The Secret Place by Tana French

I am getting close to the end of this loosely-knit series, and that is always bitter sweet for me. I love finding out more, but I hate it ending. Also, I do not know if Tana French has any intentions of writing more about the Dublin Murder Squad after The Trespasser. She also has The Witch Elm, that I will be reading, but it is unrelated. It is her most recent novel, which makes me think that DMS might be ending after this next novel. Nonetheless, The Secret Place did not disappoint.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

Detective Stephen Moran has left the floater pool and is now a detective in cold cases, but he really wants to be a part of the murder squad. When Holly Mackey shows up at his office with a clue to an unsolved murder crime, Moran thinks this might be his chance. Moran contacts Detective Antoinette Conway, who was lead detective on the case. Last year, Chris Harper turned up dead on the property of an all-girls boarding school, and Conway was never able to figure out who did it. At the center of her investigation were two groups of girls, Holly's friends, and the rival group. Conway is determined that they know more than they let on last year, and the more Moran learns, he is convinced that one of them is the murderer. But high school girls can keep secrets, especially if someone's life depends on it.

The Secret Place takes a huge deviation from the other of French's books. In the first four novels, the story is told only from the view of the detective as it is happening. In The Secret Place, the chapters alternate between Moran's present view and the past view of Holly, Joanne, Becca, and Selena. I really took an issue with this. I liked that in the previous novels I only knew what the detective knew. Granted, you still do not find out the murderers identity until Moran and Conway do, but it makes it a lot easier to guess at. I also did not like how on their chapters, their POVs just slid into one another and would go back and forth quickly. It was not like each girl had her own designated chapter; one minute you are reading about how Holly is interpreting the situation and the next you are reading in Becca's voice. I found their chapters extremely annoying, especially in the beginning when they are just talking about different bits of gossip. It made me really glad that I am not in high school anymore.

"Julia leaves the rest of her story for later. The four of them pretend to be fascinated by picking out exactly the right sweets from the packets, and listen.

'He is,' Joanne says, and nudges Orla's leg with her foot.

Orla snickers and cringes her chin down between her shoulders.

'Look at him. He's so into you, it's pathetic.'

'He is not.'

'OMG, he so is? He told Dara and Dara told me.'

'No way does Andrew Moore like me. Dara was just messing.'

'Um, excuse me?' Joanne's voice has an instant cold edge that sets Becca shifting on the fountain again. She hates being this scare of Joanne, but she can't stop. 'You think Dara's going to make an idiot out of me? Hello, I don't think so?'

'Jo's right,' Gemma says lazily. She's lying with her head in one of the guy's lap, with her back arched so that  her chest sticks up at him. The guy is desperately trying to look like he's not trying to look down her top. 'Andrew's totally drooling over you....'

Julia says, 'A fiver says she actually does it. Anyone one?

Selena says quietly, glancing over at Andrew Moore, 'If she does, he's going to be horrible.'

'A total dick,' Julia agrees. She throws a couple of Mentos into her mouth, like she's at the cinema, and watches with interest.

'Let's go,' Becca says. 'I don't want to see this. This is awful.'

'Tough. I do.'

'Better hurry up,' says Joanne, singsong, nudging Orla's leg with her toe again. 'He's not going to wait forever, no matter how much he fancies you. If you don't get in there fast, he'll go off with someone else.'

'I could use a fiver,' Holly says. She turns around. 'Hey! Orla!' And when Orla unrolls herself enough to look ever, red and grinning like an idiot: 'They're just messing with you. If Andrew Moore want to be with someone, you think he's too shy to chat her up? Seriously?'

'Excuse me?' Joanne snaps, sitting up straight and shooting Holly a vile look. 'I don't actually remember asking you what you think?...'

'Because if you trust them more than us,' Joanne says, cold enough to freeze Orla's face of, ;maybe they should be your best friends from now on.'

That snaps Orla out of her daze. Even she understands when to be scared. 'I don't! I mean, I don't trust them. I trust you.' She gives Joanne a wet smile, belly-up dog. 'I do.'

Joanne keeps up the cold stare for a moment, while Orla twists with anxiety; finally she smiles back, graciously, all forgiveness. She says, 'I know you do. I mean, hello, you're not stupid. So off you go.' She shoves Orla's let with her foot, pushing her off the fountain edge....

From the other side of the fountain she hears the rising predator roar of laughter, the mocking shouts-Wahey Moooore scoooore!-Go for it, Andy, the ugly ones give the best head-Pity fuck! Pity fuck! And, nearer, the high insane screams of laughter from Joanne and Gemma and Alison." (pp.43-47)

(Source: Giphy)

I also was not a fan of the witch aspect of the book. Not that the girls were called witches because they are different; that part I love. I embrace that part of me and could care less if someone calls me a witch. No, I had a problem with them doing "magic." It did not feel like it really contributed to the plot at all. It was thrown into the plot in the middle when they discover their powers, but then is just sort of "oh hey look what we can do" bit through the rest of the novel that does not add anything extra. French has said that it is more symbolic of the core of adolescence and the bonds you share, which I can understand. When they come back after Chris has been killed, the bond is broken and only Holly wants to keep up their tricks because she feels it is the only way she can hold them together. But I feel that you did not need symbolism to show their friendship has disintegrated after what their friendship had just undergone. None of the other books in the series have had a magical thread in them, so for me this felt like grasping at straws.

All of the negative aside, I really enjoyed the rest of the book, which followed the typical crime solving template that French has used in the rest of her books. Moran's chapters read like he is telling us exactly what happened, what his motives where for using a certain approach, how he felt regarding Holly after all this time. His relationship with Conway is very intriguing. Moran had this picture of what he thought the perfect partner would be like, and Conway does not check a single box. And yet, they flow together beautifully. Which is how a lot of relationship are in real life.

(Source: Giphy)

The characters do progress naturally in the book, even in the weird chapters from the past. While the back and forth was frustrating, it was interesting to see the group dynamic in the present from Moran's view, and how they saw themselves a year ago when everything was happening. It is clear to the reader that something has torn apart the friends, something more than just getting older. But it does get muddled when you throw in the other group of girls that does not like Holly's friends. You do not realize how much you can change in a year when life is just progressing as normal; but when you throw in your friends secret boyfriend being murdered and you think another one of your friends did it, the dynamic changes even more. Chris was killed because one of them thought he was tearing them apart, but the nail in the coffin was her murdering him.

Overall, this is probably my least favorite of the Dublin Murder Squad books, but it still an extremely strong novel and I love French's writing. She has a style that pulls you in deeper and deeper and you do not realize how much you are invested until the novel is over and you are left eagerly waiting for the next book.

Rating: 7/10
Author: Tana French
Series: Dublin Murder Squad (Book 5 of 6)
Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction
Dates Read: April 11-19, 2019