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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Another solid read from the Dublin Murder Squad series. While this one wasn’t my favorite in the lineup, Tana French continues to blow me away with her character work. She has such a unique way of writing people that I find myself rooting for them—even when I don’t actually like them.
I switched between the physical copy and the audiobook, and I have to say the narrator added so much to the experience. The twist felt semi-predictable, but there were still moments that caught me off guard. Putting myself in the characters’ shoes brought out more emotion than I was expecting, which I always appreciate in a mystery.
I’m not a huge fan of ambiguous endings, so I do wish we’d gotten a bit more closure on the case, but overall I’m glad I read this one and will definitely be continuing the series.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was the second novel I have read by Tana French after [b:The Searcher|52661162|The Searcher|Tana French|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588572246l/52661162._SY75_.jpg|78466518], and I have the same reaction. The story is definitely a good mystery, but I felt as though the conclusion was very anticlimactic. Of course, you learn who the killer is and the mystery is over, but you do not actually get to witness justice and what happens afterward. There is a second plot that the main character is battling, which did contribute to the conclusion, but many scenarios or conversations were unnecessary to the murder case. This book kept me engaged and I could not put it down at times, but the conclusion was incredibly unsatisfying.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this book for the main character. I thought his journey was beautiful to follow the way he handled the past trauma of his mother and the developments of this case. Slow at times but I appreciated the time to really reflect on the mental state of many of the characters. My only down side is that it seem far more dark and graphic than previous books and that I didn’t enjoy.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Murder
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was really looking forward to this book, because I have loved Tana French's other books and how she will take a character from a previous book and carry it over to the next-although, I do wish I would know what happened to some past characters (to be fair that is with every book I read). With that said, I was a little disappointed with the experience of this book. I think it had some great twists and turns, but it made me feel her books are following too much of a formula. All of the books have something "tragic" happen to the main character that they thought they dealt with resurface from the past and block judgement on a current case. I would like to see her write something out of the police genre to see if that would change the style a little bit.