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"Being on the Murder Squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she's there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she's getting close to the breaking point. Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers' quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed to a shine, and dead in her show more catalog-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There's nothing unusual about her-- except that Antoinette's seen her somewhere before. And that her death won't stay in its neat by-numbers box. Other detectives are trying to push Antoinette and Steve into arresting Aislinn's boyfriend, fast. There's a shadowy figure at the end of Antoinette's road. Aislinn's friend is hinting that she knew Aislinn was in danger. And everything they find out about Aislinn takes her further from the glossy, passive doll she seemed to be. Antoinette knows the harassment has turned her paranoid, but she can't tell just how far gone she is. Is this case another step in the campaign to force her off the squad, or are there darker currents flowing beneath its polished surface?"-- show lessTags
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Tana French’s new novel returns her to the storytelling of the first books in the Dublin Murder Squad series. From the title echoing that of the only other book focused on a woman detective, to the dynamic of the first novel, centered around a partnership, this is French at her very best.
Antoinette Conway worked hard to earn a spot on the murder squad, but just two years in, she’s seriously considering leaving for a job with a private security firm. Her co-workers are openly hostile and she’s stuck on the night shift with the newest detective, fielding domestics and bar brawls. It’s not what she signed up for. Then, she and Moran are given what at first looks like another routine domestic murder, except they’ve been called in show more just as their shift ended and their gaffer has assigned a senior detective to assist them. From there, it only gets messier and before long, Conway has to question everything from the too-convenient suspect of the boyfriend to the actions of her fellow detectives.
This one never loses momentum or lets the reader come up for air. French does her best writing with the rote tasks of police work, and with the complex relationship that exists between two detectives working well together. French is writing something quite a bit more substantial than a simple police procedural and I was with her every step of the way.
And now I’m left to wait for the next in the series. show less
Antoinette Conway worked hard to earn a spot on the murder squad, but just two years in, she’s seriously considering leaving for a job with a private security firm. Her co-workers are openly hostile and she’s stuck on the night shift with the newest detective, fielding domestics and bar brawls. It’s not what she signed up for. Then, she and Moran are given what at first looks like another routine domestic murder, except they’ve been called in show more just as their shift ended and their gaffer has assigned a senior detective to assist them. From there, it only gets messier and before long, Conway has to question everything from the too-convenient suspect of the boyfriend to the actions of her fellow detectives.
This one never loses momentum or lets the reader come up for air. French does her best writing with the rote tasks of police work, and with the complex relationship that exists between two detectives working well together. French is writing something quite a bit more substantial than a simple police procedural and I was with her every step of the way.
And now I’m left to wait for the next in the series. show less
Being the one woman on the Murder Squad is a tough situation, but Antoinette Conway is probably the best suited to dealing with it. She plows ahead and gets the job done. This particular job looks to be a straight-up domestic, but she and her partner Stephen Moran soon realize that there’s a different path to take. Is this a flight of fancy or is there some truth to it? If this avenue fizzles out to nothing, so does Conway’s career on the Murder Squad.
This was another excellent installment in the Dublin Murder Squad series. Conway is a tough nut and may be hard for some readers to spend time with, similar to Frank Mackey, but she feels real. The dialogue is excellent as always: prickly and full of Irish slang and accent, and easy to show more figure out in context. The story is twist upon twist upon twist, as you keep changing your mind about who’s right and who’s telling the truth. Readers who weren’t crazy about The Secret Place might like this one more--and readers who have enjoyed other books in the series will likely find this one engaging as well. I hope we see more of Conway and the rest of the squad in future books. show less
This was another excellent installment in the Dublin Murder Squad series. Conway is a tough nut and may be hard for some readers to spend time with, similar to Frank Mackey, but she feels real. The dialogue is excellent as always: prickly and full of Irish slang and accent, and easy to show more figure out in context. The story is twist upon twist upon twist, as you keep changing your mind about who’s right and who’s telling the truth. Readers who weren’t crazy about The Secret Place might like this one more--and readers who have enjoyed other books in the series will likely find this one engaging as well. I hope we see more of Conway and the rest of the squad in future books. show less
With THE TRESPASSER, Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series comes to a close. It is such a great overall series that I am sad to see it end. Each story is fascinating as a standalone story because it explores not just a murder but also provides insight into the type of person who wants to hunt murderers for a living. Collectively, they showcase the intimacy required to operate in such a department and the troubles that intimacy can cause.
Thankfully, the series ends on a high note as THE TRESPASSER is one of the stronger novels of the six in the series. Focusing on Antoinette Conway, to whom we were first introduced in the previous novel. As such, we already know some of the issues Conway faces within the Murder Squad. Now, we get to show more see those issues from her point of view.
What I find most interesting about Conway and her squad problems is how much her experience differs from Cassie Maddox's experiences, back in books one and two. Cassie had no issues with her fellow detectives, and yet Conway has nothing but problems. We never get the full picture as to whether the squad took a dislike to her before she arrived, solely based on her gender, or if she came in with a chip on her shoulder, thereby causing that dislike. The fact that Cassie appeared to be well-liked within the department and Antoinette is not indicates her problems might be personal and not gender-specific. Given the turnover in the department over the years of the series, however, this is one issue you have to resolve on your own because Ms. French deliberately leaves it vague.
My husband read this one before I did, and I started THE LIKENESS knowing that he did not like Antoinette. He found her too negative and too inflexible. The funny thing is that I found her very likable and even sympathetic. I feel for Antoinette because while I have never been in her exact shoes, I have been the lone woman in the workplace before, and it can be a daunting experience. I understand her caution when physically present in the squad room and her suspicions about her squad members. The pranks they play on her range from childish to just plain mean. I enjoyed getting to know Antoinette outside of work, when she relaxes with friends or even putters around her house. These scenes show that her demeanor at work is an act, and it must be an exhausting one.
Given the figurative landmines Antoinette has to avoid at work to stay on the job, the murder mystery becomes secondary to her workplace problems. In this case, that is not a bad thing. While interesting, especially once we know who committed the murder and why, so much of the mystery revolves around the unresolved Daddy issues the victim had after her dad disappeared one day. I also wasn't a fan of how Ms. French brought Conway's own Daddy issues into the picture, as if the fact that she never knew her father contributed to her icy demeanor at work. I never got the connection and felt it was one of the weaker areas of the story.
Overall, I rank THE TRESPASSER as the fourth best in the series. Not everyone will see Antoinette as likable as I did, and that is okay. I believe Ms. French purposefully makes each of her main detectives polarizing. After all, it takes a special type of person who not only can handle looking at murder victims and their murderers every day but actively wants to do so. And given that each detective viewed the Murder Squad as the premier squad within the entire police force, they all want to do just that. Antoinette is no different than Rob Ryan or Cassie Maddox in that regard. Her experiences on the squad are entirely different, however, and that is what makes her spotlight so interesting. show less
Thankfully, the series ends on a high note as THE TRESPASSER is one of the stronger novels of the six in the series. Focusing on Antoinette Conway, to whom we were first introduced in the previous novel. As such, we already know some of the issues Conway faces within the Murder Squad. Now, we get to show more see those issues from her point of view.
What I find most interesting about Conway and her squad problems is how much her experience differs from Cassie Maddox's experiences, back in books one and two. Cassie had no issues with her fellow detectives, and yet Conway has nothing but problems. We never get the full picture as to whether the squad took a dislike to her before she arrived, solely based on her gender, or if she came in with a chip on her shoulder, thereby causing that dislike. The fact that Cassie appeared to be well-liked within the department and Antoinette is not indicates her problems might be personal and not gender-specific. Given the turnover in the department over the years of the series, however, this is one issue you have to resolve on your own because Ms. French deliberately leaves it vague.
My husband read this one before I did, and I started THE LIKENESS knowing that he did not like Antoinette. He found her too negative and too inflexible. The funny thing is that I found her very likable and even sympathetic. I feel for Antoinette because while I have never been in her exact shoes, I have been the lone woman in the workplace before, and it can be a daunting experience. I understand her caution when physically present in the squad room and her suspicions about her squad members. The pranks they play on her range from childish to just plain mean. I enjoyed getting to know Antoinette outside of work, when she relaxes with friends or even putters around her house. These scenes show that her demeanor at work is an act, and it must be an exhausting one.
Given the figurative landmines Antoinette has to avoid at work to stay on the job, the murder mystery becomes secondary to her workplace problems. In this case, that is not a bad thing. While interesting, especially once we know who committed the murder and why, so much of the mystery revolves around the unresolved Daddy issues the victim had after her dad disappeared one day. I also wasn't a fan of how Ms. French brought Conway's own Daddy issues into the picture, as if the fact that she never knew her father contributed to her icy demeanor at work. I never got the connection and felt it was one of the weaker areas of the story.
Overall, I rank THE TRESPASSER as the fourth best in the series. Not everyone will see Antoinette as likable as I did, and that is okay. I believe Ms. French purposefully makes each of her main detectives polarizing. After all, it takes a special type of person who not only can handle looking at murder victims and their murderers every day but actively wants to do so. And given that each detective viewed the Murder Squad as the premier squad within the entire police force, they all want to do just that. Antoinette is no different than Rob Ryan or Cassie Maddox in that regard. Her experiences on the squad are entirely different, however, and that is what makes her spotlight so interesting. show less
This had so much potential! A wonderful author voice, great writing, amazing turns of phrase. But by God, it was so incredibly tedious! Pages upon pages, chapters upon chapters, of absolutely NOTHING happening. For a mystery / thriller, this is one of the most boring books I’ve ever come across. I had such a hard time reading this before bed, because it would put me to sleep every time. I never quite warmed up to Antoinette - I found her way too prickly and defensive, perhaps for good reason but it still made her quite unlikeable. And so since I wasn’t really rooting for her, nor for anyone else, it made for very uninteresting reading. I hung in there and made it to the end, but I can’t say I’m happy to have read it. I’ve show more heard so many great things about Tana French, and I’m willing to try something else by her at a later date, but THE TRESPASSER was probably not the best introduction to her work. show less
While the read date on here indicates 2019, I read it every year.
I've read this three or four times, but every time, it feels like the first time. I went on for a few glowing paragraphs in an email to someone when I first did read it, and could've sworn I put it on here. So, I did not. Okay. I have an enormous crush on Conway. If she were a real person, she would undoubtedly be annoyed by that. This was the first book of the series I read, and it was recommended by a BookTuber who doesn't read a lot of mysteries. She read it as part of a reading challenge, and pointed out the diversity in this book. Antoinette Conway points it out, too, immediately. In a prologue that actually makes -sense- and actually fits in with the whole book, and show more is even linked to a big event!! I despise prologues and find them utterly pointless and padding 99.9% of the time. This was the one big exception. I read it every time I read the book. Right off, we are told Conway, as she's referred to throughout the book, is mixed-race, and in particular has a biological father of Middle Eastern descent who was never part of the picture. We are shown that Conway is inquisitive, stubborn, can be willful, but can also believe in unlikely things sometimes. And that she loves her mom, but questions her and has pretty good boundaries. These things are shown again and again throughout the whole book in different ways for different reasons, and I -adored- it when I figured out what was going on. This is also used incredibly skillfully to make Conway a foil to Aislinn, the murdered woman.
Aislinn reminded me of me for different reasons in different ways, and I laughed the third time I read the book, when Conway described how they had actually met. It wasn't funny. I laughed because here I am with this huge crush, and if I were in Aislinn's situation I'd do exactly that, right down to "you don't understand!" and Conway would dismiss me, too. I was laughing at myself, not Aislinn. To say nothing of Rory, the poor nervous wreck. Part of me in him, definitely, too. But he's a stalker, and I was so weirded out. Tana French writes really convincing characters.
The dynamic between Conway and Moran is my -faaaaavorite- in cop fiction so far. I just want to dance a little when I'm reading them, but it's a long book so I don't. I have to admit, the line "Conwaaaay, I am your faaaather," has me dying laughing every single time. Why and how they argue--so realistic. So good. I almost cried the first time because I didn't -want- them to leave and get new partners and stuff. I was -not- a fan of the other men and kind of resented how well Conway worked with them, then pushed my feelings aside because it was police interrogation stuff, not my time to feel cheated out of what is basically a platonic OTP. I am so thrilled to even have a platonic OTP and that they can exist and I can be happy. Like, it's their job, I remind myself. It's their job to interrogate people and throw out ideas and doesn't need to just be restricted to the only two cops worth reading about. I have um, tried to read other books in the series besides "Secret Place" and uh, got really irritated. Severe lack of Conway equals severe lack of interest. Moran is terrific, and oh, I tried to read the other book he was in with Mackey, I think it was. There were times in this book and "Secret Place" when I wanted to hug Moran. He is a terrific foil for Conway. The book would be much less interesting without him. Such a great balance. He needs things to be beautiful, and Conway has never had any choice in the world except to see things as they are.
Sophie and Fleas need their own books with Conway omg. But also I would be happy to just write fanfic. Every time Fleas jumps on the page (haha pun), I want to shout in glee and grab a pencil and paper. Sophie just has me grinning, too. Strong female cop friendships! What a delight. Of course I want more. And wow, does Tana French know how to write subtle UST via Fleas/Conway. Someday I might try writing fanfic to get my ideas out of my system.
When I read this book the first time, I was going through things at my then-job (totally different field, though) that were so similar to Conway's experiences that my stomach was incredibly sour and my chest was tight. I clenched my jaw a lot as I read, and lived vicariously through her in my mind. I left that job after four months. The second read, I sighed in relief at the ending. I knew how it would go, but I needed it to be the same. That sounded a lot less weird in my head. I get invested in this book and how it ends, and every step in between, every time. The third read, I laughed as I checked out the book from the library again. I was so eager to dive into the story and experience it once more. My jaw wasn't clenched, my stomach wasn't sour, my chest wasn't tight. I still cheered Conway and Moran, and hissed at their workplace and circumstances, and delighted in the ending. And I checked, suddenly, to figure out just how fast this whole thing happens. This is such a rich, detailed character study that it takes place over--for some reason I think it's a week, maybe even less. I just had to sit for a minute once I figured out that a lot happens in a short amount of time, in this novel.
The fourth read, the most recent this time, I relished in the details, the description, the plot, and especially the ending page. I still have a huge crush on Conway. When I saw news that this might become a tv series, I squealed really loud, alone in my apartment. I want to see if my images of Conway and Moran match up! I found someone's fan-cast, and damn, that person thinks just the way I do. Like, there's Irish and British actors out there who look just how I imagine Conway and Moran to, and it was exciting to discover. I'm so glad for Tana French's success, and I hope it continues. I'm so glad I get to read and reread such a great story. show less
I've read this three or four times, but every time, it feels like the first time. I went on for a few glowing paragraphs in an email to someone when I first did read it, and could've sworn I put it on here. So, I did not. Okay. I have an enormous crush on Conway. If she were a real person, she would undoubtedly be annoyed by that. This was the first book of the series I read, and it was recommended by a BookTuber who doesn't read a lot of mysteries. She read it as part of a reading challenge, and pointed out the diversity in this book. Antoinette Conway points it out, too, immediately. In a prologue that actually makes -sense- and actually fits in with the whole book, and show more is even linked to a big event!! I despise prologues and find them utterly pointless and padding 99.9% of the time. This was the one big exception. I read it every time I read the book. Right off, we are told Conway, as she's referred to throughout the book, is mixed-race, and in particular has a biological father of Middle Eastern descent who was never part of the picture. We are shown that Conway is inquisitive, stubborn, can be willful, but can also believe in unlikely things sometimes. And that she loves her mom, but questions her and has pretty good boundaries. These things are shown again and again throughout the whole book in different ways for different reasons, and I -adored- it when I figured out what was going on. This is also used incredibly skillfully to make Conway a foil to Aislinn, the murdered woman.
Aislinn reminded me of me for different reasons in different ways, and I laughed the third time I read the book, when Conway described how they had actually met. It wasn't funny. I laughed because here I am with this huge crush, and if I were in Aislinn's situation I'd do exactly that, right down to "you don't understand!" and Conway would dismiss me, too. I was laughing at myself, not Aislinn. To say nothing of Rory, the poor nervous wreck. Part of me in him, definitely, too. But he's a stalker, and I was so weirded out. Tana French writes really convincing characters.
The dynamic between Conway and Moran is my -faaaaavorite- in cop fiction so far. I just want to dance a little when I'm reading them, but it's a long book so I don't. I have to admit, the line "Conwaaaay, I am your faaaather," has me dying laughing every single time. Why and how they argue--so realistic. So good. I almost cried the first time because I didn't -want- them to leave and get new partners and stuff. I was -not- a fan of the other men and kind of resented how well Conway worked with them, then pushed my feelings aside because it was police interrogation stuff, not my time to feel cheated out of what is basically a platonic OTP. I am so thrilled to even have a platonic OTP and that they can exist and I can be happy. Like, it's their job, I remind myself. It's their job to interrogate people and throw out ideas and doesn't need to just be restricted to the only two cops worth reading about. I have um, tried to read other books in the series besides "Secret Place" and uh, got really irritated. Severe lack of Conway equals severe lack of interest. Moran is terrific, and oh, I tried to read the other book he was in with Mackey, I think it was. There were times in this book and "Secret Place" when I wanted to hug Moran. He is a terrific foil for Conway. The book would be much less interesting without him. Such a great balance. He needs things to be beautiful, and Conway has never had any choice in the world except to see things as they are.
Sophie and Fleas need their own books with Conway omg. But also I would be happy to just write fanfic. Every time Fleas jumps on the page (haha pun), I want to shout in glee and grab a pencil and paper. Sophie just has me grinning, too. Strong female cop friendships! What a delight. Of course I want more. And wow, does Tana French know how to write subtle UST via Fleas/Conway. Someday I might try writing fanfic to get my ideas out of my system.
When I read this book the first time, I was going through things at my then-job (totally different field, though) that were so similar to Conway's experiences that my stomach was incredibly sour and my chest was tight. I clenched my jaw a lot as I read, and lived vicariously through her in my mind. I left that job after four months. The second read, I sighed in relief at the ending. I knew how it would go, but I needed it to be the same. That sounded a lot less weird in my head. I get invested in this book and how it ends, and every step in between, every time. The third read, I laughed as I checked out the book from the library again. I was so eager to dive into the story and experience it once more. My jaw wasn't clenched, my stomach wasn't sour, my chest wasn't tight. I still cheered Conway and Moran, and hissed at their workplace and circumstances, and delighted in the ending. And I checked, suddenly, to figure out just how fast this whole thing happens. This is such a rich, detailed character study that it takes place over--for some reason I think it's a week, maybe even less. I just had to sit for a minute once I figured out that a lot happens in a short amount of time, in this novel.
The fourth read, the most recent this time, I relished in the details, the description, the plot, and especially the ending page. I still have a huge crush on Conway. When I saw news that this might become a tv series, I squealed really loud, alone in my apartment. I want to see if my images of Conway and Moran match up! I found someone's fan-cast, and damn, that person thinks just the way I do. Like, there's Irish and British actors out there who look just how I imagine Conway and Moran to, and it was exciting to discover. I'm so glad for Tana French's success, and I hope it continues. I'm so glad I get to read and reread such a great story. show less
My preordered copy came in the day before Rosh Hashanah. On the second day, after services were over (my synagogue runs short and under-populated on the second day), the house quiet without electricity and my toddler at daycare, the idea of just reading a little was unbelievably tempting, albeit borderline sacrilegious. And of course, once I started, Tana French's writing was addictive.
I remember very little of the "central" mystery. What I remember about is the creeping, burning embarrassment of self-recognition reading about how Antoinette Conway nearly let a mystery go unsolved because she was so caught up in how others saw her. Many mystery novels have the "stupid plot" error, where an idiot could solve the mystery if they simply show more followed the obvious clues, and so the writers have to make the brilliant detective look over the one clear next step to prevent the novel from early closure. In this case, there's no inconsistency: French's novel is literally about the narrative that Conway tells about herself of being an isolated loner. The mystery is window-dressing for the consequences of letting yourself be seduced into such a narrative, and the hard climb back out.
So in the end, it was pretty apropos of the holiday -- I'm definitely guilty of perpetuating negative self-narratives, and choosing to fail rather than challenge them. And I felt inspired by French to try to do better this year. show less
I remember very little of the "central" mystery. What I remember about is the creeping, burning embarrassment of self-recognition reading about how Antoinette Conway nearly let a mystery go unsolved because she was so caught up in how others saw her. Many mystery novels have the "stupid plot" error, where an idiot could solve the mystery if they simply show more followed the obvious clues, and so the writers have to make the brilliant detective look over the one clear next step to prevent the novel from early closure. In this case, there's no inconsistency: French's novel is literally about the narrative that Conway tells about herself of being an isolated loner. The mystery is window-dressing for the consequences of letting yourself be seduced into such a narrative, and the hard climb back out.
So in the end, it was pretty apropos of the holiday -- I'm definitely guilty of perpetuating negative self-narratives, and choosing to fail rather than challenge them. And I felt inspired by French to try to do better this year. show less
The Trespasser is Tana French's newest brilliant offering. Antoinette Conway, the only woman on the Irish murder squad is a very, very angry woman. She also believes she can trust no one except her male partner who is competent and funny and they're not in love with each other (please may that last.) French explores her anger, the reasons for it and the effects it has on her, her alienation from the rest of the squad and her feelings of betrayal and disillusion. This book is honest, full of twists and illuminating of an ambitious woman's psyche. French just gets better and better.
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Author Information
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Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the US and Malawi. She trained as a professional actress at Trinity College, Dublin, and has worked in theatre, film and voiceover. Her first novel, In the Woods, won the 2007 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Her other books include The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, and The Secret Place. The show more Trespasser and The Witch Elm made the New York Times bestseller list. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Trespasser
- Original title
- The Trespasser
- Original publication date
- 2016
- People/Characters
- Antoinette Conway; Stephen Moran; Aislinn Gwendolyn Murray; Don Breslin; Joseph McCann; Lucy Riordan (show all 8); Rory Fallon; Louis Crowley
- Important places
- Stoneybatter, Dublin, Ireland
- Dedication
- For Oonagh
- First words
- Prologue:
My ma used to tell me stories about my da.
Chapter 1: The case comes in, or anyway it comes in to us, on a frozen dawn in the kind of closed-down January that makes you think the sun's never going to drag itself back above the horizon. - Quotations
- Where I'm seeing a dead end, he's seeing a brilliant new twist to his amazing story. I wish I could take my holidays inside Steve's head.
If you want to kill someone, have enough respect for my time to make it someone, anyone, other than the most gobsmackingly obvious person in the world.
You can knock down a genuine belief, if you load up with enough facts that contradict it; but a belief that's built on nothing except who the person wants to be, nothing can crumble that.
I'm amazed this guy manages to get out of bed in the morning without working himself into a panic attack over the chance that he might trip on the bath mat and stab himself through the eye socket with his toothbrush and be le... (show all)ft with a permanent twitch that'll ruin his chances of landing an airplane safely if the pilot has a heart attack and doom hundreds to a fiery death.
'Ah, background checks,' I say. 'The foundation of every beautiful romance.' - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Then we start off across the courtyard, arguing, to get a few pints and a few hours' kip before it's time to head back and find out what's in there.
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