“An absolutely mesmerizing read. . . . Tana French is simply this: a truly great writer.” —Gillian Flynn Read the New York Times bestseller by Tana French, author of the forthcoming novel The Searcher and “the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years” (The Washington Post). A year ago a boy was found murdered at a girlsʼ boarding school, and the case was never solved. … girlsʼ boarding school, and the case was never solved. Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of the boy with the caption: “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case—beneath the watchful eye of Holly’s father, fellow detective Frank Mackey. With the clues leading back to Holly’s close-knit group of friends, to their rival clique, and to the tangle of relationships that bound them all to the murdered boy, the private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.
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Tana French is an essential read for anyone who loves thrillers or a really in-depth, well-written mystery. Every time I close one, I’m convinced it’s my favorite in the Dublin Murder series, and The Secret Place was no different.
This one is set at a girls private school in Ireland, and opens with Holly Mackey (from Faithful Place), going to her old pal Detective Stephen Moran, with a photo of a boy who had been murdered a year earlier. On the photo is a note saying, I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM. The book takes place over a single day as the investigation is re-examined, but alternates back in time to the year prior as we get closer and closer to the events of the murder. We get an inside look at the world of teen girls, and how far they’ll go to protect the most crucial things to them: their friends.
Tana French writes so expertly, and creates a world and characters that are more real than almost anyone I’ve read before. If you haven’t picked up a Tana French novel before, do it! If you love devious girls or books set at boarding schools, also give this one a go!
Reading this now. ALL I WANT TO DO IS GO HOME AND KEEP READING
The Secret Place was a good read but not one of my favorites by Tana French. It was difficult to keep track of the characters and was about 50 pages too long (felt like a lot could have been cut out of the story). The plot did keep me guessing and I enjoyed the relationship/banter between the two main detectives.
I enjoyed this one, but it’s not one of my favorite French mysteries. The narrative switches back and forth between 2 detectives’ entire day spent at a girls school interviewing students about a year-old murder and what led up to the murder from the perspective of our student suspects. These teenage girls’ lives are a tangled web of lies, insults, loyalty, and betrayals. There was a slightly supernatural aspect of the story that I found totally out of place. Remove it and the story would stand on its own. The tension mounted nicely as the day at the school waned and the detectives still hadn’t honed in on the killer yet
I got a bit behind on my Tana French reading and am playing catch up so imagine my absolute delight when I picked up this one and saw it has characters from my favorite French novel, Faithful Place. I was so excited for a glimpse at a teenage Holley Mackey, a more season Stephen Moran and of course Holly’s dad Frank Mackey. It’s s fabulous premise, the murder of boy on the grounds of an all girls school, but it just didn’t deliver for me like French’s other novels. Maybe it was the weird supernatural element that felt completely out of place. Removing it would have tightened up the whole story and made it more believable. Maybe it was the girls relationship which seemed so codependent it was off putting. It’s been a while since I was a teen girl myself but I don’t think I’d have (Spoiler alert) slept with a guy just to “protect” my friend from getting her heart broken by him in the future I don’t know. What I did love was Holly and her spunk, her fight snd her determination. I loved seeing Stephen again and getting a chance to watch him join the Murder Squad and form a new relationship with his partner. I’m excited to see where that goes so I’m jumping into the next book now and hoping it’s back to the absurdly high level to which I hold French and her books.
Love this author. Always keeps me entertained. No matter how dark the subject matter, I found myself chuckling at some of the characters’ quips…
Tana French rocks mystery
I thoroughly enjoy all of Tana French’s novels. I want all the characters to become part of my real life and solving the mysteries along with them is great fun. The Irish accents are a bonus.
The Secret Place is a wonderfully written book by an amazing author! Read it, You won’t be disappointed!
#5 in the Murder Squad series, Tana French’s “The Murder Place “, is a solid mystery. The teen girls were wearing a bit on my nerves, and I did not think the book needed the supernatural content. I did like the plot and found it to be an enjoyable read.
I buy a new Tana French novel the day it is released.
Very disappointing! Was looking forward to her new book but this did not live up to previous novels!
I have gone on to read the rest of her books.
This book is incredible. It kept me hooked from the first word till the very end. The characters are there, in your face, impossible to ignore and so life like you want to reach out and slap them for being stupid. The plot is absolutely brilliant – so good you hang on every word, scream in frustration at each new twist and turn and then run after whichever character gets up your nose the fastest! The sting in the tail of each new twist in the plot, each new revelation swings the reader from pillar to post as anticipations build then crumble as each new piece of evidence or the latest rumours come into the open.
This is certainly a must read for anyone who likes a good murder/mystery and thriller – it has everything in abundance to keep you enthralled from beginning to end
Love all Tana French books.
I love all her work.
This is not one of Tana French’s best books. The premise of the book is a bit far fetched and too drawn out. But her characterizations are always a joy to read. She creates characters that are more real than the real thing. That’s a good thing.
Complex relationships and characters, gritty and sensitive.
Extraordinary book with spot- on characterization of teens and a terrific police procedural.
Far-fetched, ultimately unbelievable, and therefore disappointing.