Tana French is fast becoming one of my personal favorites. With her knack for taking previous minor characters and bringing them back, she is a writing genius! Just enough of the former books to keep you page turning, but not enough to turn off a new reader.
Alternating between cold case detective Stephen Moran (YES, he's back) and flashbacks courtesy of Holly Mackey (yes, THAT Holly Mackey) and her crew, Secret Place sets itself apart from the other four novels. The book will burst the bubble of innocence surrounding teenage girls. Shrouding them instead in mystery and shame.
This story didn't delve into Moran's personal background and life as much as I was expecting. In the previous books we get intense background on our detectives. That being said I must defend her on this decision. I have praised French since the beginning for writing about detectives in a REALISTIC way. This holds up here. What are the odds that all detectives are eventually given a screamingly personal case? Let's hope the odds aren't good. This story is about a murder that is over a year old. It begins when they have no leads. As personal as it gets for Moran is that Mackey is involved and Moran really wants to break into the Murder Squad. That's pretty realistic, I'd say.
Ms. French is getting slammed by amateur reviewers all over the internet for varying reasons. The negative reviews seem to alternate between complaints of "adolescent dribble" and "complex language". How can both of those be correct? Simple answer...they're not. This book is an adult fiction mystery novel. Yet the mystery surrounds two groups of adolescent girls (16 years old, roughly). So yes, there is adolescence...but in my opinion it is handled masterfully. 4 smiles and a wink for this one!
One more quick thing...I received an email survey indicating that Fox is considering a Tana French TV show. WHAT?! My excitement is boiling over!
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