The Trespasser and The Secret Place

The Trespasser

by Tana French

★★★★☆

No one does a slow burn mystery like Tana French. I love her Dublin murder squad series so much and each time a new book comes out I am beyond excited. She doesn't just write mysteries, she writes beautiful literary fiction that happens to include a mystery. Each of the books in the series is connected but works as a standalone. 

The Trespasser gives us a glimpse into the life of Antoinette Conway, who we met in The Secret Place (book 5). She and her partner, Stephen Moran, are assigned to a murder case at the end of a long shift. They find Aislinn, a lovely young woman, murdered in her home. Rory, a boyfriend, is an obvious suspect, but they have a few other theories to follow. Throughout the investigation Conway has to fight against the prejudice of her own coworkers and her own doubts about herself.

I tried to go slow and savor the story, but I loved every second of it. The atmosphere she creates is palpable and the anxious feeling builds as we get closer to the truth. She writes the best scenes I’ve ever read of detectives interviewing their suspects.

BOTTOM LINE: I’ve yet to be disappointed by French’s work. I liked this one ever more than her last. She gets inside the mind of her characters so completely that it’s easy to forget that she switches her main character in every book!

“No one needs a relationship. What you need is the basic cop-on to figure that out, in the face of all the media bullshit screaming that you're nothing on your own and you're a dangerous freak if you disagree. The truth is, if you don't exist without someone else, you don't exist at all. And that doesn't just go for romance. I love my ma, I love my friends, I love the bones of them. If any of them wanted me to donate a kidney or crack a few heads, I'd do it, no questions asked. And if they all waved goodbye and walked out of my life tomorrow, I'd still be the same person I am today."

The Secret Place

by Tana French

★★★★

The fifth book in the Dublin Murder Squad series focuses on Stephen, who we met in Faithful Place. He's desperate to join the squad. When Holly, the young girl in Faithful Place, now seven years older, gives him a tip about a murder committed in a local prep school, he sees his chance to work with the murder squad. Holly and her three best friends, Julia, Selena, and Rebecca, all become suspects. This novel flashes back and forth between Stephen and Antoinette Conway's investigation in the present and girls' point-of-view during the months leading up to the murder.

BOTTOM LINE: This one felt different from the other books because of its focus on teenage girls and their intense emotions. It wasn't my favorite in the series, but I just love French's writing. She creates tense and enthralling novels each time, even though the characters and plots are never the same.

“That long sigh again, above us. This time I saw it, moving through the branches. Like the trees were listening; like they would've been sad about us, sad for us, only they'd heard it all so many thousand times before.”

“It does that to you, being a detective. You look at blank space and see gears turning, motives and cunning; nothing looks innocent any more. Most times when you prove away the gears, the blank space looks lovely, peaceful. But that arm: innocent, it looked just as dangerous.” 

BOOKS 1-4

In the Woods

The Likeness

Faithful Place

Broken Harbor

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX

Each fall Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings hosts the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge (R.I.P.) I always save up fun mysteries, detective stories or thrillers for September and October to participate. This year I completed the Peril the First challenge, four books. Here's my reviews... 

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 

BrokenHarbor by Tana French

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Previous R.I.P. Challenges:
R.I.P. Challenge VIII
R.I.P. Challenge VII
R.I.P. Challenge VI
 

Silkworm

The Silkworm

by Robert Galbraith

★★★

 

Cormoran Strike is back with his assistant Robin, searching for a missing author of a controversial book. I read this at a similar time as Broken Harbor and I think it suffered a bit in comparison. Cormoran is a great character. He's a gruff, lumbering man, but his heart is big and his intimidating bulk can be deceptive for those who underestimate a sharp intelligence. In so many ways Strike has been broken, through his ex fiancé, the war, his famous fathers neglect, etc. but his vulnerabilities are well hidden from the general public. 

 

I like that we are getting to know his history a little better as the series progresses. The writing can be overly descriptive and indulgent at times and I think for that reason it works better as an audiobook. Strike's assistant Robin had a chance to prove herself a bit more in this book. The tense relationship between her boss and fiancé hasn't improved, but she's taking a stance for what she wants of her career.

 

The plot of this one wasn't as strong in my opinion. It's a decent mystery, but it took a turn into some unnecessarily morbid and nasty areas. It was relevant to the characters lives, but it didn't need to be in there, nor to be taken quite as far in my opinion. It felt like Rowling was just trying to prove that she could write something graphic and not just a Harry Potter style content. I felt like she had already proven her skill as a mystery writer with “The Cuckoo's Calling” so that element in this book was completely unneeded. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: I like both Cormoran and Robin as characters and so I'll still plan on reading the next book in the series. But if it sinks into the same level of grossness I will probably stop there. I'm hoping this one's content had more to do with this particular case with the direction of the series has a whole.

 

 

*Read as part of the R.I.P. Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings.

Broken Harbor

Broken Harbor

by Tana French
★★★★

The best way I can describe Tana French's novels is that they get under your skin. The worlds she creates seem to give me tunnel vision, the farther I get into the book the more I'm wrapped up in the detectives' lives and their struggle to find the answers to their case.

This is the fourth books in the Dublin Murder Squad series, and features Detective Kennedy, a straight arrow. He's put on a dark case, a home attack that left a father and two kids dead and the mother in critical condition. The plot explores the cracks in our lives that aren't always easily visible to those around us. Kennedy's personal history and his troubled sister cause complications in the case as he tries to teach a new rookie the ropes.

I didn't love Kennedy as a character, but we aren't supposed to. He is rigid, seeing the world in black-and-white, but it's because he needs boundaries and fears what happens to those who spend too close to the edge.

This book follows the case of a murdered family, their history is slowly reveal as the detectives uncover pieces of their lives. One interesting thing about French is that she never feels the need to tie everything up with a nice pretty bow in the end. The murder mystery is always resolved, but issues in the detectives lives, other elements of the case, etc. are often left for the reader to determine.

BOTTOM LINE: Each of the books in the series works completely as a standalone. The Likeness remains my favorite, but every single one of them has deepened my appreciation for the author and heightened my anticipation for her next book. This one was no exception.

I save French's books to enjoy on vacation or times when I know I'll be able to dive into the novel. That's because she's one of my treasured favorite new authors to read and I ration her work. If you love a good mystery, with excellent writing, moody Irish settings and wonderful character doubt, you just have to check her out.

*Read as part of the R.I.P. Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings.