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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
OMGOMGOMGOMG is it over yet. I could not get into this one. I did't care about anything or anyone and honestly only finished it because I am stubborn. I love Tana French and the Dublin Murder Squad but this was was awful. All about cliques of horrible teenaged girls. The story is supposed to be a murder mystery but who cares... let's focus on how terrible girls can be instead. UGH!!
I listened to this book. Felt like a bit of a slog to get through. The writing, per usual, is beautiful. Especially after listening to Ready Player One, this felt like a breath of fresh air.
This is a long book. I'm still a bit mystified at the girls secret powers, and why exactly the murder occurred. (I guessed the killer correctly in the first half of the book).
I've met all the murder squad characters before, Mackey from The Faithful Place and Moran and Calloway from the Trespasser. So, that was fun to weave them all together.
All in all, this book was LONG. Too, long, maybe. And to mystical (?) for it's own good.
This is a long book. I'm still a bit mystified at the girls secret powers, and why exactly the murder occurred. (I guessed the killer correctly in the first half of the book).
I've met all the murder squad characters before, Mackey from The Faithful Place and Moran and Calloway from the Trespasser. So, that was fun to weave them all together.
All in all, this book was LONG. Too, long, maybe. And to mystical (?) for it's own good.
Last book of the year.
Idk, I am kind of burning out on Tana French. I liked [b:In the Woods|2459785|In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1)|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1538771792s/2459785.jpg|3088141] so so much, but these new books can't seem to recapture that first high.
The biggest detractor to this book were the loooong passages of teen girls just doing teen girl things, complete with insufferable speech affectations. The cops were fine but apparently so unmemorable that I am not sure if the dude cop's name was Robert? I could look up his name right now, but I think you get the idea. The thing it reminded me the most of was [b:A Great and Terrible Beauty|3682|A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1)|Libba Bray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1284558475s/3682.jpg|2113193], even though it has been at least a decade since I read it.
Also: random magic element thrown in that doesn't have annnnnything to do with French's Dublin.
Idk, I am kind of burning out on Tana French. I liked [b:In the Woods|2459785|In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1)|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1538771792s/2459785.jpg|3088141] so so much, but these new books can't seem to recapture that first high.
The biggest detractor to this book were the loooong passages of teen girls just doing teen girl things, complete with insufferable speech affectations. The cops were fine but apparently so unmemorable that I am not sure if the dude cop's name was Robert? I could look up his name right now, but I think you get the idea. The thing it reminded me the most of was [b:A Great and Terrible Beauty|3682|A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1)|Libba Bray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1284558475s/3682.jpg|2113193], even though it has been at least a decade since I read it.
Also: random magic element thrown in that doesn't have annnnnything to do with French's Dublin.
Lovely, luminous prose in this book, and a very believable portrayal of the claustrophobic yet potentially limitless world of a teenage girl. The mystery plot itself could have done with an editorial hand to tighten it up -much as I enjoyed the writing, the book doesn't need to be as long as it is. It's got two narrative strands, the here-and-now narrative by Stephen Moran, detective in Cold Cases who ends up investigating a year-old murder, due to his prior relationship with Holly; and a flashback narrative of four girls, including Holly, at a boarding school in the run up to the murder of a teenage boy from the school down the road. I liked both narratives, the development of the working relationship between Stephen and Conway from the Murder Squad was sharply done while I have to say the teenage girl narrative brought back a lot of memories of the intensity of being that age.
I liked this one way better than Broken Harbor. I really didn't notice how long the book was, and normally I do. I was fascinated by the magical realism/mental health/shared delusion aspects, which likely frustrated some people for not being resolved.
Love Tana French, hated the book. Disliked every single character.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Great book! Suspenseful, nice job of alternating narratives from the present with the detectives and the past with the core group of four girls. It kept me guessing till the end. Well done!
The Secret Place, Tana French
Tana French is one of the best detective fiction writers out there. Her novels have all been great, thrilling reads, but this was spectacular. A total edge of your seat, can't put the book down read. A young man is murdered on the campus of a girls boarding school outside Dublin. The case has gone unsolved for a year, and the female murder squad detective is stumped and frustrated. But a card posted on a bulletin board at the school brings her back to the school to investigate along with a striving young detective aiming for a place on the murder squad. The detectives have never worked together before but they get along better then either expected. The male detective is striving to prove himself, and the female detective, higher on the totem pole, is an outcast on the squad. She doesn't play nicely with the male detectives and they have ostracized her. The two detectives must interview 8 fifteen year old girls from two cliques that hate each other to figure out what happened. French does a great job with the teenager's language, slang and attitudes. Also with the bitchiness that comes from being well off, pretty, spoiled or just a teenage girl. The girls have the detectives going in circles, but one of the 8 is probably the killer. OMG, so totally, like worth your time.
Tana French is one of the best detective fiction writers out there. Her novels have all been great, thrilling reads, but this was spectacular. A total edge of your seat, can't put the book down read. A young man is murdered on the campus of a girls boarding school outside Dublin. The case has gone unsolved for a year, and the female murder squad detective is stumped and frustrated. But a card posted on a bulletin board at the school brings her back to the school to investigate along with a striving young detective aiming for a place on the murder squad. The detectives have never worked together before but they get along better then either expected. The male detective is striving to prove himself, and the female detective, higher on the totem pole, is an outcast on the squad. She doesn't play nicely with the male detectives and they have ostracized her. The two detectives must interview 8 fifteen year old girls from two cliques that hate each other to figure out what happened. French does a great job with the teenager's language, slang and attitudes. Also with the bitchiness that comes from being well off, pretty, spoiled or just a teenage girl. The girls have the detectives going in circles, but one of the 8 is probably the killer. OMG, so totally, like worth your time.