"Faithful Place" by Tana French

On a bitterly cold winter night in Dublin, then nineteen year old Frank Mackey waits in Faithful Place to rendezvous with his beautiful girlfriend, Rosie. Their plan was to escape to England to marry and start new lives together. They are running to wider employment opportunities and running away from poverty and Frank’s dysfunctional family as well as his abusive, alcoholic father. But, unexpectedly, Rosie never arrives.

Frank, heartbroken but still determined to make a fresh start in life, walks away from Faithful Place and his family ties, not looking back, and starts his new life – but without his beloved Rosie. Frank tragically assumes that Rosie had last-minute misgivings about him because of a spectacular incident of drunken domestic violence exhibited by his family the night before and he is too hurt to ever try to find out what happens to Rosie. And, tragically, Rosie’s family simply believes that she has run off with Frank when they are both missing the next day. No one even speculates that something sinister might have occurred, assuming that Frank and Rosie have run off together.

But twenty years later when Rosie’s suitcase is found stuffed up the fireplace of a dilapidated abandoned building on the Place, the mystery of Rosie’s disappearance must finally be confronted and solved. And, Frank Mackey – now and undercover detective - is pulled back into Faithful Place to deal with his old family demons and to try to find his Rosie, still the love of his life - or her murderer.

In a typical Tana French twist, Frank is shut out of the official investigation because of his personal ties to those involved. And Frank’s memories and strong emotions can be an advantage as well as a liability. But his determination to find out what happened to Rosie is, ultimately, the key to breaking the case. In the meantime, Frank and the murder squad sift through old grudges and twisted family histories to find a motive and, eventually, the killer.

After the wild success of ‘In the Woods’ (French’s first novel which won the Edgar award for best mystery), this third installment of her Dublin murder squad novels was highly anticipated – and does not disappoint. Tana French is an expert at psychological layers of suspense and effortlessly creates the book’s distinctive setting with detailed word paintings of Frank’s old neighborhood and skillful Irish dialogue. And even though this is Tana’s third novel, her writing style is still fresh and delightfully original.

‘Faithful Place’ will keep you turning the pages until the mystery is finally solved. An excellent read!

Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the US and Malawi, and has lived in Dublin since 1990.