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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
literally such a tana french fan. such a fan
thought the last bit of this dragged a bit and like for some of it i was like ?? hmm are u sure? but like a good read and i enjoyed it. she nailed the school also
thought the last bit of this dragged a bit and like for some of it i was like ?? hmm are u sure? but like a good read and i enjoyed it. she nailed the school also
dark
mysterious
sad
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
These books are great. Each one is interesting for its own reasons and this one is no different. The book follows the investigation of a young man killed on the grounds of a girls' school. The intrigue of teenage girls is absolutely dizzying already, so throw in a good murder and you've got yourself one complicated plot. Love Tana French!
Fond of:
Not only do we get one returning character, but three. Stephen, Holly and Frank Mackey are older and smarter than they were the last time we met. I loved seeing their development and the stubbornness all three took on. Like In The Woods, where a teen is the focus and inevitable culprit I really liked the daring all eight girls provided, giving a Rhoda Penmark/Bed Seed vibe to it. Also, I enjoyed that parts of The Secret Place were told in flashback, precipitated with "Chris Harper has x month/week/days to live. Through these segments leading up to the murder the reader got a fuller view of the goings on at St. Kilda's.
Not Fond of:
All eight girls were caddy Lindsey Lohans and got a little tired of hearing the word "Awesomesauce". Antoinette Conway, while she exhibits a bad ass I can do anything as good or better then men, she seemed a little incompetent. She spent a year with Chris Harper's murder as an open case, Stephen Moran comes on the scene and solves it in less then 24 hours. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Stephen to succeed, but if I had to listen to "I can't believe I missed that" one more time...
Final Thoughts:
My kindle's battery died with 30 minutes left to read and I annoyingly had to charge it for a hour. By saying this it exposes that I was so engrossed in The Secret Place that I lost all track of time and did not want to be interrupted for anything. The Secret Place is a thrillingly good read that will take your head for a spin.
Not only do we get one returning character, but three. Stephen, Holly and Frank Mackey are older and smarter than they were the last time we met. I loved seeing their development and the stubbornness all three took on. Like In The Woods, where a teen is the focus and inevitable culprit I really liked the daring all eight girls provided, giving a Rhoda Penmark/Bed Seed vibe to it. Also, I enjoyed that parts of The Secret Place were told in flashback, precipitated with "Chris Harper has x month/week/days to live. Through these segments leading up to the murder the reader got a fuller view of the goings on at St. Kilda's.
Not Fond of:
All eight girls were caddy Lindsey Lohans and got a little tired of hearing the word "Awesomesauce". Antoinette Conway, while she exhibits a bad ass I can do anything as good or better then men, she seemed a little incompetent. She spent a year with Chris Harper's murder as an open case, Stephen Moran comes on the scene and solves it in less then 24 hours. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Stephen to succeed, but if I had to listen to "I can't believe I missed that" one more time...
Final Thoughts:
My kindle's battery died with 30 minutes left to read and I annoyingly had to charge it for a hour. By saying this it exposes that I was so engrossed in The Secret Place that I lost all track of time and did not want to be interrupted for anything. The Secret Place is a thrillingly good read that will take your head for a spin.
Couldn’t finish this.
I despise the way that Tana French rights young women.
I despise the way that Tana French rights young women.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
The Secret Place uses two timelines. Firstly, two detectives are re-investigating a stalled case where a boy’s murdered body was found on the grounds of an all-girls’ school. Secondly, the narrative follows the tightly knit friendship of four girls in the events leading up to the murder. They are somehow involved, but the detectives (and the reader) has no idea how.
I really enjoyed The Secret Place, which even includes some unexpected supernatural elements. The story is excellently written, and Tana French draws sharp, poignant characters who all standout as lifelike individuals. Also, I am in love with Detective Antoinette Conway and I would happily read another book about her and Detective Stephen Moran. She’s tough as nails and sidelined in the boy’s club murder squad, while he’s trying to move out of cold cases and sees working with her on the girls’ school murder as his opportunity. They’re opposites in many ways, but develop a partnership over the course of their day-long investigation
So why only three and a half stars? I thought The Secret Place dragged towards the end. The murder is solved, the culprit arrested… and I’ve still got forty minutes left on my audiobook? That ending was a bit of a slog. But overall, I would recommend The Secret Place.
Review from The Illustrated Page.
I really enjoyed The Secret Place, which even includes some unexpected supernatural elements. The story is excellently written, and Tana French draws sharp, poignant characters who all standout as lifelike individuals. Also, I am in love with Detective Antoinette Conway and I would happily read another book about her and Detective Stephen Moran. She’s tough as nails and sidelined in the boy’s club murder squad, while he’s trying to move out of cold cases and sees working with her on the girls’ school murder as his opportunity. They’re opposites in many ways, but develop a partnership over the course of their day-long investigation
So why only three and a half stars? I thought The Secret Place dragged towards the end. The murder is solved, the culprit arrested… and I’ve still got forty minutes left on my audiobook? That ending was a bit of a slog. But overall, I would recommend The Secret Place.
Review from The Illustrated Page.
*3.5 stars
This was good but not quite on the same level as the other books in the series. French's writing is beautiful like always and I enjoyed the slow unravelling of the mystery, but I wasn't a big fan of the way the narrative switched between Stephen in the present day trying to solve the murder and the girls in the lead up to the murder. None of the girls were very interesting, all the teenspeak became annoying real fast, and it got to the point where I had to skim read their chapters to get to the good stuff. That said, I loved Stephen's chapters and I probably would've given this 4 or 4.5 stars if the whole book had been from his POV. His relationship with Conway was the highlight of the book and it affected me way more than the all-encompassing friendship of the girls.
This was good but not quite on the same level as the other books in the series. French's writing is beautiful like always and I enjoyed the slow unravelling of the mystery, but I wasn't a big fan of the way the narrative switched between Stephen in the present day trying to solve the murder and the girls in the lead up to the murder. None of the girls were very interesting, all the teenspeak became annoying real fast, and it got to the point where I had to skim read their chapters to get to the good stuff. That said, I loved Stephen's chapters and I probably would've given this 4 or 4.5 stars if the whole book had been from his POV. His relationship with Conway was the highlight of the book and it affected me way more than the all-encompassing friendship of the girls.
Not my favorite of her novels. I didn't think the suspense was as strong, nor was I invested in the teenage drama. I wasn't sympathetic to the self-centered, manipulative teenage witches(?), no matter how much they loved each other.
Not my favorite one of hers. Teenagers are not nice people. This book focuses on this, rather than the detectives like her previous books in the series. Good to see Frank Mackey again though.