I finished it. Wanted to find out the "who" and the why.It's about 500 pages too long. Didn't like one character. Bunch of girl school creeps and same for the boys school cast of characters. Some parts of the writing were worth it in the description, etc but the plot plodded along on mostly boring snippy scenes.I'm sorry I didn't get lost in something else and I figure I wasted some valuable reading time on this vapid book. French's writing is solid: it is powerful to bring up vivid images of what she is desiring and even evoke that darkness and sadness everyone has in them for different reasons. Her characters are lovely in their confused, messed up kind of way. She brings everything back around, doesn't leave any stones unturned. There were two things that bothered me. One was roughly halfway through the book when the girls discovered a power they shared. Instead of solidifying the novel, it downgraded it to me. Made it less real and more fantasy novel rather than a real murder investigation. I also honestly didn't think it was necessary for the book: it only made it weaker.The other thing that bothered me was more of an annoyance at the slabs used by the girls, at some points it was definitely overboard of reality, especially when they were being serious. All in all, an enjoyable read and an easy book to get lost in.
What do You think about The Secret Place (2014)?
Spellbinding. Must go read all of Tana French's books now.
—Kitty
Flawless. French just gets better with each book.
—adriI
