BOOK: Faithful Place by Tana French

Faithful Place by Tana French, 438 pages

Ireland Reading Challenge; Series Goals (Dublin Murder Squad, book 3)

The Plot:
Frank Mackey, undercover operative last seen as Cassie Maddox's boss in The Likeness, is the main character in the third Dublin Murder Squad book. Twenty odd years ago, he was set to elope with the girl next door, Rosie Daly, to London, but she never turned up. He left Faithful Place (his neighbourhood street) and his family, and started a new life. Suddenly, her suitcase turns up in an abandoned building in the old neighbourhood. Frank is pulled back to the family and forced to examine all that he thought was true, ie, Rosie dumped him and left without him. Now, it appears she had been killed or at least never made it to London. Can you ever escape your family and where you come from?

The Good: 

• I like how this series is only partly a series. Each book, so far, takes one of the characters and sends them off to their own book. 
• This one had less intrigue to the mystery, but it reminded me of a Cold Case episode. I always liked that show, and at the end of the book, I could see it being filmed in my head. Overlapping the present confession, with the 'event' from the past, with all the emotions that had been held in for twenty years, just bubbling to the surface.
• I liked Frank with his Irish family, stereotypical as they were. The harpy, mean mother, the angry alcoholic father, the wild children. However, it is stereotypical for a reason, and stereotypes are built on real situations.
• I liked the culprit, and felt so sorry for [him/her]. My heart broke actually. It was just like the Cold Case shows, in that final scene, when the music plays, and the case is solved, that is always so sad.
• I think I know who will be the lead in the next book, Broken Harbour, due to be published June 5, 2012. A character, Stephen, was introduced that is just screaming to get his own book
• The writing. French has a tendency to ramble on a bit, and her books could be a bit shorter, but I enjoy my time reading them, and I like her turn of phrase. Upon the discovery of Rosie Daly's suitcase, "Ma said, with a nice blend of awe, envy and blood lust, 'Therese Daly'll go mental. Mental." p26

The Bad:

• Frank is a tough character to like, but the reasons for his behaviour are all very clear, once you meet his family and see his upbringing. Doesn't mean I liked him, but I get him.
• There was no Cassie Maddox or Robert Ryan and I was hoping they would make an appearance at some point.

Clearly the good outweigh the bad, which were nit picky at best. This is a great series and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Getting caught up on my series' goals has been great.  I've got six that are up to date! Sadly, for me, they are all having new books come out this year! Plus, I found a couple more new series to read - Mrs Pollifax and Inspector Brunetti are both excellent with a huge backlist.