I've not read a crime thriller in a long time, the last one probably being The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, which was about... two years back. Whoa, time flies, doesn't it? Anyway I borrowed Faithful Place by Tana French (2010) only because it was sitting on the "new arrivals" shelves. With its crisp pages unmarred by dog ears, it was just begging to be picked up. This arbitrary choice wasn't bad at all. It turns out that Tana French is an acclaimed writer in the crime thriller field, and this book lives up to it.
It's about
Set in Dublin, the story is a case of the long lost love of undercover detective Frank Mackey, Rosie Daly. Back when Frank was nineteen, he and Rose planned to escape to London from the small town of the Liberties, synonymous with poverty, crime and working class desperation. However what Frank detest is not the crime but his cranky family - his drunk father and manipulative mother. However on the night of the planned elopement, Rosie failed to turn up at the meeting place - Faithful Place, a derelict house that was no longer in use (and which lends the book its name). Her disappearance remained unexplained and Frank, not wanting to return to his mad family, decided to strike it out on his own in Dublin city. Out of the blue one day, he received a phone call from his sister Jackie, saying that Rosie's suitcase had been found behind a fireplace in Faithful Place, and later, bones in the basement, resurrecting all memories from the past.
Frank returns to Faithful Place to investigate the case and meanwhile, reconnects with his family and siblings from whom he had servered all ties with since he left home. However, the case is not as simple as it appears as Frank has to deal with gossip, overcome his neighbours' wariness (because of his designation) and the uncooperative Detective Scorcher, the formal detective for this murder mystery. His daughter Holly, who started out as a minor, if not annoying character, evolved into take on a major role by the end of the book and even turned into my favorite character.
My thoughts
I couldn't help myself from reading spoilers online to discover who the murderer was but knowing the murderer beforehand didn't diminish the enjoyment of reading the book. I completed the 400+ page book in just three days. What I like about French's writing is that she doesn't make her characters clean and clear cut, and thus seem more real. Frank is obnoxious and gruff: sometimes you find yourself rooting for him, yet at other times you find his ways and manners off putting and just feel like wrangling him. Faithful Place also manages to capture the essence of living in a small town. Comparing the present and thirty years ago, you realize that the place hasn't change much. Daughters grow up to be like their mothers, entrenched in their social status. Which is why the planned escape of Frank and Rosie to London was such a bold and brilliant idea at that time. Gossip travels like wildfire and everybody knows and clings on to their past, which stood as a hurdle for Frank. Now I'm eager to read French's other thrillers like In the Woods, but all her novels are pretty thick, and I think I need to have some rest first.
Favorite quotes
It's about
Set in Dublin, the story is a case of the long lost love of undercover detective Frank Mackey, Rosie Daly. Back when Frank was nineteen, he and Rose planned to escape to London from the small town of the Liberties, synonymous with poverty, crime and working class desperation. However what Frank detest is not the crime but his cranky family - his drunk father and manipulative mother. However on the night of the planned elopement, Rosie failed to turn up at the meeting place - Faithful Place, a derelict house that was no longer in use (and which lends the book its name). Her disappearance remained unexplained and Frank, not wanting to return to his mad family, decided to strike it out on his own in Dublin city. Out of the blue one day, he received a phone call from his sister Jackie, saying that Rosie's suitcase had been found behind a fireplace in Faithful Place, and later, bones in the basement, resurrecting all memories from the past.
Frank returns to Faithful Place to investigate the case and meanwhile, reconnects with his family and siblings from whom he had servered all ties with since he left home. However, the case is not as simple as it appears as Frank has to deal with gossip, overcome his neighbours' wariness (because of his designation) and the uncooperative Detective Scorcher, the formal detective for this murder mystery. His daughter Holly, who started out as a minor, if not annoying character, evolved into take on a major role by the end of the book and even turned into my favorite character.
My thoughts
I couldn't help myself from reading spoilers online to discover who the murderer was but knowing the murderer beforehand didn't diminish the enjoyment of reading the book. I completed the 400+ page book in just three days. What I like about French's writing is that she doesn't make her characters clean and clear cut, and thus seem more real. Frank is obnoxious and gruff: sometimes you find yourself rooting for him, yet at other times you find his ways and manners off putting and just feel like wrangling him. Faithful Place also manages to capture the essence of living in a small town. Comparing the present and thirty years ago, you realize that the place hasn't change much. Daughters grow up to be like their mothers, entrenched in their social status. Which is why the planned escape of Frank and Rosie to London was such a bold and brilliant idea at that time. Gossip travels like wildfire and everybody knows and clings on to their past, which stood as a hurdle for Frank. Now I'm eager to read French's other thrillers like In the Woods, but all her novels are pretty thick, and I think I need to have some rest first.
Favorite quotes
In all your life, only a few moments matter. Mostly you never get a good look at them except in hindsight, long after they've zipped past you.(Reminds me of UWC module on the paradox of experiencing authenticity - people seek the authentic but more often than not, you wouldn't know that 'aha, this is the moment' at that moment it is only when thinking back that you'd realize that that moment, whatever it may be, was something exceptional.)
Most people are only too delighted to wreck each other's heads. And for the tiny minority who do their pathetic best not to, this world is going to go right ahead and make sure they do it anyway.(I never saw the world as such an evil place.)
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