sarahjay
Written on Feb 1, 2016
Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin's inner city and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and his girl, Rosie Daly, were all set to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives.
But on the winter night when they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn't show. Frank took it for granted that she'd given him the brush-off--probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. H never went home again.
Neither did Rosie. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes it or not.
Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he’s a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly-and he’s willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.
(front flap)
- ISBN10 9573326825
- ISBN13 9789573326823
- Publish Date 1 June 2010
- Publish Status Unknown
- Imprint Huang Guan
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 480
- Language Chinese
Reviews
ibeforem
Written on Apr 16, 2012
This book is every bit as good as In the Woods and The Likeness were. Like those, on the surface this is a mystery, but deep down it is much more about the main character. French gives the gruff Mackey a surprising amount of depth. His reluctant return to the home of his youth shows us the motivations behind everything he does. We root for him despite his flaws and despite our inability to completely trust him. Solving the mystery is a bit like solving Frank.
I find it difficult to convey exactly what it is about French’s writing that pulls me in so completely. Part of it is the characters she creates. They’re just plain interesting, even the minor players. Another part of it is the dynamics between the characters. There are layers to every interaction.
I listened to the audio version of this book, and it was just as gorgeous as The Likeness was. Hearing the story in an Irish brogue lends it an extra touch of authenticity. I was sucked in from the very first chapter.
I was excited to discover that French’s fourth book, Broken Harbor, comes out this summer!
mrs_mander_reads
Written on Mar 29, 2012
empressbrooke
Written on Jul 18, 2010
It did have excellently realized characters though, and for the first time, I really FELT like these books were taking place in Ireland. I also zipped through it in two sittings, which is the fastest I've gotten through a book in a very long time. If I didn't have the first two to compare it to, I wouldn't have found a single flaw in it. It kept me at just enough distance, though, that I didn't feel like I was inside Frank Mackey's head, the way I felt I was in Rob's and Cassie's heads, and I didn't have to forcefully extricate myself from the pages when I was done.
I feel like I'm being unfairly negative, because it was a very good mystery, so I'll just blame it on Ms. French for being so startlingly good the first two times around.