Read this book if you like:
- Complex and interesting but hella-flawed characters
- A cool mystery
- Fantastic, snappy, engrossing writing
- Learning interesting Irish slang
- A good dose of backstory without hand-holding or spoon-feeding
Do not read this book if:
- You require everything to be tied up neatly in a bow at the end of a story.
This is my second Tana French book, and while I liked it very much, I’m not sure I would’ve read another if I had read this one first, if that makes any sense. The main character is great at the beginning, but gets a little too flawed as the story progresses, and I would’ve been okay with a few more loose threads being tied up at the end.
A detective who had a traumatic childhood experience has to go back to his hometown to solve a crime that may or may not have ties to his previous trauma. He has an awesome partner, and there are interesting and believable side characters and suspects, and just the right amount of possibilities and red herrings. However, this is not your mom’s cozy mystery, and things get pretty ugly, and our hero makes some seriously stupid decisions that make you want to throw things at him.
Looking forward to the next one!