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A review by melhara
Broken Harbor by Tana French
4.0
[b:Broken Harbor|16171207|Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad, #4)|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1356090188s/16171207.jpg|15718578] follows Detective Kennedy aka “Scorcher” who was introduced in [b:Faithful Place|7093952|Faithful Place (Dublin Murder Squad, #3)|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1538063243s/7093952.jpg|7350661]. I didn’t really like Scorcher in Faithful Place because he seemed way too obsessed with maintaining a high solve rate. He didn’t seem very empathetic either. His obsession with solving crime nice and quickly is apparent in this book too - this is a result of his rule-abiding habits and seeing every in strictly black and white.
But things aren’t always black and white.
Despite the fact that Scorcher is probably the least likable character in this series (next to Quigley), I have to admit that this might actually be my favourite volume so far. I liked the amount of detail that went into showing the readers how to conduct a by-the-book investigation from the crime scene to when the case has been solved (although the amount of details included in this book can be a downside too... some scenes dragged on for a bit too long). The fact that Scorcher’s partner is a trainee, gives readers a nice glimpse into the entire investigative procedure. I also really liked the new detective/trainee, Richie. He’s far more likable and very empathetic.
Personally, I didn’t think the ‘mystery’ was that hard to solve - I kind of guessed who did it right off the bat (so it didn’t really come to a surprise for me). Even so, I loved all the weird and kind of disturbing curve balls that [a:Tana French|138825|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1535655031p2/138825.jpg] kept throwing at the readers. Also, the execution of the story and the philosophical questions that were raised on the topic of ‘justice’ was thought-provoking.
“That right there, that’s why I didn’t tell you. I knew that was what you’d say. I knew it. With you, man, everything’s black and white. No questions; just stick to the rules and go home.”
But things aren’t always black and white.
Despite the fact that Scorcher is probably the least likable character in this series (next to Quigley), I have to admit that this might actually be my favourite volume so far. I liked the amount of detail that went into showing the readers how to conduct a by-the-book investigation from the crime scene to when the case has been solved (although the amount of details included in this book can be a downside too... some scenes dragged on for a bit too long). The fact that Scorcher’s partner is a trainee, gives readers a nice glimpse into the entire investigative procedure. I also really liked the new detective/trainee, Richie. He’s far more likable and very empathetic.
Personally, I didn’t think the ‘mystery’ was that hard to solve - I kind of guessed who did it right off the bat (so it didn’t really come to a surprise for me). Even so, I loved all the weird and kind of disturbing curve balls that [a:Tana French|138825|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1535655031p2/138825.jpg] kept throwing at the readers. Also, the execution of the story and the philosophical questions that were raised on the topic of ‘justice’ was thought-provoking.