If you are a lover of crime/mystery novels, or just good writing, than you are very familiar with this author. Tana French is an American-Irish writer that resides in Dublin, Ireland. She is the author of 8 books surrounding murder detectives and their cases. Though the books are connected, the reader does not NEED to read them in order. French is able to produce an intriguing complex plot in easy to read literature. Each of her stories hit the mark at having a fascinating plot along side deep characters that the reader can not help but to be invested in.
I was first introduced to Tana French through reading her novel, In the Woods, which is about solving a case of a murdered young teenager whom was discovered in the woods near an archeological site. What I love about all her books I’ve read so far is that it does not take long until you are introduced to the plot. You are swept into the case immediately and can not put down the book until the case is solved.
After reading In the Woods, I read The Secret Place and The Likeliness. As I mentioned in one of the last blogs, “Our Favorite Crime Books,” The Secret Place tells a story of a tight-knit group of young high school students who were involved in a murder. Throughout the chapters, the reader experiences the story from the adolescents watching the situation escalate along with the detectives trying to understand it all. This complex story is just one of many of Tana French's examples of amazing story telling.
Though these were both great books, my favorite is The Likeliness. It is unique compared to the others because not only is the murderer in question, so are the identities of the people involved. A young woman is found murdered with the identity of the detective’s undercover name. The reader is deep into a mystery as soon as the book is opened.
Other books that Tana French has written includes The Searcher, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, The Trespasser and The Witch Elm. Any book written by Tana French is highly recommended by not only little old me but, by recognized critics.