Faithful Place by Tana French - C+

I read Tana French’s first novel, In the Woods.  It had come highly recommended to me.  I came away very disappointed that I didn’t love the novel.  I enjoyed it, I finished it, but when her second novel, The Likeness came out, I purposely chose not to read it.  Last year, Faithful Place was released.  Like The Likeness, I determined to avoid it.  Then, Faithful Place started showing up on a bunch of year-end best lists.  That, coupled with my mood for a fast-paced mystery, got me excited about reading Faithful Place.

I wanted to love this novel.  I really did.  I psyched myself up to love it.  I breezed through the first quarter of the book.  Flew through it.  Kept telling myself how much I loved it, how great the novel was.  Through about half of it, I had convinced myself that it was terrific.  I was going to recommend this novel to ALL OF MY FRIENDS.

Then, the adrenaline wore off.  Finishing off the novel (which I still read in four days) became a chore.

The story takes place in Dublin and opens with the protagonist, late-teen Francis Mackey, readying to run away from home with his sweetheart, Rosie Daly.  Something happens that night to disturb their plans.  Then, the story fast forwards 22 years as the full extent of the mystery unfolds.  22 years later, Francis is a cop, and he is forced to revisit that fateful night when he was to run away with Rosie as well as other aspects of his childhood and his family.

Listen, this is not a horrible novel by any stretch.  The characters are fine, the story is taut.  I think that I like my mysteries darker.  I also enjoy a good noir (if, for no other reason, for the ability to say or write, “good noir”).

I will also say that many people love Tana French and loved Faithful Place.  I think that my C+ is more a matter of taste as opposed to an indictment of French’s storytelling or writing skills.  And her writing is a huge step up from James Patterson or Harlan Cobain, even if Patterson and Cobain can tell darker stories with more mystery.  [Brief aside:  I no longer read Patterson or Cobain.  They tell great stories, but I find them to be short on the art of writing.  Because reading time is limited and valuable, I prefer reading authors who bring more heft to their writing as opposed to those who tell a great story but offer little else in the way of great language.  I did mark some great passages in Faithful Place where I felt that the writing was particularly skillful.]

I read one noir and two “darker” mysteries (here and here) last year.  I enjoyed each of them more than Faithful Place.  You, however, may love Faithful Place and question my taste in this regard.  That’s your prerogative, especially since, as I said, this is just a matter of taste.

Live long, read and prosper.  We’ll leave the lights on for you.