Faithful Place
This is only the second of Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series that I've read, but I really like it for the way it deviates from some classic detective series. By keeping the setting the same but jumping to a new detective in each novel, French is able to write psychological thrillers that don't come across as cheap. Each case is deeply personal to the detective working it, managing to unleash all manner of ghosts and questionable behaviors. They're once-in-a-lifetime cases, and the affect the detectives in different ways. They're also incredibly disturbing, in a way that sneaks up on you and leaves you wanting more.
This particular book (the third in the series, and the other thing I like about this series is that you can read it in any order, which makes it a lot easier given my tendency to shop used book sales) focuses on Detective Francis Mackey and the girl who got away. The girl who was, in fact, murdered some twenty years previously. It takes a lot for Mackey to come to terms with the fact that she didn't run out on him, that she had been planning to elope with him right up until her death. It takes more for him to rekindle the relationships with friends and family he hasn't seen in just as long as her starts to investigate her murder.
Mackey is an interesting character in that he toes the line between being sympathetic and unlikeable. Ultimately, I think he does something that's completely unforgivable. And though one character condemns him for his actions, Mackey's argument is just strong enough to clear his own conscience, if not to absolve him in my eyes. The thing is, he's a fantastic father. Every scene with his nine-year-old daughter serves to emphasize how far he's come from his roots, how hard he tries to do the right thing, and in some ways, how natural fatherhood comes to him. On the other hand, when it comes time to intimidate a witness, he doesn't hold back. The scene is one of the scariest I've read and his lack of remorse, his justification for what he does, only makes it scarier.
In short, Mackey is a complex person. He's doing the best he knows how, and he's trying awfully hard to be a good dude. But he also has a drunk, abusive father, an abusive older brother, and a thoroughly messed up family dynamic. No matter how long he runs or how hard he tries to ignore his origins, they pull him right back in.
And that's really what this book is about. All the ways we try and fail ti escape our pasts, all the hooks our families have in us. French is a master of the psychological thriller, the books that get under your skin and make you question the whole world, right alongside their protagonists. They're even more rewarding for having the same characters show up in various books, in small or large roles as the story demands. It has me excited to read the rest of the series and learn what makes the other detectives tick.
This particular book (the third in the series, and the other thing I like about this series is that you can read it in any order, which makes it a lot easier given my tendency to shop used book sales) focuses on Detective Francis Mackey and the girl who got away. The girl who was, in fact, murdered some twenty years previously. It takes a lot for Mackey to come to terms with the fact that she didn't run out on him, that she had been planning to elope with him right up until her death. It takes more for him to rekindle the relationships with friends and family he hasn't seen in just as long as her starts to investigate her murder.
Mackey is an interesting character in that he toes the line between being sympathetic and unlikeable. Ultimately, I think he does something that's completely unforgivable. And though one character condemns him for his actions, Mackey's argument is just strong enough to clear his own conscience, if not to absolve him in my eyes. The thing is, he's a fantastic father. Every scene with his nine-year-old daughter serves to emphasize how far he's come from his roots, how hard he tries to do the right thing, and in some ways, how natural fatherhood comes to him. On the other hand, when it comes time to intimidate a witness, he doesn't hold back. The scene is one of the scariest I've read and his lack of remorse, his justification for what he does, only makes it scarier.
In short, Mackey is a complex person. He's doing the best he knows how, and he's trying awfully hard to be a good dude. But he also has a drunk, abusive father, an abusive older brother, and a thoroughly messed up family dynamic. No matter how long he runs or how hard he tries to ignore his origins, they pull him right back in.
And that's really what this book is about. All the ways we try and fail ti escape our pasts, all the hooks our families have in us. French is a master of the psychological thriller, the books that get under your skin and make you question the whole world, right alongside their protagonists. They're even more rewarding for having the same characters show up in various books, in small or large roles as the story demands. It has me excited to read the rest of the series and learn what makes the other detectives tick.
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