The Secret Place

A Novel

De: Tana French

Narrado por: Stephen Hogan, Lara Hutchinson

“An absolutely mesmerizing read. . . . Tana French is simply this: a truly great writer.” —Gillian Flynn

Read the New York Times bestseller by Tana French, author of the The Hunter and “the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years” (The Washington Post).

A year ago a boy was found murdered at a girlsʼ boarding school, and the case was never solved. Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of the boy with the caption: “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case—beneath the watchful eye of Holly’s father, fellow detective Frank Mackey. With the clues leading back to Holly’s close-knit group of friends, to their rival clique, and to the tangle of relationships that bound them all to the murdered boy, the private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.

TERRIBLE FEMALE NARRATOR-RUINED THE BOOK FOR ME

It was hard for me to rate the story when the FEMALE narrator absolutely ruined the book, for me. She has one of those voices like on a commercial or maybe morning talk radio that you just find your self ignoring. All of a sudden I realized I wasn't listening and had to rewind, kept doing it over and over. Stephan Hogan was excellent as he was in Broken Harbor, why couldn't the author or the publicist choose the narrator from the Likeness?!

I remember being a teenager, not in the cool group of kids. I went to a private girls school though not boarding. I knew the boys at the boys school. My best friend went to a catholic boarding school and she still knows knows the school and the nuns of today-granted in the US not UK. They conduct searches of the girls rooms, would have found those phone, she feels. They are not oblivious to the newer age things the kids can get into. So I found the story a bit unbelievable in that area.

The detective part was OK. I was a bit disappointed that the pattern Ms French seemed to have going : of using one detective from the previous novel to be that main detective in the next. I thought that was an interesting pattern to have created. it kept the detectives fresh while continuing with the Dublin Murder Squad. Not that I don't enjoy 10 or 17 or 22 books all with the same lead character but I think it would be quite interesting to write-in these new detectives each new book.

So , sadly, after waiting 2 very long years for Ms French's new book- I was disappointed and couldn't wait until when I wouldn't have to hear Lara Hutchinson's voice ever again.

I have listened to the other 4 books twice and must go listen to one again just to get her voice out of head.

I must also say the very end was no surprise.

Another Good Story from Tana

This book makes me happy that I didnt grow up in the age of the internet. High School was hard enough 40 yrs ago, this depiction of HS now was downright scary! Tana French has a talent for weaving a complicated story that doesnt get boring. The reader was excellent. I love those Irish accents! I still chose Faithful Place as my favorite of her books!

Good Mystery, Good Characters

Where does The Secret Place rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The characters are interesting and well-developed, though stay away if you don't want to delve into the minds of teenage girls. The plot is unpredictable and the performances are good. Irish accents and slang.

Too many girls?

I love French's writing--her prose is intelligent and imaginative. Unfortunately, I found it really hard to keep all the girls school characters straight. I'm not sure if that is the fault of listening and having a few too many interruptions that prevent complete concentration on the story. Might be better read on paper.

Fantastic story and structure!

i don't usually read mysteries --this changes my mind! the way in which the story is told is is lovely