Review: The Secret Place

3 stars. I mean ... incredible. I have no idea why this didn't work for me, because objectively - it's an incredible book. Maybe I didn't leave myself enough time between French books, maybe the subject matter was too ... crushing, familiar territory, or something. I just found this one to be too much. Too floral, too soft, too mushy, bloated with whimsy and weird imagery. (Was this book even edited?) I also had some trouble, well, following along, which felt like such a slap in the face after the tight clarity of Broken Harbor. Tana French will always be a must-read for me, and there's nothing less impressive about this one. I'm just having a strange reaction, is all.

Here she dives into the dangerous jungle of female adolescence. Told in alternating flashbacks from various POVs, The Secret Place is about the murder of a young boy on the grounds of a girls' boarding school. Like all of her mysteries, it's more about the how/why than the who, and yep, we take a really, long, meandering, spiraling, detail-filled journey to get there. Her detectives have to learn to work together, two friendless misfits who share an ambition, and navigate among - OMG like, so gross and terrifying? - the youths to get their solve. There are rival girl gangs, secrets, illicit romances, and more. It's all a little gaggy sweet, if I'm being honest. Like, light nasty instead of dark nasty. If that makes any sense.

I really appreciate that she changed up the format, though, and tried something a little new. I adore Frank Mackey and was happy to see him again. There's also a touch of special here - magic, mystery, strange forces - that really freshens things up. I can see why it threw other fans for a loop; she often comes across as strict when it comes to her crimes. But I didn't mind it, especially because she was so casual about it. Her characters (everything from the way they speak to the way they interact) are as usual, pretty damn perfect, pretty damn engaging. The mystery itself is less so, also, I couldn't help but cringe a few times thanks to the unrealistic but personally-triggering re-emergence back into the world of being a female teenager. Fuck. That.

Man, French's world, or worlds - from the Squad to the school to the neighborhoods to the workplaces to the family homes - are all so fucking brutal, aren't they? This one was excruciatingly sad, to me. Her writing is something else really. I say this all the time about Stephen King, and I think it applies here as well: a mediocre Tana French is still going to be an incredibly good read. She's dependable like that.

The Secret Place on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads