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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
loved the first half, but the second half didn't quite hit as much as i wanted it to
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well the ending and writing is fine ig but #justice4katy
This is another one for my 2025 cleaning out the to-read closet challenge; it’s been on my list since Jul2022. This is also my first Tana French reading experience. Over the years, I have read so many great reviews of her work, especially this series. One of the things that I found appealing about the series is that every installment seems to focus on a different member of the Dublin Murder Squad. It reminds me of other fave authors of mine who do that, like Rebecca Zanetti and Mary Burton. They allow their fans to get to know other members of the world where the series takes place.
The book summary is pretty vague and basically just introduces the storyline of a 12yr old girl found murdered, on an archeological site, in Knocknaree Ireland. The girl is found with an item that reminds Det Rob Ryan of his childhood friend, Jamie. It was 20yrs ago that Rob (only back then he was Adam), Jamie and Peter ran into the woods to play and only Rob made it out bloodied and clinging to a tree for dear life. He was hospitalized and catatonic for weeks. His family left the area and he’s never been back until now.
The first half of the story was really slow, at least to me it was, and it definitely dragged down the story. It seemed like it took wwwaaayyy too long to get to the second half of the story, where the story and pacing finally picked up just a little bit. Most of the story revolved around the investigation of the dead girl, who Ryan and Cassie felt like it may have a connection to the case 20yrs ago, but, once again, it took way too long to discover that it didn’t.
Deep in the second half the storyline (finally!!!) the team, the cases and the storyline start to unravel. By this time, I had no idea who the killer was and didn’t really care. The story had long become tedious and drawn-out. The ending was actually anti-climactic, but thankfully the story was over.
The character development for Rob and Cassie and a few other characters was well done and the rest were basically talking heads. I think I’ve made my opinion regarding the pacing pretty clear so I’m not going to repeat it again. The storyline was interesting, but because of the pacing, I found myself getting bored with all of the minutia. The same can be said for the writing - wwwaaayyy too much minutia! This story probably could have been pared down by at least 100pgs without losing vital components of the storyline. I don’t know if this is classic Tana French, but if it is, this will be a one and done for me and this author, thus making me a bit of an outlier for the author’s work. I’m looking at an overall rating of 2.7 that I will round up to a 2.75star review.
The book summary is pretty vague and basically just introduces the storyline of a 12yr old girl found murdered, on an archeological site, in Knocknaree Ireland. The girl is found with an item that reminds Det Rob Ryan of his childhood friend, Jamie. It was 20yrs ago that Rob (only back then he was Adam), Jamie and Peter ran into the woods to play and only Rob made it out bloodied and clinging to a tree for dear life. He was hospitalized and catatonic for weeks. His family left the area and he’s never been back until now.
The first half of the story was really slow, at least to me it was, and it definitely dragged down the story. It seemed like it took wwwaaayyy too long to get to the second half of the story, where the story and pacing finally picked up just a little bit. Most of the story revolved around the investigation of the dead girl, who Ryan and Cassie felt like it may have a connection to the case 20yrs ago, but, once again, it took way too long to discover that it didn’t.
Deep in the second half the storyline (finally!!!) the team, the cases and the storyline start to unravel. By this time, I had no idea who the killer was and didn’t really care. The story had long become tedious and drawn-out. The ending was actually anti-climactic, but thankfully the story was over.
The character development for Rob and Cassie and a few other characters was well done and the rest were basically talking heads. I think I’ve made my opinion regarding the pacing pretty clear so I’m not going to repeat it again. The storyline was interesting, but because of the pacing, I found myself getting bored with all of the minutia. The same can be said for the writing - wwwaaayyy too much minutia! This story probably could have been pared down by at least 100pgs without losing vital components of the storyline. I don’t know if this is classic Tana French, but if it is, this will be a one and done for me and this author, thus making me a bit of an outlier for the author’s work. I’m looking at an overall rating of 2.7 that I will round up to a 2.75star review.
Deliciously realistic. This was my first Tana French and it really delivered as promised. I love the characterization and the atmosphere, but most of all I respect the fact that no miraculous discovery is made to neatly tie up the loose ends and no happy ending awaits the characters you most rooted for. It is as real as life. Thank you for writing for adults, Ms. French.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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