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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I really wanted to like this book. It was intelligent, good twists, well written, with developed characters and back stories. But for all the great aspects of those pieces, as a whole, it just felt long and dry. I liked the writing and I probably will try the next one ... only I won't keep reading if I'm not loving it.
dark
mysterious
tense
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
I don't read much crime/thriller because often I find it boring, and because - in the name of realism, they are not satisfying stories, sometimes. Disappearances go unsolved; horrid people get away with murder and unspeakable crimes. Yes, realistic, but I think often about a quote from Hiromu Arakawa: ""Truth is stranger than fiction," as the old saying goes. When I watch a documentary, I can't help crying and then I think to myself, "Fiction can't compete with this." But when I mentioned this to a veteran manga artist friend of mine he said that "fiction brings salvation to characters in stories that would otherwise have no salvation at all.""
But the prose on this was really fantastic, and it was an absorbing read, until the last two chapters - when it just fizzles out.
But the prose on this was really fantastic, and it was an absorbing read, until the last two chapters - when it just fizzles out.
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
An utterly brilliant story. I have read a lot of murder mystery books, but Tana French has created an absolute jewel with the Dublin murder squad. The story has a very interesting premise and a very convoluted back story to our protagonist, which I think only helps to make the story more interesting. i think it balances itself out in the most extraordinary way. Cant wait to pick up book #2 in the series.
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoyed this book. The back and forth between Ryan and Cassie was fun. There were a few plot twists that were easy to see coming, and a few that were harder to spot. Overall, I'd put it in the "fun beach read" category, which seems odd to say, since it's about multiple murders. Tana French has a way of keeping you drawn in to the book. I got to about the halfway mark and the mystery could have been solved there, but she threw in some more and kept it going. I hope the story's villain shows up in another of her books. I generally don't read many multi-series books, but I'll probably read #2 of this series just to see!
3.5 stars. Unfortunately the ending was unsatisfying, but it did satisfy my yearning for coworkers to friends to partners to lovers to nothing at all. The melancholy of it all is what hit the hardest.
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:
Yes