Review: Faithful Place

Posted September 4, 2014 by Whitney in Review / 0 Comments

Review: Faithful PlaceFaithful Place
by Tana French
Published by Viking
Publication Date July 13, 2010
Source: Bought
Genres: Mystery
Goodreads

Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin's inner city, and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and Rosie Daly were all ready to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives.

But on the winter night when 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. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes it or not.

Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he's a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly-and he's willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.


Fond of:

 

Tana French has great character development particularly Frank Mackey’s family.  From the start it was obvious that things weren’t right in the head, it was dysfunctional family on high.  Besides the fact that he is still mooning over his first love I really don’t have much to say about Frank.  He did his job but didn’t think he had any attributes that set him apart.  My favorite character in the book was Stephen, a rookie detective who Frank enlists to help him.  He has such potential as a protagonist and hope the author brings him back in a future story.
The plot was as deeply rooted as the trees in Faithful Place, but the storyline was as dark as a dreary day, never bringing out the sun.  with this I am not complaining as I feel that is how a mystery should be.

Not Fond of:

 

This is a small complaint but unlike In the Woods and The Likeness I can gloat and say that I “figured it out” halfway through the book.  Although surprises come in small packages.

Final Thoughts:

Faithful Place is another great addition to Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series and look forward to reading her next book.

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