The reader, Stephen Hogan, was excellent, putting in the right amount of Irish lilt without going over the top. Instead, I found myself exasperated by this novel for a whole host of reasons.įirst, let me stipulate that I began with the audiobook. As you’ve probably already guessed, that did not happen. When I took up Broken Harbor, I was hoping for an epiphany, a revelation as to why French is so widely praised. Susan then solicited the impressions of group members, and I confess, I couldn’t – and didn’t – wait to get my two cents in. (There was the inevitable question of how French’s fist name should be pronounced. Ultimately she decided to make her home in Ireland, where she now lives with her husband and daughter. She attended Trinity College, Dublin, and trained as an actress. Susan, our group leader, started us off with some background on Tana French’s life and career. So I looked upon this Usual Suspects choice as a chance to stick with one of French’s titles and see if I could discern the magic that was clearly present for her many devoted readers, some of whom are in our group. I could tell French was a gifted writer, but I simply was not drawn in by her narratives. Rather, I was so put off by their length that I decided to bail early. I had dipped my toe into both The Likeness and Faithful Place but was not enthralled by either.

I’ve not read that novel in fact, Broken Harbor is the first work by Tana French that I’ve read all the way through (although I almost didn’t – get all the way through, I mean). Tana French has won several awards and even more nominations since she burst onto the crime fiction scene in 2007 with Into the Woods. Tuesday night we remedied the omission by tackling Broken Harbor, this author’s latest magnum opus.

Someone in our group mentioned that a friend of hers had recently expressed surprised that we had never discussed a novel by Tana French. Octoat 2:21 am ( Book clubs, books, Mystery fiction) The Usual Suspects discuss Broken Harbor by Tana French

Broken harbour by tana french