Murder Squad Detective Frank Mackey's young daughter is now a teenager and thick in the middle of a suspicious group of girls after a boy is murdered on their school grounds. Detective Stephen Moran of Cold Case Squad is a face from the past for her, and seemingly a safe place to bring new evidence of the murder. But Det Moran has his sights on joining the Murder Squad and must tread the waters carefully with a prickly female detective in charge while he navigates the world of a girls boarding school.

The action of the detectives takes place all in one long day at the school, where in the end they find their murderer. They are not your typical good cop/bad cop team and walk tentatively with one another.

Interlaced are chapters of the girls and their secret lives that take place over the course of a year. Almost too stereotypical for real teenage girls, they hide some wicked secrets but in the end we find they are still just scared little children.

When Detective Mackey reappears, Moran thinks his gig is over and so does his daughter Holly.

Adults who love a good murder mystery that isn't a cozy or a thriller.

The way the chapters merged with one another, drawing us ever farther into the secret lives of the girls school.

All of the text speak of the teenagers and hair flipping stereotypical behavior. It was over the top and became wearing to read.

start working on my own mystery story again.

Tana French

Tana French writes a thoughtful mystery with unique characters and surprise endings. Figuring out "who done it" is never simple and just about the time you think you know, another facet of the story is revealed shifting your whole idea about the guilty party. She uses a deep insight into human character to model her stories and each one pulls the reader into that thoughtful mode that makes them connect with the characters.

All of Tana French's books are outstanding. This is the 5th one I've read.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad, Book 5)   from Amazon.Com!

Created Jan 06, 2015 at 12:18am • Submit your own review...