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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-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
sad
medium-paced
I might have liked this one best of the series. I know some people had issues with the whole magic thing, but I didn't. Old building. See what you want to see. Believe your magical together. I can get behind that.
After having read two of this series’ installments, I’m going to say that French definitely knows how to write well - like, her actual prose style, which is readable and occasionally clever. But her plotting veers on the idiotic side. This one is worse, because it’s not very engaging or memorable, and builds to a pointless climax. Here the Creative Writing 101 structure weakens the whole book. For something like alternating between two main time frames/(set of/) POVs, each half of the narrative should feel equally worth reading.
But the incredibly generically asshatty team of detectives in the present day seem to show French’s refusal to create more than a handful of actual characters, such that I wanted them to not solve the case. The Likeness focused very closely on a tight-knit group of...five people, I think? So she could at least try to make each of them seem like an actual person (with varying levels of success). But, omg, here there are 2 girl quartets, and boy potential love interests, and Holly’s dad returning from his own stint as a protagonist. No room to give personalities to the detectives too. And I must say that even the way they quickly zoom in on the two girl quartets feels contrivedly convenient to make the suspect pool (for two different things) shallower.
I probably would have preferred, like, most of the book being stuff leading up to the crime and occasional interludes about the investigation a year later. Because the latter mostly bores in a repetitive fashion.
Oh, also there’s some a bit of randomly inserted supernatural nonsense just because French feels like it.
But the incredibly generically asshatty team of detectives in the present day seem to show French’s refusal to create more than a handful of actual characters, such that I wanted them to not solve the case. The Likeness focused very closely on a tight-knit group of...five people, I think? So she could at least try to make each of them seem like an actual person (with varying levels of success). But, omg, here there are 2 girl quartets, and boy potential love interests, and Holly’s dad returning from his own stint as a protagonist. No room to give personalities to the detectives too. And I must say that even the way they quickly zoom in on the two girl quartets feels contrivedly convenient to make the suspect pool (for two different things) shallower.
I probably would have preferred, like, most of the book being stuff leading up to the crime and occasional interludes about the investigation a year later. Because the latter mostly bores in a repetitive fashion.
Oh, also there’s some a bit of randomly inserted supernatural nonsense just because French feels like it.
I love Tana French books! Another solid one, with a few distracting extraordinary elements (that prove unnecessary to the plot and out of step with the series - it’s odd that she included them) and another cast of fascinating, distinct characters.
This series can be read in any order, but I’d recommend tackling this one *after* reading Faithful Place.
This series can be read in any order, but I’d recommend tackling this one *after* reading Faithful Place.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Splendor in the Grass
"Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in grass...we will grieve not.". The beauty and fragility of childhood friendships are well captured in this book, which is so much more than a mystery. But don't think you'll have an easy time guessing the murderer. Tana French is as much a poet as a mystery writer.
"Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in grass...we will grieve not.". The beauty and fragility of childhood friendships are well captured in this book, which is so much more than a mystery. But don't think you'll have an easy time guessing the murderer. Tana French is as much a poet as a mystery writer.
4.75*
Originally published on my blog
I think this might have surpassed The Likeness as my favorite Tana French book?? It was just sooooo gooooood. The sharp charecterization, the haunting atmospheres, the witty writing: it’s all there in its glorious Tana-French-ness. Add to that the tight plot with interwoven flashbacks and sharp observations about what it’s like to be a teenage girl and you get this book.
One thing that I loved about this (which applies to The Likeness as well) is that it focuses on friendships. Holly’s friendship with three other girls is at the front and center of this novel. They all fiercely love and care for each other, in their own, often misguided ways. French nails the dynamics, the intensity, the quiet moments, the funny ones too that make this type of groups tick. I never had a problem believing because they struck so close to my own group of friends, and I wish more books focused on this because this kinds of relationships are very formative and important. Each girl is clearly drawn and very vivid. They are all allowed a voice, so it makes the unravelling of it all even more heart-wrenching.
The writing is both lush and blunt, but I also felt it’s the tightest it’s ever been for French. The flashback chapters, narrated in third person, just let it shine all the more. There is also new found metaphorical richness that, in my opinion, works a lot better than in Broken Harbor. There’s a particular element of magic realism that I’m sure will not work for everyone, but I thought it was very fitting in a more symbolic sense. And the writing is never overwrought for its sake: it services the atmosphere and characters at all times. This is one of my favorite quotes:
They are forever, a brief and mortal forever, a forever that will grow into their bones and be held inside them after it ends, intact, indestructible.
The detectives are also great. Watching them interact and slowly start to trust one another was precious. I got more feels from them silently agreeing than from most romance plotlines I’ve read this year. Conway is such a great character. She is blunt, abrasive, and grumpy in a way that female characters seldom are allowed to be. That said, I loved that we got this male narrator for a story about teenage girls because Moran quickly learns not to ever underestimate them (“If I’ve learned one thing today, it’s that teenage girls make Moriarty look like a babe in the woods”). He also respects Conway at every turn which umm why aren’t more male characters like this. Like a book with this premise could have soooo easily fallen into so many sexist tropes and it never does.
That said, I do feel like we got to know the detectives better in previous books. Maybe it’s because half of the book follows the girls. However, Moran does have a very clear arc in this book and, as I said, his growing relationship with Conway is just a delight to see unfold. I hope that The Trespasser, which follows the two of them, delves deeper into their backstories.
The mystery is maybe one of the weaker points of the book. Just as with Faithful Place, I guessed who’d done it, like, halfway through the book, but I could not have cared less. By that point, I was so invested in the characters that the whodunit became secondary; I wanted to know why and how it was going to affect the characters. In my opinion, this is what makes a good mystery novel, or one that’s memorable at least. In these books, there isn’t random shock-value revelations which makes very satisfying to read.
I haven’t been this engrossed in the actual act of reading in such a long time. It truly is a page-turner for all the best reasons.
Originally published on my blog
I think this might have surpassed The Likeness as my favorite Tana French book?? It was just sooooo gooooood. The sharp charecterization, the haunting atmospheres, the witty writing: it’s all there in its glorious Tana-French-ness. Add to that the tight plot with interwoven flashbacks and sharp observations about what it’s like to be a teenage girl and you get this book.
One thing that I loved about this (which applies to The Likeness as well) is that it focuses on friendships. Holly’s friendship with three other girls is at the front and center of this novel. They all fiercely love and care for each other, in their own, often misguided ways. French nails the dynamics, the intensity, the quiet moments, the funny ones too that make this type of groups tick. I never had a problem believing because they struck so close to my own group of friends, and I wish more books focused on this because this kinds of relationships are very formative and important. Each girl is clearly drawn and very vivid. They are all allowed a voice, so it makes the unravelling of it all even more heart-wrenching.
The writing is both lush and blunt, but I also felt it’s the tightest it’s ever been for French. The flashback chapters, narrated in third person, just let it shine all the more. There is also new found metaphorical richness that, in my opinion, works a lot better than in Broken Harbor. There’s a particular element of magic realism that I’m sure will not work for everyone, but I thought it was very fitting in a more symbolic sense. And the writing is never overwrought for its sake: it services the atmosphere and characters at all times. This is one of my favorite quotes:
They are forever, a brief and mortal forever, a forever that will grow into their bones and be held inside them after it ends, intact, indestructible.
The detectives are also great. Watching them interact and slowly start to trust one another was precious. I got more feels from them silently agreeing than from most romance plotlines I’ve read this year. Conway is such a great character. She is blunt, abrasive, and grumpy in a way that female characters seldom are allowed to be. That said, I loved that we got this male narrator for a story about teenage girls because Moran quickly learns not to ever underestimate them (“If I’ve learned one thing today, it’s that teenage girls make Moriarty look like a babe in the woods”). He also respects Conway at every turn which umm why aren’t more male characters like this. Like a book with this premise could have soooo easily fallen into so many sexist tropes and it never does.
That said, I do feel like we got to know the detectives better in previous books. Maybe it’s because half of the book follows the girls. However, Moran does have a very clear arc in this book and, as I said, his growing relationship with Conway is just a delight to see unfold. I hope that The Trespasser, which follows the two of them, delves deeper into their backstories.
The mystery is maybe one of the weaker points of the book. Just as with Faithful Place, I guessed who’d done it, like, halfway through the book, but I could not have cared less. By that point, I was so invested in the characters that the whodunit became secondary; I wanted to know why and how it was going to affect the characters. In my opinion, this is what makes a good mystery novel, or one that’s memorable at least. In these books, there isn’t random shock-value revelations which makes very satisfying to read.
I haven’t been this engrossed in the actual act of reading in such a long time. It truly is a page-turner for all the best reasons.
This one was a slow read. We are in a head of a young hotshot this time, who gets a clue thrown into his lap and is eager to prove himself - so eager that he'll put up working with a woman seemingly unable to compromise. He is trying to prove himself, and is not more than a reflection of those around him - constantly reacting, acting only by the end of this long book. I liked Conway - I can see where she's coming from, bitch or no bitch.
The mystery is that of a killed high school boy, but in fact about two boarding schools - especially the girls' one. The story of four friends touched me deeply: I had had a friendship like that once (minus the paranormal stuff - I just ignored that), and thought it will last forever. Now I know better. Still, it was bittersweet and painful to read about it.
I liked how the view of the girls changed. In the beginning, they were mere stereotypes, bitches and saints, these other beings in a world of hormones. So young, so predictable, like putty in detective's hands. By the end of the book they got to be people, or I would've dropped this. Boys, with one possible exception, didn't really get a fair chance. You could say they were indeed "animals, rabid, without control" as someone in the novel puts it. A pity.
The killer was quite obvious from the page 100, and seeing as this book has about 600, you're in for a long haul.
If you don't like reading about nostalgia, atmosphere, and subtle characterization, better to give this one a wide berth.
The mystery is that of a killed high school boy, but in fact about two boarding schools - especially the girls' one. The story of four friends touched me deeply: I had had a friendship like that once (minus the paranormal stuff - I just ignored that), and thought it will last forever. Now I know better. Still, it was bittersweet and painful to read about it.
I liked how the view of the girls changed. In the beginning, they were mere stereotypes, bitches and saints, these other beings in a world of hormones. So young, so predictable, like putty in detective's hands. By the end of the book they got to be people, or I would've dropped this. Boys, with one possible exception, didn't really get a fair chance. You could say they were indeed "animals, rabid, without control" as someone in the novel puts it. A pity.
The killer was quite obvious from the page 100, and seeing as this book has about 600, you're in for a long haul.
If you don't like reading about nostalgia, atmosphere, and subtle characterization, better to give this one a wide berth.
Most of French’s Dublin Murder Squad series have some magical realism, but the Secret Place is the only one with explicit magic, which makes for an interesting combination. It’s also the only entry that diverges from the 1st person narrative. It’s an odd flavor but I like it.
I found the setting of the high school to be a nice change of setting from the other books. And having read the next book, it was cool to see the origins of Stephen and Conway’s partnership. I also liked that French brought back Holly and Frank.
I found the setting of the high school to be a nice change of setting from the other books. And having read the next book, it was cool to see the origins of Stephen and Conway’s partnership. I also liked that French brought back Holly and Frank.
Years later, I'm writing this review because
a) I could have sworn I'd written one when I finished it. I distinctly remember being in the airport typing it up.
b) I am currently reading my fourth Tana French novel and have been thinking back on the ones I'd previously read.
I "liked" one of the top reviews for this book which gave it a similar rating to mine, and basically for the same reasons.
I (obviously) like French, and this experience didn't deter me. I still like her writing style, her pace, her versatility within the mystery genre. But on this one, her characterisation felt (uncharacteristically) flat and the conclusion was just odd.
a) I could have sworn I'd written one when I finished it. I distinctly remember being in the airport typing it up.
b) I am currently reading my fourth Tana French novel and have been thinking back on the ones I'd previously read.
I "liked" one of the top reviews for this book which gave it a similar rating to mine, and basically for the same reasons.
I (obviously) like French, and this experience didn't deter me. I still like her writing style, her pace, her versatility within the mystery genre. But on this one, her characterisation felt (uncharacteristically) flat and the conclusion was just odd.