête and make it creepy without even seeming like she's trying.
Characters were good, story was interesting, setting was fitting.
Definitely worth reading.
Thought it was slow going & repetitive at first (too much explanation of the chip on the narrator's shoulder), but the inevitable twists were worth it in the end.
Amazed at the variation of plot/writing through Dublin Squad series. This was a stunner, right up there like #1 as a masterclass in crime writing.
Great plotting, characters, convincing twists and turns, a bunch of unknowns bugging the investigation right up to final pages.
Brilliant compulsively page-turning stuff...
Great plotting, characters, convincing twists and turns, a bunch of unknowns bugging the investigation right up to final pages.
Brilliant compulsively page-turning stuff...
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes