Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This was hard to rate. It was engrossing and kept you guessing to literally the last few pages (there are two different mysteries... and both conclusions were quite unexpected). Although, about page 350 pages in, I glanced at the end because I just NEEDED to know. And because I just glanced, I still missed some stuff so that when I actually read the last 100 pages, I was so thrown.
There was also the unexpected magic/witchy-ness that at first I thought was just a figment of their imagination, but, then, it became more (moving of objects and such), which was cool, but so unexpected. As in, why? Because of their sisterhood? It was very witchy - especially with the "pure sacrifice". I was like oh my goodness, crazy. BUT FRENCH did such a fantastic job with character development, as in peeling layers of an onion, that it MADE SENSE. Like what wouldn't you do for your bestest, closest, sister friends.
And then, I felt like this WHOLE thing could have been avoided if they just revoked their vow. The original vow totally made sense, but as they changed/developed, I don't know why they couldn't just revoke it.
There was also the unexpected magic/witchy-ness that at first I thought was just a figment of their imagination, but, then, it became more (moving of objects and such), which was cool, but so unexpected. As in, why? Because of their sisterhood? It was very witchy - especially with the "pure sacrifice". I was like oh my goodness, crazy. BUT FRENCH did such a fantastic job with character development, as in peeling layers of an onion, that it MADE SENSE. Like what wouldn't you do for your bestest, closest, sister friends.
And then, I felt like this WHOLE thing could have been avoided if they just revoked their vow. The original vow totally made sense, but as they changed/developed, I don't know why they couldn't just revoke it.
I had high hopes for this considering how much I enjoyed Broken Harbour but unfortunately this book was awful in comparison. The weird thing was that despite it consisting of a dull plot that was extremely dragged out and a bunch of irritating teens who were too bland to really stand out from one another, I still felt curious enough about the killer reveal to put myself through reading the whole thing. I still want to read more by this writer though so luckily this wasn't enough to put me off.
I'm normally a big fan of Tana French, but when people started lighting fires and moving things with their minds, she totally lost me.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
So dense, so many details, one of those books that leaves you baffled as to how anyone ever writes a fiction novel, keeping track of so many plot threads. (In a good way.)
3-3.5
I had trouble keeping track of the 8 students featured in this book. I also thought some parts of the story weren’t necessary and could have been cut.
There was a weird scene with some supernatural elements that I thought I had imagined at first. It didn’t make any sense to the rest of the story and just makes the book some like sci-fi instead.
I had trouble keeping track of the 8 students featured in this book. I also thought some parts of the story weren’t necessary and could have been cut.
There was a weird scene with some supernatural elements that I thought I had imagined at first. It didn’t make any sense to the rest of the story and just makes the book some like sci-fi instead.
I loved this. Shocking, I know. Detective Moran is probably the least interesting of French's murder squad detectives, but she more than makes up for it by writing so beautifully about adolescence and female friendship. The Secret Place felt very sad - less gut-wrenching or horrifying than Broken Harbor, not as scary as Into the Woods or The Likeness, less heart-breaking than Faithful Place - but filled with a pervasive sense of loss. It hit closer to home than any of the others, too, because I was a teenage girl with intense, life-altering friendships not all that long ago. As all her books are, much less about the crime and more about the moments that lead up to it and the way that people deal, more or less successfully, with forces that they can't control in their own lives.
I have loved all of Tana French's previous books in this series, but was a little disappointed by this one. As a disclaimer, I listened to this one as an audiobook rather than reading it on paper, and I think some of her writing does not translate well to being read aloud, especially the choppier dialogue. There were so many descriptive passages that it became a bit repetitive at times, and all the action (excluding the flashbacks) occurred over the course of one very long, drawn-out day. That said, she did an extraordinary job of painting the main characters' inner lives, thought processes, and relationships, and the killer reveal was a surprise. Even after the killer was revealed, the confession was a bit drawn-out too. I have a feeling the next book will focus on Conway - and I'll be reading it!
Tana French is definitely one of my favorite authors, and always will be. I loved this one. The only thing that took it down a notch for me was the supernatural element.