Tana French

Fiction 2007 | 496 pages

Dense.  Dense is the only word I can use to describe this book.  Dense especially in action.  Another author might write, “he stopped his truck and climbed out, lighting a cigarette and leaning against the truck.” French would write something like, “he gently opened the truck door, and with a sigh, climbed out.  He searched for and found his lighter in his jeans pocket, lit his cigarette, and blew a smoke ring into the constellation Orion.”

The authors descriptions are detailed, slow, and vivid.  We follow our two main characters, Murder Detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox, through a solid two weeks or longer of their investigation of the murder of a young girl, Katy Devlin who is 12 and has a twin sister.  Even now, I can picture the interaction between Cassie and Rob, how they stood, where their hands were, the looks on their faces.

But Rob has a special and intimate involvement in this case, as his two best friends disappeared when they were 12, in nearly the same place.

Speaking of investigation, you will follow the steps of the investigation with the same amount of detail. I am astonished to learn how many actions the investigative teams take, interviewing people, following up on alibis, scraping all the dirt and land near the place of death.  It is nothing like what we see in a movie, nor have I ever gained such insight from another mystery novel.

The relationship between Cass and Rob is a precious, hard-to-believe, delightful friendship.

100 pages before the end, the murderer is revealed.  However, this is followed by a complex unfolding of the motive for the murder.  There is nothing in this fine book that touches only the surface.  Deep action, deep characters.  I recommend it … and please know it will take a while to read.

September 2025