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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
I found this book unbelievably boring. I don’t care about leaving the reader with questions. I do care about figuring out who the killer was pretty early on; the one thing I really want from a mystery is to be surprised. Character studies can be fun when the characters are interesting, but this novel’s protagonist wasn’t interesting and was also a terrible detective. Thoroughly unsatisfying reading experience.
Well-written mystery, but also had multiple nightmares while reading it.
Was going to be 5 stars until the underlying 30 year old crime was left unsolved. Not a fan of that loose end. The resolution of the present day murder was not a surprise but only because I've read every Tana French book in the Dublin Murder Squad series and know the formula. That being said, even though I figured it out early, in a weird way I kind of forgot for awhile so it was almost a surprise at the end. The story and characters were great (the ones you loved and the ones you hated!) and I was highly entertained throughout the book.
It was slow, and more poetic than a story. The main character was not someone to like. I actually hated it when he talked. By the end I just wanted to know whodunit but didn't even get that satisfaction for one of the crimes.
This is my first book by Tana French, and having heard nothing but stellar reviews about her crime thrillers, I was so eager to pick this one up. And let me tell you, this does not disappoint.
This book is Book 1 in the Dublin Murder Squad series and read like an episode of Forensic Files intermingled with season one of True Detective. Apparently most of French's work focuses more on the psyche of the main detective of each novel and not so much the full case. I wasn't expecting this narrative to take that direction, but I felt like it really worked and put a unique spin on a genre that's frankly oversaturated. However, this choice to focus more on the individual rather than the cases at hand did leave me a little dissatisfied that only one of the two murder mysteries were solved by the book's conclusion. (And no, apparently the series never goes back to reveal the answer later on.)
Crime thrillers are really popular now, so when I read a high rated one, I really hope to be shocked by the reveal at the end, but French failed to blow me away. It started to feel a tad bit predictable by the time we got to the reveal, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely worth mentioning. Nonetheless, I really loved French's style and already picked up another one of her novels. Reading about the more human sides of the detectives without it feeling like a soap opera was a great balance to the overall narrative and I love French's choice to present this story in that way.
This book is Book 1 in the Dublin Murder Squad series and read like an episode of Forensic Files intermingled with season one of True Detective. Apparently most of French's work focuses more on the psyche of the main detective of each novel and not so much the full case. I wasn't expecting this narrative to take that direction, but I felt like it really worked and put a unique spin on a genre that's frankly oversaturated. However, this choice to focus more on the individual rather than the cases at hand did leave me a little dissatisfied that only one of the two murder mysteries were solved by the book's conclusion. (And no, apparently the series never goes back to reveal the answer later on.)
Crime thrillers are really popular now, so when I read a high rated one, I really hope to be shocked by the reveal at the end, but French failed to blow me away. It started to feel a tad bit predictable by the time we got to the reveal, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely worth mentioning. Nonetheless, I really loved French's style and already picked up another one of her novels. Reading about the more human sides of the detectives without it feeling like a soap opera was a great balance to the overall narrative and I love French's choice to present this story in that way.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
Irish crime murder procedural about an ancient spiritual colt - can’t really get better than that!
12 year-old Adam Ryan is found in the woods all torn up with blood in his shoes and his two best friends are missing. He has no recollection of what happened. His parents send him to boarding school and move to a new town. Adam goes by Rob now and has moved on from all of that...until 20 years later, he’s a homicide detective and has to work the murder of another 12 year-old back in his old town...
What I liked:
-this is a classic crime novel, no gimmicks, not a psycho thriller, just detectives working a case with the added element of one of the detectives potentially having a connection
-the relationship between Rob Ryan and his partner, Cassie Maddox. I loved their friendship and their working dynamic most of the book
-the ending wasn’t predictable, like maybe you could’ve pieced some of it together but there were so many leads and I really felt like I was working the case with them and my heart was racing when the case finally “broke.” And it was a logical ending ...I wasn’t left thinking “wait what??” like in many suspense/thrillers
What I didn’t like:
-Rob Ryan’s internal monologues...he really droned on sometimes, especially in parts of the book that were already moving slow with the investigation. He was also a very frustrating protagonist at times (or most of the time) even if he was a good detective
-I get that cases do move slow sometimes and there can be weeks with no real progress but for a book, I think that part could’ve been cut down a bit
-one MAJOR unanswered question (maybe leaving it open for a sequel?) and a smaller unanswered question that might just be me
What I liked:
-this is a classic crime novel, no gimmicks, not a psycho thriller, just detectives working a case with the added element of one of the detectives potentially having a connection
-the relationship between Rob Ryan and his partner, Cassie Maddox. I loved their friendship and their working dynamic most of the book
-the ending wasn’t predictable, like maybe you could’ve pieced some of it together but there were so many leads and I really felt like I was working the case with them and my heart was racing when the case finally “broke.” And it was a logical ending ...I wasn’t left thinking “wait what??” like in many suspense/thrillers
What I didn’t like:
-Rob Ryan’s internal monologues...he really droned on sometimes, especially in parts of the book that were already moving slow with the investigation. He was also a very frustrating protagonist at times (or most of the time) even if he was a good detective
-I get that cases do move slow sometimes and there can be weeks with no real progress but for a book, I think that part could’ve been cut down a bit
-one MAJOR unanswered question (maybe leaving it open for a sequel?) and a smaller unanswered question that might just be me
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I probably wouldn’t read a crime novel about a child being murdered again, it was a bit too brutal for me. I enjoyed the two lead detectives’ friendship which made the book a page-turner in most parts but anytime it’s just the lead by himself it got so boring and repetitive. I’m not huge on big useless descriptions of scenery. And the last fourth of the book was a total drag. I hate the ending. I’d recommend just watching the tv show.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship