THE SECRET PLACE by Tana French
THE SECRET PLACE by Tana French
This book is fifth in the Dublin Murder Squad series and although some of the characters can be found in previous novels, it can be read as a stand alone.
Following the unsuccessful investigation into the murder of a teenage boy, Chris Harper, in the grounds of St.Kilda’s School for Girls on the outskirts of Dublin, a year later a note is posted on the “Secret Place”, a bulletin board in St. Kilda’s. The note shows a photo of Chris together with the words “I know who killed him”.
Holly Mackey, one of the boarders at St.Kilda’s, finds the note and takes it to Stephen Moran, an ambitious young detective on the Cold Case Squad. Eager to further his career, Moran proceeds to work with Antoinette Conway, the detective originally assigned to this murder case.
The investigation centres on two groups of girls at St.Kilda’s and their rivalry, quarrels and jealousies in the claustrophobic atmosphere of the boarding school.
Once again the Page Turners had varying views on this novel. Some found it too long, boring, tedious and naive, with an overuse of adjectives. The characters were described as being in no way memorable with the ending running out of steam. However, others really enjoyed the book and thought it a good murder mystery, with the characters of the girls in the two groups particularly well drawn. The interaction of the two detectives was interesting and the portrayal of the young girls going through adolescence and on the cusp of young womanhood was at times electrical.
One of the Page Turners listened to the novel on audio books. It was narrated with an Irish accent and she described the whole experience as “thoroughly enjoyable”.
The scores out of 10 ranged from 4 to 9 resulting in an average of 6.
This was our first meeting of 2019 and a warm welcome was given to a new member of the Page Turners.