Sunday, April 6, 2014

Ode to Tana French

I've talked about Irish writer Tana French before, but as I finish up Faithful Place, I just want to mention that if you haven't yet encountered her novels, you have a treat ahead of you. They are the kind of books that I am jealous that you will be able to encounter for the first time.

In the Woods, in particular, is like Bones + SVU + CSI + Dexter all rolled into one with the intelligence and nuance of a real character-driven novel. It is flawlessly suspenseful, terribly human, and ultimately, moving.

And Rob and Cassie, the detective duo who lead the narrative down its thrilling twists and turns, are some of my perpetually favorite characters, full-stop.



The Likeness, then, comes back to Cassie after In the Woods has ended, and puts her undercover in an enclave of graduate students in English that reminds me of a certain mountaintop School of English that I know of, but with a sinister edge that will keep you up at night.

She's so smart and likable that you'll wish you could materialize her into your real-life best friend, and her story will absorb you like the best books always do.

Oh, and also it's super creepy.

The pleasure of these novels is fully absorbing, and they fall into that category that make me wonder at those few books that get real fame. You could walk down a beach seeing everyone there reading Gone Girl, but these mysteries are more suspenseful, their characters so much more likeable, and the prose -- well, the writing just doesn't even compare.

Oh Tana French, how I love you!