
'The Secret Place' by Tana French revolves around a cold murder case at a private girl's school, St. Kilda's. Detective Stephen Moran gets a chance to join Dublin's Murder Squad when Holly Mackey provides a clue related to the case. The story unfolds as Moran teams up with Detective Antoinette Conway to investigate the tangled relationships and secrets among the schoolgirls, all set against the backdrop of a mysterious 'secret place' at the school. The narrative alternates between the present investigation and the past events at the school, showcasing French's skill in character development and atmospheric storytelling.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers may include discussions of murder, bullying, and themes of manipulation among teenagers.
From The Publisher:
"An absolutely mesmerizing read. . . . Tana French is simply this: a truly great writer." -Gillian Flynn
Read the New York Times bestseller by Tana French, author of the forthcoming novel The Searcher and "the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years" (The Washington Post).
A year ago a boy was found murdered at a girls' boarding school, and the case was never solved. Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin's Murder Squad when sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of the boy with the caption: "I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM." Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case-beneath the watchful eye of Holly's father, fellow detective Frank Mackey. With the clues leading back to Holly's close-knit group of friends, to their rival clique, and to the tangle of relationships that bound them all to the murdered boy, the private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.
Ratings (16)
Incredible (3) | |
Loved It (8) | |
Liked It (2) | |
It Was OK (2) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (40):
Read It (15) | |
Want To Read (16) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (8) |
2 comment(s)
the true magic in this book is in its structure
told backwards and forwards, the beginning aligning perfectly with the ending
it taps into what we've learned about frank mackey and his family in a previous book (the first time she's relied on a previous book for plot points)
and adds in that crazy intensity that malinda lo used in
a line in the dark to address the issues between teenage girls
who killed a boarding school boy on the girl's boarding school grounds?
pretty much all of the girls are capable of it, while all of the boys are nearly too stupid to live
i'm not saying boys are too stupid to live, i'm just saying when it comes to high school aged people, the female of the species is far more deadly than the male
that intense, drunken magic of best friends, it can turn on you
it turned on me, although no one ended up dead thank goodness
DNF
Maybe it’s me but I just couldn’t get into it. Having a hard time with the one I took up in this one’s place too so it’s probably me. No attention span right now.
About the Author:
Tana French is the author of In the Woods, The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, The Secret Place, The Trespasser and The Witch Elm. Her books have won awards including the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards, the Los Angeles Times Award for Best Mystery/Thriller, and the Irish Book…
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