Barbara M. reviewed on 9/7/2020 + 152 more book reviews

I first discovered Tana French when I bought âIn the Woodsâ for about $.50 at a 2017 garage sale. This was the first book in the Dublin Murder Squad series. Rob Ryan, a homicide detective in his 30s, is assigned to a case in which a young girl has been murdered. And, just coincidentally, the recent murder is in the same area where Rob grew up and had an unsettling incident âin the woodsâ when he was 12. He has no memory of the incident (then or since) in which two of his friends disappeared and were (to date) never found. The book was a page turner. There were two mysteriesâ(1) the homicide and (2) what happened to Rob's two friends and would he now remember? The murder was solved but the incident involving young Rob was simply left with no answers. Very disappointing.

Since the book was the first in a series, I thought the author had perhaps deliberately left readers hanging so they would buy the second book in the series. SPOILER ALERT: Not only was the disappearance left unresolved, but the Rob character was shelved. END OF SPOILER

Cassie Maddox, Rob's partner in Book 1, was the main character in Book 2 (âThe Likenessâ) and her partner in that book became the main character in Book 3 (âFaithful Placeâ). I was disappointed in Books 2 and 3 (luckily, I got them through paperbackswap.com so only had to pay a $.49 swap fee per book). In a review of one of those, I stated Tana French was a good writer but NOT a good storyteller. I still stand by that statement.

Scorcher was the secondary character in Book 3 so I expected (following French's pattern) that he would be the lead character in Book 4, âBroken Harbor.â Speaking of the author's patterns, in âBroken Harborâ Scorcher is made the lead detective on a homicide that happens at what was once called âBroken Harborâ but now has a more appealing name. And, like Rob in âIn the Woods,â Scorcher as a child lived through a tragic incident at coincidentally the same place where his new murder case is. What are the odds that two detectives in the same squad would both be lead detectives on cases at locations where they each experienced trauma as a child?

âBroken Harborâ was a retired library book that I picked up in 2019 for about $.50 at my local library. Took me about a week or so to get through this book. The critter in the attic theme was a page turnerâas the investigation went on, I doubted the existence of a real animal and even wondered if Jenny, the wife, was âgaslightingâ her husband, Pat. I found that more interesting than discovering who did the murders. If not for the critter mystery, I would be giving this book one star.

As other Amazon reviewers have noted, the book was far too longâat least 100 pages, in my opinion. Some of the conversations Scorcher had (be it with his partner, his sister, etc.) were so long and boring that there were times I wanted to throw the book across the room.

Also, as others have noted, Scorcher was not a very likeable character. Neither was his mentally ill sister, Dina, who dropped in and out of his life. Although Dina was mentally ill (don't recall if a diagnosis was ever stated), she was also skilled at manipulating her brother into taking her in whenever she appeared on his doorstep. And, Scorcher, a 20-year police veteran, was stupid enough to fall for it every time. Dina stole from her own family and was planning to set Scorcher's apartment on fire because she was mad at him. She was definitely dangerous to others and likely herself, yet Scorcher never sought to have Dina committed.

Richie, Scorcher's new partner, was brand new to homicide. He seemed likeable enough initially but toward the end, the reader learns that he did something colossally stupid that could have completely screwed the case up. It pointed to the identity of the killer. Richie held that info back because he felt sorry for the person. The holding back of the info and his reason for doing so was completely unbelievable.

SPOILER ALERT: So, it turns out that there were no critters in the atticâit was all Pat's descent into madness. I found that to be unrealistic. Yes, he lost his job and wasn't having any luck on finding another one. But, he apparently had been a well-adjusted individual prior to that (no history of depression or mental illness for him or any of his family) so it seems ludicrous that he would have so completely lost his mind after a few months of unemployment. Jenny became alarmed when Pat's mental health went off the deep end but she didn't seek any kind of helpâfor Pat or herself and the kids. Her explanation that she didn't want friends and family to find out that they were struggling financially seemed ludicrous, particularly because neither she nor Pat seemed to be that class conscious when they were growing up or when they got married. And, to top it off, Jenny completely loses her mind as well--two well-adjusted people both end up becoming psychotic at about the same time. What are the odds? END OF SPOILERS

There are two more books in this seriesââThe Secret Placeâ and âThe Trespasser.â Right after finishing "Broken Harbor" I was on the fence as to whether I wanted to read the final two books. However, after reading some of the Amazon reviews for those books, I've decided I'm done with Tana French.

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