Faithful Place

Warning: this review may contain spoilers.

****

Frank Mackey could have turned out differently if he had managed to run away with his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, as a teenager. He showed up at the designated rendezvous point; she did not. But he still ran away, leaving his highly dysfunctional family behind in Faithful Place and becoming a cop on the Undercover squad in Dublin. Then one day, his sister Jackie calls: Rosie's suitcase has been found near the rendezvous point. Seems like it's time to come home and find out what happened that day so many years ago.

This book was intense. I spent the book always at least partly winded from all of the emotional gut-punches. Frank's family is breathtaking in their occasional bouts of argument or show more violence, and Frank himself can be all too ready to bend the rules or administer a little force or mess with people's heads to get the information he needs. I alternated between feeling sorry for him and wanting to back far away from him. These mixed feelings were intensified by the fact that the book is narrated in first person, so I couldn't get away from Frank even if I tried.

Another thing I liked about this book was its length. The edition I have is much more compact than my editions of the first two books in this series; the second book tops out at around 700 pages, while this third book is a more manageable 400 or thereabouts. The story itself is also more compact, focusing tightly on the families of Faithful Place. And the Dublin accent as rendered in print is so pervasive that I found myself thinking in Dublinese for a while after each time I had to stop reading.

Very much recommended for fans of the series. show less

In her first novel, In the Woods, Tana French proved that she is adept at exploiting a character’s past to chilling effect. She does this again in her third novel, Faithful Place, in which Dublin undercover detective Frank Mackey finds himself immersed in a past he thought he’d successfully escaped. Back in 1985 Frank was nineteen. On a cold winter night, he and his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, were ready to abscond together, leave behind their homes and families on Faithful Place, in The Liberties, a rough-hewn working-class section of Dublin, and travel to England, find good jobs and make a new life for themselves. When Rosie failed to show up for the midnight rendezvous, Frank assumed she had come to her senses: decided she wanted show more nothing to do with him and his family’s reputation for riotous conflict, alcohol abuse and dysfunction and set out on the journey alone. Broken-hearted but determined, Frank, following Rosie’s lead, did not return home after that night, and for the next twenty-two years, as he rose through the ranks with the Dublin police, the vision of Rosie succeeding and thriving in London was for him a consolation and a torment. Skip forward to the present. Rosie’s suitcase has been discovered stashed behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place and suddenly Frank is back on the street where he grew up, being drawn into the toxic family environment he left behind all those years ago. The police launch an investigation, with Frank’s old friend Scorcher in charge and insisting that Frank keep his nose out of it. But Frank Mackey, a cocky, moody, street-smart, impulsive wise ass, is not about to do that and instead plunges forward with a parallel investigation that sinks him deep into his murky, painful family history, reviving demons he would much prefer to have left slumbering. French’s novel sends Frank down a dangerous rabbit hole where he reconnects with siblings and childhood friends and finds answers to questions he never thought to ask. In the process he unearths a seething warren of unwelcome truths and comes face to face with the worst his family has to offer. The story is gripping and fast-paced, the writing vivid and richly cinematic, and the dialogue authentic and witty. In Faithful Place, Tana French has written another edge-of-the-seat thriller that offers an abundance of twists and turns that the reader never sees coming. show less

What an excellent read! Except that it also totally breaks your heart.

The only complaint I have about Tana French's previous two books is that they read like The Case of the Missing Editor, running about 100 pages too long and full of repetitive observations. This book, in contrast, hits the sweet spot of a literary mystery novel: a compelling plot with rich characterization, told with an economy of words that affects the reader's emotions and intellect.

Like Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox, Frank Mackey is a clever, compelling detective who straddles--and sometimes crosses--the line between good cop and bad cop. Unlike Ryan and Maddox, however, Mackey does not mince words. He tells a complex story about the ambiguity of good and evil, and show more the shifting loyalties within families and within society, and he does it in a straightforward way with minimal self reflection.

The author brings to life the grim, poor setting of the Liberties area of Dublin, specifically the tiny cul de sac of Faithful Place, which is literally a dead end neighborhood for many of its residents. Mackey tells his young daughter, "Keeping secrets is important, but there are times when getting to the truth is even more important. When someone's been killed, that's almost always one of those times." The universal axiom that snitches end up in ditches is sorely tested here. In the end, silence does not protect anyone, and the devastation is widespread. And while Mackey says little about the repurcussions of this story, the reader is left with much to consider.

Although Faithful Place is the third in the Dublin Murder Squad "series," it does not reference the earlier two books at all. I would recommend this book as a entry point for new readers. show less

Summary: When Frank Mackey was 19, he made plans with his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, to escape from their poor Dublin neighborhood and run away together to England. When Rosie didn't turn up, and Frank found a note saying that she'd gone, his heart was broken, but he left without a second thought, cutting off contact with his family and leaving Faithful Place behind without a second thought. Now he's a detective in the Dublin Undercover squad, and has his life mostly in order, but the past isn't done with him yet. When he gets a hysterical call from his sister, saying that they've found a case with Rosie's belongings, hidden inside an abandoned house, Frank must face not only his estranged family and his old neighborhood, but also the fact show more that the truth around which he's built his life - that Rosie left him and is alive and well somewhere in the world - might not be so true after all.

Review: I am not a huge reader of contemporary mysteries, but I will absolutely make an exception for Tana French's novels. I think that's in large part due to the fact that while they're detective mysteries, they're also something more - there's a layer of story to them that focuses on the people and their relationships, not just on the dead body. However, while that was certainly true in Faithful Place, I felt like the balance was off, tipped a bit too far the other way. Frank's relationship with his family takes up a lot of the story, but while the mystery is certainly never ignored, it also didn't feel as well-developed and intricate as In the Woods or The Likeness. It was one of those cases where I figured out what was going on fairly early on - there are a few unsubtle clues that let the rest of the mystery unravel pretty quickly. Luckily, what was going on in the rest of the story (Frank's reaction to the investigation, and his relationships with his family) was interesting enough to keep me absorbed in the story... but I did wish the mystery had been just a little bit meatier.

Another thing that astonishes me about Tana French's writing is how effortlessly she seems to be able to slip in and out of her characters, providing a completely distinct yet still lyrical voice for each of her narrators. (I'm sure it's actually very hard work, but it's amazing how effortless it seems.) It's immediately apparent that this is Frank's book, and Frank's voice is as different from Cassie's and Rob's voices as they were from each other. But in every case, French manages to capture not only the atmosphere but also the mindset and rhythms of speech of her characters just perfectly.

Faithful Place is my least favorite of French's books so far, but that's still high praise, given how absolutely brilliant I thought In the Woods and The Likeness were. I found it completely engrossing and extremely well-written, but the mystery didn't have quite the same punch, and the story didn't have quite the same emotional impact as the others. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: French's books are related to each other via recurring characters, but they're only a series in the very loosest sense; Faithful Place, in particular, stands perfectly well on its own. All three, though, are recommended for anyone who likes mysteries, particularly those with heart-wrenching characters and elegant writing. show less

Faithful Place is the third book in French's Dublin Murder Squad series and centres upon undercover detective Frank Mackey. Twenty two years earlier 19 year old Frank had been planning to escape the harsh life of the Dublin inner city flat he shared with his family on Faithful Place, arranging to elope to England with his girlfriend Rosie. But Rosie didn't meet him on the night of the elopement, leaving a note suggesting she had changed her mind. Frank took his chance to escape anyway and built a new life. Now, he is called back to Faithful Place on the discovery of Rosie's suitcase hidden in a derelict house and soon finds himself trying to discover what really happened, whilst back in the clutches of his lunatic parents and show more traumatised siblings.
For me this was the best of this series so far. The dark themes it explores were softened by the beautiful language that pulls you into the world of the Dublin tenements and the complex loyalties of family and community. Faithful Place is a story of love and loss with fractured families and a cold-case murder. Even though I spotted the killer at a very early stage it didn't matter, as the plot and brilliantly drawn characters pulled me in and held me firmly. This whole series of books are clever novels which are not so much about the crimes they cover as the characters journeys and the relationships they make and break during the investigations. I like the way each boo in the series picks up a character from the previous one (and not necessarily a central one) to be the focus. A cracking good read. show less

This was a great read - a compelling main character, fully developed secondary characters, a strong sense of place, and questions of family, loyalty, and justice. Frank Mackey thinks he's left behind his working class roots and dysfunctional family; he's not been home for over 20 years and maintains only a tenuous connection with one of his sisters. But he's pulled home for a cold case involving his old girlfriend who stood him up 22 years ago on the verge of their departure together for England.

There's a lot going on in the book, and I loved how French managed to weave all the strings together and to draw parallels and connections between Frank then and now. The scenes with Frank and his daughter are so well done, and his inner turmoil show more about how to be a good father when he had no example is heartbreaking in many ways. This is a pretty dark book in its take on one's ability to move beyond one's past only so far. And how as much as we'd like to leave certain things behind, it's impossible because they helped to form us and so stay with us, woven into our very beings. show less

Faithful Place by Tana French was a reread for me, and I am continually amazed at how well her mysteries hold up against multiple readings. Faithful Place follows the story of Frank Mackey (a secondary character from French���s second book, The Likeness). As a teenager, Frank had made plans to run away from Faithful Place with his girlfriend Rosie and start a new life over in England. But the night they were supposed to disappear together, Rosie never showed up and Frank left for England on his own, believing that Rosie had had second thoughts. He left his dysfunctional family behind and hasn���t returned home in over twenty years.

Fast-forward to the present day. One of Frank���s family members comes across evidence show more that suggests that Rosie might have been killed the night she failed to show up and Frank finds himself drawn back to Faithful Place, whether he likes it or not.

The main storyline follows the mystery of what happened to Rosie Daly, but just like In the Woods, which I���ve already reviewed, the true appeal of the book lies in the characters and their relationships. Each character is so complex and so carefully created, that it felt like I was reading about real people. It didn���t even matter that I knew the ending to the story on my second reading���Tana French���s writing has a magic about it that makes her stories come alive and breathe. Plus, she creates one of the most realistic and powerful love stories I���ve read in a long time.

All of Tana French���s novels are incredibly atmospheric and unique to Ireland���s cultural landscape ��� particularly this one, as she explores the strength of family ties in a run-down Irish neighborhood. Frank still feels a connection his family, even though he���s been avoiding them for over twenty years, and as he returns to Faithful Place, he���s drawn into their longstanding prejudices and neuroticisms. For the most part, the Mackey family is a highly unlikeable group of people, but at their core is an unshakeable bond that even murder and abuse cannot completely destroy. (It���s up to the reader to decide whether or not this is a positive attribute���for me, it���s an understandable attribute, but it doesn���t override the selfishness and hatred boiling below the surface.

As I���ve mentioned before, Tana French is not known for creating likeable characters ��� what she does is create complex, realistic characters that we can relate to and understand, even if we don���t like them. This is an enormous accomplishment, and it���s also not something that everyone wants when they pick up a book. If someone says they prefer the Stephanie Plum or Kinsey Milhone series, Tana French might not be a good match for them.

Recommended for: fans of dark mysteries, literary character-centered writing, or psychological suspense.

Readalikes:

The rest of the Dublin Murder Squad series ��� they just keep getting better.

Anything by Gillian Flynn. The emphasis is more on psychological suspense rather than an actual mystery, but most of the elements are remarkably similar ��� unlikeable yet relatable characters, extremely dark themes, and dysfunctional families that make most of our family reunions seem like church picnics. If you enjoy Tana French and haven���t read Gone Girl yet, make sure you add that to your to-read list. It���ll blow you away.

The Little Friend ��� Donna Tartt. This literary tale of psychological suspense tells the story of twelve-year-old Harriet Dusfresnes, who searches for her brother���s murderer and decides to exact chilling revenge, in the hopes that she can reclaim her family, who she only knows from photographs. The emphasis isn���t placed as much on the mystery at hand, but this superb story of dark psychology and family dynamics cannot be beaten. Also, this is probably one of the creepiest covers to have been designed in the last twenty years. show less