Faithful Place
A Novel
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4.2 • 1.4K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
From Tana French, author of the forthcoming novel The Hunter, “the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years” (The Washington Post), the New York Times bestseller called “the most stunning of her books” (The New York Times) and a finalist for the Edgar Award.
Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was a nineteen-year-old kid with a dream of escaping hisi family's cramped flat on Faithful Place and running away to London with his girl, Rosie Daly. But on the night they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn't show. Frank took it for granted that she'd dumped him-probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. He never went home again. Neither did Rosie. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank, now a detective in the Dublin Undercover squad, is going home whether he likes it or not.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This murder mystery takes complicated, dysfunctional families to a whole new level. More than 20 years ago, Dublin teenager Frank Mackey hatched a plan to run away to London with his girlfriend, Rosie—but she never showed up. Now a police detective, Frank uncovers evidence that suggests something nefarious held her back. The only problem is, he wants nothing to do with his old neighborhood or his toxic family. Tana French is an expert at crafting irresistible mysteries, and the third book in her acclaimed Dublin Murder Squad series teems with living, breathing characters harboring secrets, rumors, and lost dreams. We love the sense of foreboding that lingers as Frank reluctantly inches closer to the truth. Whether you’ve read the rest of French’s loosely connected series or not, Faithful Place is a mystery you’ll savor.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
French's emotionally searing third novel of the Dublin murder squad (after The Likeness) shows the Irish author getting better with each book. In 1985, 19-yearold Frank Mackey and his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, made secret plans to elope to England and start a new life together far away from their families, particularly the hard-drinking Mackeys. But when Rosie doesn't meet Frank the night they're meant to leave and he finds a note, Frank assumes she's left him behind. For 22 years, Frank, who becomes an undercover cop, stays away from Faithful Place, his childhood Dublin neighborhood. When his younger sister, Jackie, calls to tell him that someone found Rosie's suitcase hidden in an abandoned house, Frank reluctantly returns. Now everything he thought he knew is turned upside down: did Rosie really leave that night, or did someone stop her before she could? French, who briefly introduced Mackey in The Likeness, is adept at seamlessly blending suspenseful whodunit elements with Frank's familial demons.
Customer Reviews
Hard to review
This book is hard to review. The protagonist is Frank Mackey who was first introduced in The Likeness (which i loved!) But he’s a difficult character to like. Most of the book involves him interactiombg with his lower class Dublin family that he has avoided for 20 years. Tana French is an amazing writer, and her depiction of the family is very authentic, but maybe too authentic. These are not pleasant people, and just about every scene devolves into a drunken argument. As much as i enjoyed the writing, there’s only so much of this annoying family i can take.
But as always Tana French pulls it off and creates a poignant story of human experience, love, loss, and longing, disguised as a murder mystery.
Faithful Place
Blah blah blah... Once you read the first tedious chapters you can guess who the killer is. What is supposed to be charming Irish neighborhood memories is boring, repetitive background detail.
If you want a well written novel involving family conflict read "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck.
Excellent Writing
I am thoroughly enjoying this series; the author is far more talented than the average mystery writer. She has occasional lapses in the “suspension of disbelief” department, but otherwise, the stories are wonderfully engaging.