Sign in with Facebook
karen's Reviews > Faithful Place
Faithful Place (Dublin Murder Squad, #3)
by
by
tana french and i have come a long way, baby...
and with this book, we are officially in love.
this is exactly the kind of book i was expecting from her. in the woods was great at the start and frustrating at the end, and the likeness was tons of fun for a staggeringly unbelievable premise. but really, really fun.
but this one is just great. i don't read a lot of mysteries, but when i read a good one, i get this glow of "ohhhhh - that's why people like these". and in this case, it isn't even that the mystery is that revolutionary - it follows the usual pattern: crime, investigation, red herring red herring red herring, satisfying but not unreasonable conclusion.
and then she goes and throws a little tana french monkey wrench into it just so you know it is her. but this one is more subtle and therefore less hair-pulling-out frustrating than the first book.
her strength is in the other stuff, the atmosphere surrounding the mystery. i love the irish. when i moved into this neighborhood it was almost entirely irish, and it was wonderful to walk down the street and be buoyed by the lilting cadence of those folks and their unexpected insertion of the word "after" in sentences, as in "he's after having a pint." i loved being called "love" and "duckie" and "chickadee" by older maternal women selling me pasties. it is a somewhat different neighborhood now, but there are still pockets of my beloved irish. and this book is all of that and more - all written in dialect, all about class structure and the struggle to make something of a life despite the demands of the family. and god, this family. so poisonous, so heart-scrabbling, so much guilt and passive-aggression. oofa - i loved each and every one of them.
this book can be read as a stand-alone, by the way - you don't have to have read the first two, but someday i would like some answers to my questions in the first book,please.
this review used to have buried treasure and is now simply serviceable. my apologies, world...
come to my blog!
and with this book, we are officially in love.
this is exactly the kind of book i was expecting from her. in the woods was great at the start and frustrating at the end, and the likeness was tons of fun for a staggeringly unbelievable premise. but really, really fun.
but this one is just great. i don't read a lot of mysteries, but when i read a good one, i get this glow of "ohhhhh - that's why people like these". and in this case, it isn't even that the mystery is that revolutionary - it follows the usual pattern: crime, investigation, red herring red herring red herring, satisfying but not unreasonable conclusion.
and then she goes and throws a little tana french monkey wrench into it just so you know it is her. but this one is more subtle and therefore less hair-pulling-out frustrating than the first book.
her strength is in the other stuff, the atmosphere surrounding the mystery. i love the irish. when i moved into this neighborhood it was almost entirely irish, and it was wonderful to walk down the street and be buoyed by the lilting cadence of those folks and their unexpected insertion of the word "after" in sentences, as in "he's after having a pint." i loved being called "love" and "duckie" and "chickadee" by older maternal women selling me pasties. it is a somewhat different neighborhood now, but there are still pockets of my beloved irish. and this book is all of that and more - all written in dialect, all about class structure and the struggle to make something of a life despite the demands of the family. and god, this family. so poisonous, so heart-scrabbling, so much guilt and passive-aggression. oofa - i loved each and every one of them.
this book can be read as a stand-alone, by the way - you don't have to have read the first two, but someday i would like some answers to my questions in the first book,please.
this review used to have buried treasure and is now simply serviceable. my apologies, world...
come to my blog!
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Faithful Place.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
January 15, 2011
–
Started Reading
January 15, 2011
– Shelved
January 19, 2011
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-45 of 45 (45 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Jessica
(new)
-
rated it 3 stars
Jan 15, 2011 10:09AM
oh, i have this book, in pristine condition, from my local swap rack...
reply
|
flag
Alfonso wrote: "i need to stop playing and reading at the same time!! damn it!! i see a guy but i'm typing!!! he dont see me!!! guaaa!! still dont get it =)"Twss
Did the guy have good hair? I bet he did.
i just messaged you, silly
The fro was beat by a bald guy? Hmmmmm.
My fellow AIs (games) feel pity for lackluster fros.
i love you alfonso. you are a complicated man.
It may have been a spelling error. :o)
Some's gotta CB you! Or there'd be little Alfonso's overrunning the world!
What? I can't hear you. There are no notifications.Hah! Mariel!
i just hope it reaches the right eyes.
okay - this review has been sanitized. it is now like huck finn and everyone better just shhhhhh and the fun we had is our own secret business and it is mentioned at your own peril!!
no one wants periL, now do they??
Aww, the comment where he called me a BK is gone! Oh well, easy come easy go.
I agree with you on all three books. This was the pay off for the problems you mentioned in the first two.I always say I love Tana French's writing, I don't know why, I just do.
karen wrote: "okay - this review has been sanitized. it is now like huck finn and everyone better just shhhhhh and the fun we had is our own secret business and it is mentioned at your own peril!!
no one want..."
I miss out on all the fun....
i will make new fun, never fear!
Well said! I'm in the middle of it, and am enjoying it immensely. I have a suspect in mind, but not sure if that's because the author's "choices" are a bit narrow at this point and he's an obvious guess-and as I've read French's 2 previous books in this series-I'm sure that I'm wrong!
i hope you are! it's more fun that way!
Yea, this is my favorite so far. Ate it up. There is a scene towards the end that was written perfectly to break a father's heart. He is in the car with his 9 year old daughter immediately after a major moment. No spoilers, but the end of that scene pummeled me with it's aching beauty.
yay! i'm glad you are loving her! this one is my favorite, but her next one is awfully close...
Yep, I start book 4 in a couple days :) And I see that book 5 will go back to Frank and his daughter Holly, 10 years later or so...
but not until 2014!!! COME ON!
I know. I blame you. LOVINGLY!
why don't you read rooftoppers in the meantime?
is that good?? I've fallen out of touch with the young adult types I will always love but have been eyeing the cover of that one....anyway, I'm absolutely sure I could NOT be the first to point out - you were buying pasties from the elderly Irish women In your neighborhood..?!? I don't see any other comments about it now tho, 3yrs llater
rooftoppers is one of the best books i have ever read. please promise me you will read it.and yes! my neighborhood used to be 100% irish and there was the best irish bakery, but now - alas, it has closed and if i want pasties i have to go to this place in manhattan that is much less convenient than walking 3 blocks. damn, i miss those pasties.
karen wrote: "okay - this review has been sanitized."Damnation!
I came to this review way too late. It's sanitized and the starter comments make no sense.
Dammit! Why wasn't I following you back then, when you wrote this? Of all the rotten luck. :(
ha! it wasn't anything too exciting. just some... commentary.
Yes, but, I am like that toddler who refuses to sleep because she might miss that one interesting thing.I missed that interesting thing.
I will never sleep again.
Metaphorically.
Ok, who am I kidding? I'll remain blissfully ignorant of everything because I don't know what I'm missing!
What happened to Cassie? Thought the whole series would be about her.
karen - i see it's been a while since you've read this but perhaps you remember enough to tell me i'm outta my mind or onto something: the 2 families hate one another b/c frank's dad and rosie's mom had a thing years back. frank's mom even points out that while pre-marital sex was frowned upon back then, everyone knew about a night when neither of them returned home. years later, when frank and rose start seeing one another, both families go ballistic. i was certain we were dealing with a situation in which both families knew that rosie was born of that relationship -- that rosie was frank's half sister. and this is why the relationship was so forbidden. it certainly seemed to point that way but this never comes out in the book. is this my own crazy theory or did tana french plant that in there for us (but not frank) to find? thoughts?
you're not out of your mind. this is kind of what makes tana french so great - she does these little nugget drops without making a big deal out of them and you either catch them or you don't. another reader on here told me that i missed something in her first book that would have made me appreciate it more than i did, and i'm sure that's true, so i will reread it someday and see. but yeah - this is one of her things - keeps readers on their toes!
Brian, I started wondering that too, but right around that time there was a description of how the sister looked so much like her.
Great review!! I know it’s been a while for you but I’ve just recently discovered this series (I’m hooked!) I’ve read 1 & 2, and am starting this today.. & you seriously nailed everything you said about her specific strengths & writing! It’s amazing to read a review & feel like that person literally took the words out of your head! I’m so excited now too! I agree with every word you said about the first 2 but then you loved this 1 even more.. Thanks!😊
The timing doesn't work out for Rosie to have been born as a result of that night - Frankie and Rosie are about the same age but Frankie has 2 older siblings.
I've read the first two and gave them both 4 stars. The whych Elm her stand alone I gave 3, so I'm with you in that I agree she's a talented writer, but hasn't quite bowled me over just yet. However after reading this review I'm excited to read #3 in the series
Beauty review Karen. almost ready to start this one. I echo your feeling on the unresolved heartbreaking 1st book in this series.
Scott wrote: "Beauty review Karen. almost ready to start this one. I echo your feeling on the unresolved heartbreaking 1st book in this series."the NERVE of her! still, it was a bold and gorgeous move and i've forgiven her for it.
Amanda wrote: "I've read the first two and gave them both 4 stars. The whych Elm her stand alone I gave 3, so I'm with you in that I agree she's a talented writer, but hasn't quite bowled me over just yet. However after reading this review I'm excited to read #3 in the series"
i hope you DO! i happened to love witch elm, but it is a lonely opinion.
also loved this one, though Broken Harbor was my favorite, this is right up there
i think BH is my favorite, too. so creepy!
I gave books 1,2,3 all 5 stars. Tana French uses language so creatively. I found all 3 stories to be compelling. I guessed the perp in book # 2, and yes, book #1 is heartbreaking. There is a resolution for that in book # 2.
is that true, about the resolution? i don't remember any, and she's said in interviews that she left those questions unanswered, but maybe she unintentionally dropped some closure?
