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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I always do this to myself: wait eagerly for the next Tana French novel to come out, and then tear through it at lightening speed when it arrives. And then I'm left disappointed that it's over and wanting the next one to magically appear.
I often wrestle between 4 and 5 stars on these books (and may go back and change this rating later). Four stars seems right because there are always things I would tweak - at least one plot point I wish had been resolved differently, at least one character motivation that rang a bit false, etc. But considering how they suck me in and don't let go, that really feels like a five-star reading experience, no?
This mystery is set at a girls' boarding school and alternates points of view between one of the detectives working the case, and several of the girls involved in the mystery. French creates interesting, complex characters - not just textbook clichés. And her narrating detectives are always super-perceptive, which makes the reader feel just as sharp as we scan the horizon for clues and suspects.
The one thing I didn't care for in The Secret Place was that the romanticizing of teenage-girl friendships felt a bit heavy handed at times. There was a related mysticism element that felt slightly out of place to me.
But, I absolutely couldn't put it down. And I loved these characters. So no real complaints here.
I often wrestle between 4 and 5 stars on these books (and may go back and change this rating later). Four stars seems right because there are always things I would tweak - at least one plot point I wish had been resolved differently, at least one character motivation that rang a bit false, etc. But considering how they suck me in and don't let go, that really feels like a five-star reading experience, no?
This mystery is set at a girls' boarding school and alternates points of view between one of the detectives working the case, and several of the girls involved in the mystery. French creates interesting, complex characters - not just textbook clichés. And her narrating detectives are always super-perceptive, which makes the reader feel just as sharp as we scan the horizon for clues and suspects.
The one thing I didn't care for in The Secret Place was that the romanticizing of teenage-girl friendships felt a bit heavy handed at times. There was a related mysticism element that felt slightly out of place to me.
But, I absolutely couldn't put it down. And I loved these characters. So no real complaints here.
This is the first book I have read by Tana French. It is listed as book 5 in the Dublin Murder Squad series.
Detective Stephen Moran is given a foot in the door to the Murder Squad when he is given a postcard found on a message board called The Secret Place; this is where girls at St. Kilda’s School can share secrets anonymously. The postcard refers to the death of Chris Harper, a student from the neighboring boys’ school; Chris was murdered on the grounds of St. Kilda’s and the case was unsolved.
Moran teams up with Detective Antoinette Conway from the Murder Squad. They form a tenuous working relationship as they work against the clock to find new evidence. They know that once they leave the school grounds, the case will be taken out of their hands. They focus on two main groups of girls, and are able to narrow their suspicions down to four of the eight.
I felt that the relationships between the girls were realistic; bonds of friendship during the teen years can be tighter than my belt after a big dinner, and French did an excellent job developing these characters.
Detective Stephen Moran is given a foot in the door to the Murder Squad when he is given a postcard found on a message board called The Secret Place; this is where girls at St. Kilda’s School can share secrets anonymously. The postcard refers to the death of Chris Harper, a student from the neighboring boys’ school; Chris was murdered on the grounds of St. Kilda’s and the case was unsolved.
Moran teams up with Detective Antoinette Conway from the Murder Squad. They form a tenuous working relationship as they work against the clock to find new evidence. They know that once they leave the school grounds, the case will be taken out of their hands. They focus on two main groups of girls, and are able to narrow their suspicions down to four of the eight.
I felt that the relationships between the girls were realistic; bonds of friendship during the teen years can be tighter than my belt after a big dinner, and French did an excellent job developing these characters.
This was my first Tana French, and I really enjoyed it! A nice mix of traditional mystery and a close look at teen girl pyschology and friendship dynamics. The audiobook is narrated alternately by a man doing the voice of a young cop trying to make it into the murder squad, and a woman telling the story of the girls leading up to the murder; both readers were absolutely amazing. I'm glad I got to hear the Irish accents. #AwesomeAudiobooks
I don't read a lot of mystery/thrillers but I really enjoyed this book. I had a hunch which clique of girls were involved but didn't guess who murdered Chris Harper, or who posted the anonymous photo on The Secret Place.
Tana French did a great job showing the different friendships girls have in high school, and how teens don't realize there is so much more to life and the world outside of their high school and the friends that they make there.
I could have done without the supernatural element, which I wasn't expecting. I was waiting for it to be something other than what it was and yet it just continued on through out the book
Tana French did a great job showing the different friendships girls have in high school, and how teens don't realize there is so much more to life and the world outside of their high school and the friends that they make there.
I could have done without the supernatural element, which I wasn't expecting. I was waiting for it to be something other than what it was and yet it just continued on through out the book
Spoiler
and pretty much led to Chris' death.
I really liked it, which doesn't surprise me because Tana French is possibly my favorite mystery writer and I have loved most of her books. It's beautifully written, and the mystery is solid, but it's maybe...a little melodramatic? I get where she was coming from, trying to recapture that feeling you have in your youth that the world is full of possibilities and your friends are everything, but...I don't think most, or maybe any, teenage girls take it as far as these girls do, even leaving behind any spoilers about who did what to whom, exactly. Still, a solid outing by Ms. French, and she's got the dialogue of teenage girls down to a science, something that is very important to my enjoyment of a novel...being able to write believable dialogue. There was less melodrama and gooey description in the present day chapters, and I enjoyed those more.
This book started off strong and I really enjoyed the first part of it. I was disappointed after reading so many rave reviews that it started to drag and the resolution was really unsatisfactory.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't learn anything from the story at all except who the killer was and it was boring and irritating as hell getting there. The speech patterns were stupid, the detectives uninteresting, the story uneventful. This is not at all what I have come to expect from Tana French, I'm so disappointed. Gets 2 stars because I was at least able to finish it in a reasonable amount of time.
dark
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:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot