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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
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
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In ways too dark and crucial to be called metaphorical, I never left that wood.
3.5 stars
i spent five days reading this book. for the first three, i'd barely read 20% of it - it was slow, i strongly disliked the main character and i was bored. i considered dnfing it, then ultimately decided i'd force myself to finish it because i've already dnfed two books this month and i wasn't about to turn it into a habit (i HATE dnfing books), so i made myself sit down and read it.
on the fourth day, literally all i did was read it. and the only reason it took me an extra day to finish it was because i finished it way past midnight.
(which turned out to be a huge mistake because i needed to be up at five the next morning for a 10 hour drive to my grandma's house but whatever. CHOICES.)
this is the story of rob ryan, who's a detective with the murder squad of the irish police force. he and his partner are called into a teeny town outside dublin where the body of a 12 year old has been discovered by some archaeologists who are pretty freaked out about it. the interesting catch of the story is the fact that, once upon a time, rob used to be called adam ryan, and he was from the same small town he's now investigating - and when he too was twelve, he and his two best friends went into the woods to play and the other two kids never made it back.
i was let down by this book. although i ended up enjying it and for the final 30% i just couldn't put it down, i was expecting a mesmerizing story from the start. but this is a slow book - a veeeeeery sloooooow book - and heavily focused on its characters. eventually this was something i enjoyed, but detective ryan and i had a rocky start and i couldn't stand being in his head for long. i'm a psych major and at the beggining of the novel he couldn't go more than two pages without making explicit his distaste for psychologists and therapy in general. WE GET IT, you went through a huge trauma as a kid, never went to therapy and is now completely fine
also there's the fact that literally every. male. character. in this book is a huge misogynist and all of them constantly refer to "feminine" things as being secondary and stupid. i swear to god sometimes i thought i was reading about 6 years old schoolboys who had the need to scream "ew, girls, gross" everything a woman came near them. and again, i understand that this is definitely characteristic in a male-centric, testosterone filled environment such as an elite squad of a police force, but it doesn't mean i have to enjoy reading about it.
but yeah - i pushed through it, and the insights into ryan's mind
Spoiler
and his slow descent into a manic depression that definitely would've been avoided if only he'd DONE SOME THERAPYand on the same note, i didn't expect to care about these people as much as i ended up doing, but tana french is a sly little fox and before i knew it, i was UPSET by sad things that happened. and i still heavily dislike rob, but i now have this insane desire to see him happy even though he's a fuckboy? that's the sign of an amazing story-teller to me; someone who makes me care even about characters that i don't necessarily like.
the writing in itself is also fantastic. although dense at some points, i was so impressed by the way the author weaved such atmosphere into scenes were there wasn't really a lot going on. and ryan's internal musings were absolutely beautifully written, and hinted at the fact that he was more than just a chauvinistic i'm-too-good-for-freud policeman. the plot was not my favorite - i guessed the ending pretty early on - but i immensely enjoyed the ending, which is basically open. i'm sure a lot of people had issues with such unanswered questions but i feel like it couldn't have ended in any other way. if we got a more well-rounded finale, it would've gone against the entire feel of the book.
knowing that this was her debut, i'm very impressed by tana french's writing skills right off the bat, and the fact that nowadays this is such a big, well-loved series. i'll definitely pick up the second book, if anything to understand better what makes everyone so fascinated with this entire story.
SO good. I couldn’t put this down. This was more than your straightforward crime novel. The author created a vivid environment that makes you feel like you’re alongside the detectives.
The characters were deep and unexpected. But by the end, their motivations and psyches were explored and explained in a way that was heartbreakingly relatable.
The characters were deep and unexpected. But by the end, their motivations and psyches were explored and explained in a way that was heartbreakingly relatable.
3.5
Beautiful prose and imagery, though certain parts of the story felt a little like the filler paragraphs on a final thesis.
Enjoyable, all the same.
Not super surprised by the reveal but still well constructed.
Will check the second installment and see if it's a series worth sticking with.
Beautiful prose and imagery, though certain parts of the story felt a little like the filler paragraphs on a final thesis.
Enjoyable, all the same.
Not super surprised by the reveal but still well constructed.
Will check the second installment and see if it's a series worth sticking with.
I've avoided reading Tana French for a long time; I had it in my head that her mysteries were too graphically violent. But my son Brian keeps recommending them, and he knows my limitations, so I finally picked this one up (as a kindle special) and then, when I had a nasty cold, spent the day curled up in p.j.s with a cup of tea and a box of tissues at hand and read it. It was not too graphically violent; it was definitely well-written, and I'm going to be reading more Tana French.
Loved this! Just a bit frustrated the older mystery does not get resolved. I love her writing. Will definitely get her other books.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes