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bootsmom3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Homophobia, Car accident, Child abuse, Body shaming, Gore, Medical content, Suicide, Blood, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity
savvylit's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
In 2020, I read five of Tana French's books back to back. This is the first of her novels that I have read since and reminded me exactly why I enjoyed her thrillers so much back then. French excels at creating psychological tension and three-dimensional characters. In addition to being an author, French is an actress and it shows. The cinematic quality of her mysteries makes me feel immersed in a detective show. It makes total sense that her novels have been adapted for television!
About Faithful Place in particular - while I liked it, I had a few issues with it. First, I just didn't particularly like the main character, Frank. He was an asshole throughout and didn't really have much of a redemption. Everyone in his life gave him a lot of grace but he just kept acting bullishly. Second, there were two mysterious deaths in this novel and I don't think that the second one was properly solved. At the novel's conclusion, it's implied to have been solved but there's never a true explanation. Generally, I don't mind ambiguity in books. However, when the first murder was so neatly solved and explained in detail, I would hope for the same insight into the second murder.
About Faithful Place in particular - while I liked it, I had a few issues with it. First, I just didn't particularly like the main character, Frank. He was an asshole throughout and didn't really have much of a redemption. Everyone in his life gave him a lot of grace but he just kept acting bullishly. Second, there were two mysterious deaths in this novel and I don't think that the second one was properly solved. At the novel's conclusion, it's implied to have been solved but there's never a true explanation. Generally, I don't mind ambiguity in books. However, when the first murder was so neatly solved and explained in detail, I would hope for the same insight into the second murder.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Violence and Classism
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