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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I have read all but one of Tana French's books and have liked all of them. This book is by far my favorite. It started out slow as I think all her books do, but once it caught my attention, I couldn't let go.
I feels a little long at times, but this is such a good murder mystery. French does a great job of weaving in current events in Ireland and other stuff. Great read.
Very insightful look at the relationship. Half the story I was expecting the appearance of some evil creauture from Stephen King's world.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Suicide
I've never before given Tana French only two stars, but this was a very different experience. This book was far too long, with an obvious plot, boring dialogue, and a side plot that I absolutely did not care one iota about. I'm beginning to wonder if she'll ever get back to the magic of the first two books in this series.
mysterious
slow-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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one surprised me! I am a total Tana French fangirl but the narrator and initial premise weren't nearly as appealing to me as some of her other books. However, I listened to the audiobook and quickly became hooked. I yelled out loud at the ending because I couldn't believe it was over already. The setting was extremely dark, spooky, and haunting. Also I loved Richie and hope to see a book narrated by him in the Dublin Murder Squad series someday.
Tana French has become one of my favorite crime authors. This is the 4th I've read of hers and all have been good in their own respective ways, though I found this one a bit lacking. The mystery is compelling, maybe the best mystery she's done since In The Woods. Cliche is forsaken at every corner for a quality story. Perhaps the best compliment I can give her is that every novel in her series feels unique, even if they all take place loosely in the same universe. The idea to take a supporting character from one book and make them the protagonist in the next is inspired and it keeps the series fresh. And even when I thought I knew for sure how this was going to end, she throws an extra wrench in there that almost took my breath away.
My issues here are more than nitpicks. I think they prevent the novel from being truly great. French usually does a good job of linking the main character to either the crime's location or circumstances. Here, it kind of falls flat. She wants me to buy into Detective Kennedy's big connection to Broken Harbor but it doesn't work for me. Neither does his background stuff. In fact, I found Kennedy himself to be poorly sketched. When he started talking about what made him a good, honest detective, I wanted to know more about that. But the family stuff, which French usually excels at, doesn't really work. Every scene with the Detective's family just served as a reminder that we were away from the good stuff. And while her series is always going to be centered on the detectives, I actually was more interested to know the perspective of the victims here, given how the crime ultimately turned out (won't spoil anything but it would make for a great horror novel).
Still, I enjoyed this book and I love this series. Four deep and I can say with confidence that Tana French is the best crime writer in the game right now. I will read anything with her name on it.
My issues here are more than nitpicks. I think they prevent the novel from being truly great. French usually does a good job of linking the main character to either the crime's location or circumstances. Here, it kind of falls flat. She wants me to buy into Detective Kennedy's big connection to Broken Harbor but it doesn't work for me. Neither does his background stuff. In fact, I found Kennedy himself to be poorly sketched. When he started talking about what made him a good, honest detective, I wanted to know more about that. But the family stuff, which French usually excels at, doesn't really work. Every scene with the Detective's family just served as a reminder that we were away from the good stuff. And while her series is always going to be centered on the detectives, I actually was more interested to know the perspective of the victims here, given how the crime ultimately turned out (won't spoil anything but it would make for a great horror novel).
Still, I enjoyed this book and I love this series. Four deep and I can say with confidence that Tana French is the best crime writer in the game right now. I will read anything with her name on it.
Tana French once again proved herself a master of story-telling.
Before French I wasn't really into Hard-boild detective series, but now I see the gem of this.
Before French I wasn't really into Hard-boild detective series, but now I see the gem of this.
Bloody hell I forget how much I enjoy reading the Dublin Murder Squad series and you know what ! I think this is my favourite to date.
I loved the relationship of the two detectives especially “Scorcher Kennedy “ our main protagonist mentoring the junior cop. I agonized over what really happened in the murder house and obessesed over the inner dynamics of the family. The casual but yet professional approach that the Gardai took with the investigation rang true. The motive for the murders while seemingly bizarre is actually really close to the apparent motive in a real-life case in Dublin that I am aware of - life is stranger than fiction! And be Jaysus isn’t Scorcher quite the poet and romantic who ever would have guessed it from the previous book!
Recommended to those who have already read the previous three books folks but be warned this is beautiful but bleak!
I loved the relationship of the two detectives especially “Scorcher Kennedy “ our main protagonist mentoring the junior cop. I agonized over what really happened in the murder house and obessesed over the inner dynamics of the family. The casual but yet professional approach that the Gardai took with the investigation rang true. The motive for the murders while seemingly bizarre is actually really close to the apparent motive in a real-life case in Dublin that I am aware of - life is stranger than fiction! And be Jaysus isn’t Scorcher quite the poet and romantic who ever would have guessed it from the previous book!
Recommended to those who have already read the previous three books folks but be warned this is beautiful but bleak!