2.27k reviews for:

The Secret Place

Tana French

3.86 AVERAGE


The Secret Place is the second book in two months I’ve read by Tana French. I love her writing and her books, generally. This book was an exception. I can appreciate the attention to detail and the research that went into delving into the teenage culture and vernacular, but there was only so much of it I can take. I was doing fine up until about a third of the way through and then I just had enough. The book is over 450 pages long and while the crime was interesting and the adult characters are superb, it is very teen centric. The crime and practically everyone involved are teens and the locations center on private boarding schools and the local shopping center/hangout.

As a Tana French fan, I am glad that I read it as her characters often roll over into other books, but it definitely was not a favorite.

The Secret Place is easily my favorite of the Tana French Dublin Murder Squad books that I've read so far, and also just one of the best books I've read in a long time. Holy hell. It made me feel so much, and I'm having trouble doing any of it justice, but I'll try. To start, French's depiction of the way teenage friends are sometimes able to live in a kind of shared interior reality was absolutely mesmerizing to me. I had similarly close friends as a teenager (minus, you know, the whole murder bit!) and I don't think I've ever seen anyone describe so perfectly how contagious the feeling of a moment can be among friends at that age, how magical and shared the world can feel. And how incredibly painful it can be when that intimacy falls apart, when you realize for the first time that the things you imagine to be permanent won't all last. Oof. French doesn't just get the feeling of being that age right, though, she gets at the particularities of it with incredible beauty and insight. There are lots of tiny moments from this book that will stick with me for a very long time. On top of that, the pacing, the parallels between the girls' friendships and the growing friendship between Stephen and Conway, and the many other layers to the story made this an incredibly literary read. I highly recommend it, even if you don't typically go for mysteries.
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Sometimes when I read a few books by the same author close together, it magnifies writing quirks and issues that I otherwise wouldn't mind, and that is what happened here (for example, the choppy writing style). I wasn't a big fan of the main character's voice either, and the teenage dialogue was kind of grating (reading "Umm, hello?" over and over, ugh).

All that said, it's a good mystery, and I'll definitely read more Tana French - will just give it a few months before I do.

I don't want anyone else to ever write about teenage girls again if they're not Tana French.

Took me a long time to slog through this one. Usually I put books down after the first few chapters if I'm not feeling it but I kept going with this one. The middle was so slooooowwww. Otherwise, I liked it.

“I love beautiful; always have. I never saw why I should hate what I wish I had. Love it harder. Work your way closer. Clasp your hands around it tighter. Till you find a way to make it yours.” - Tana French, The Secret Place

Teenage girls are something else, man. A year after a student at their school was murdered, a picture of him with the caption "I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM" was found on a student bulletin board called the "Secret Place." Holly Mackey, daughter of former Murder Squad star Frank Mackey brings the picture in question to Detective Stephen Moran in Cold Cases because of her familiarity with him from a previous investigation. Moran takes the information to the case's original detective, Antionette Conway. Conway is known for being a lone wolf in Murder, and one with whom no one has been able to partner.

As Conway and Moran take their investigation to St. Kilda's, the boarding school where the murder took place and Holly and her friends attend, they realize they have one day to wrap the case up without bringing in outside help.

French packs in plenty of twists and turns that make sense when you realize how young the main characters are. If you ever wanted to know how high school works outside of the US, here's a glimpse. The only thing that detracted from the story for me is how accurately French portrayed the incessant slang and attitude of children of that age. Beneath that exterior lies a study of friendship, secrecy, betrayal, desire, and loneliness. Another great addition to the Dublin Murder Squad series.

Of all the Tana French books I have read, this was my least favorite. I don't know what it was, but I had a hard time getting into it (as you can see--it took me several months to read it, and I usually read French's novels within a week or two).

I think for me, it was the constantly changing viewpoint. One minute, it's the detectives and then it's the teenagers, and then it's Holly Mackey. Plus, those girls are vicious. I went to high school from 1998-2001, but I don't remember even the bitchy girls being that mean to anyone outside of their group. That, coupled with a never-ending plot, made for a very hard-to-read novel.
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes