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reader00's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, and Toxic friendship
mykenzi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Grief, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Body shaming
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
simonamiller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-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
3.0
I really adored the first third of this book: an interesting premise, complicated well written realistic characters with lots of secrets, alternating timelines, gorgeous lyrical prose, and a touch of magic. All big pros for me. But as the book went on, it really began to drag. It started feeling very repetitive and many of the characters began to annoy me. Also, I was so excited about the magic when it was introduced (the scene where the girls discover their abilities was hands down my favorite scene in the book - so well written!), but then it didn't go anywhere at all. There's a lot I liked about this book, but by the conclusion I didn't love it as much as I was hoping to.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Sexism
drbrizzlybear's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Grief, and Murder
isabelgalupo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
My favorite Dublin Murder Squad book to date!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia
sheryl_macca's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was my first Tana French and I was immediately struck by the rich detail in her writing. She has a beautiful poetic turn of phrase with the perfect amount of crassness scattered around too.
The Secret Place is a murder mystery. A teenage boy is found dead in the grounds of a girl's boarding school and after a year without any leads a clue lands on Moran's desk. The two detectives are strangers to each other and as their working relationship develops so does the case.
There are two timelines in the book. The main timeline follows the detectives and 8 suspects today. When I say today, I really mean it. All 480 pages of this book only cover one single day. This slow pace allows for tense scrutiny, detailed description and strong character development on a truly luxurious level.
The second timeline is told in flashback from a few weeks prior to the boys death until the night of his murder. These chapters are little gifts left for the reader throughout. They are moments of mundane teenage drama, so realistic that you feel part of the in crowd.
I was kept guessing until the final pages and ultimately the reveal was pretty anti climatic but not in a bad way. It worked. Who did it wasn't the point. What happened on the way to finding out was.
The Secret Place is a murder mystery. A teenage boy is found dead in the grounds of a girl's boarding school and after a year without any leads a clue lands on Moran's desk. The two detectives are strangers to each other and as their working relationship develops so does the case.
There are two timelines in the book. The main timeline follows the detectives and 8 suspects today. When I say today, I really mean it. All 480 pages of this book only cover one single day. This slow pace allows for tense scrutiny, detailed description and strong character development on a truly luxurious level.
The second timeline is told in flashback from a few weeks prior to the boys death until the night of his murder. These chapters are little gifts left for the reader throughout. They are moments of mundane teenage drama, so realistic that you feel part of the in crowd.
I was kept guessing until the final pages and ultimately the reveal was pretty anti climatic but not in a bad way. It worked. Who did it wasn't the point. What happened on the way to finding out was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, and Sexual content
tawallah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Cursing, Sexism, and Mental illness
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