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⭐️⭐️ Tana French is the slow burn mystery queen, but good lord, was this an absolute slog! Dublin Murder Squad books 1-4 were much more compelling. Was she going for dark academia? The idea of original sin, and a group of girls who vowed to do something they‘re scared of, and also a boy they all desired but who was also an asshole? I just couldn‘t care about this story. I‘ll still read her again, though.

Yesterday was a massive day that ended with a tequila courtesy of Stew & a dunk at my ocean 🛀 out front for the 1st time this spring. It‘s the small things. This was last month‘s #authorofthemonth that I picked to read. I can‘t say, a 3rd of the way through, that I‘d read 1 of hers again. A surprising plot twist has just happened so I‘ll persevere like I always do. The 💦 was 🥶 but refreshing after my arvo walk & housework that morning.

This was my first novel by Tana French. I was pleasantly impressed by her work. The elite girls boarding school with a boys school not too far away is the perfect location for steamy teenage hormones and murder. The victim was a good looking young man. The girls were obviously suspected of being involved in the crime. Tana French did a good job keeping me guessing who was responsible. 4.25/5 I intend to read any more of her novels

5th in the Dublin murder squad combined an interesting pair of Garda detectives who are outcasts in the squadroom with the claustrophobia of a girls boarding school. The teenagers are captured perfectly with their secrets , jealousies, conspiracies, and passions, a perfect setting for a murder. My only issue is that at 540 pages, it could have lost about 50 pages, but otherwise, another great read.

Finally finished this one for July‘s #BacklistReadathon

I think this was one of Tana French‘s best, but as a parent to teens it freaked me out. My kids are never going to boarding school 🤣

It‘s been a busy week with family but I finally got some time today to sneak out and take an audio walk and read by the lake. My audio is The Secret Place by Tana French and I‘m still slogging through my book club cozy on kindle. #JubilantJuly

I love the slow burn of a Tana French mystery. Elite girls boarding school + Murder. #SetinHighSchool #MarchMagic

I got through this one a bit faster because I‘ve had trouble sleeping. I‘m bummed this is the second-to-last book in the series but I‘m also excited to see how Ms. French will wind up the series. In each book, the narrator(s) has something devastating/troubling that seems to flash back and have some affect on the current case, many times w/devastating effects. Let‘s see what happens in #6. #SeriesLove2023 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView

“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.‘” #SeriesLove2023

First book of 2023! This took me awhile to read because I couldn‘t figure out the writer‘s style. By the end, though, I got it and liked it. This complicated story about a group of four friends at boarding school and a brutal murder of a young man was interesting and I didn‘t figure it out until the end.

My least favorite of the Dublin Murder Squad series, and the last of the six I read. All the books have detailed descriptlons of the environment where the crime happens, so they move slow. Most of the time it works, here it just makes the book boring.

I‘ve been hearing about Tana French for a long time. Reading on a tablet, didn‘t realize it was over 900 pages. Kept waiting for it to get better, Never did even after the murder was solved. Set at an exclusive boarding school where (of course) all any of them want to do is break the rules and maybe have sex. I didn‘t find any of the characters interesting. Wish I had bailed sooner.

1. Mystery
2. Set in a #boardingschool 😎
3. Agatha Christie, Sue Grafton, Val McDermid, Louise Penny
#sundayfunday
#savvysettings

1. I prefer single POV but also like multiple POV when it‘s done well. Tagged book was a good audiobook read by two different narrators, even though they pronounced Costello differently!
2. Yes for school but not so much for personal reading.
3. I make lists then decide what to read by mood…or by what‘s due at the library first.
#wondrouswednesday

This wasn‘t my favourite Murder Squad novel, but it was still pretty bloody good. Teenage girls are scary… I‘m so glad my parents didn‘t send me to our local all girls school when I asked them not to!

And here‘s #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo for Feb! I got a line in Jan so fingers crossed for the same!

#BeginsWith #Secret @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

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A book that #BeginsWith #Secret Day 3: part of Tana French‘s book series.

So glad to be back with the Dublin murder squad, though I am not sure this one was my favorite. It all unfolds over the course of one day, which I liked, and brings back Detective Stephen Moran and Holly Mackey (Frank‘s daughter), now all grown up and in high school. A mysterious note shows up that might be related to a murder, and Holly brings it to Moran who sees his chance to jump to the Murder squad.

I‘m working my way through these (Dublin Murder Squad) in order, and each time I finish one I think it‘s my favorite. Yet when I look back at all of them as a series, I‘m not sure I could pic a favorite. They‘re all good and unique. I liked this one because it was set in a girls boarding school. I seem to be a sucker for those.

Perhaps my favorite of French‘s series.

Ta dah! My book haul for the weekend! 🎉💕📚 #bookhaul

It has been a year since a boy was found murdered in a girls‘ boarding school and Stephen Moran must wade through all of the cliques, mean girls, and teenage drama to help find the killer if he wants a shot at a spot on the Murder Squad. My least favorite book in the series so far for a variety of reasons. Even still I got sucked in and kept trying to guess the ending.
#charactersarefrenemies #booked2021

We‘re back in school after a week of online learning so it is back to early morning reading and a #dailydunkin #teachersofLitsy

Continuing to chip away at this one. Took a drive and ended up an hour away from my house with a new view and an apple cider chai. #weekendreads

Soaking up every possible minute at outdoor cafes before winter comes. #weekendreads #dublinmurderseries

A book and a beverage. Need I say more?

😁

#BookReport - Finished 2 books this week and started 3 books this week.

I‘m 50 pages into my #LMPBC book. The MC already annoys me so 😬😬😂

I‘m over 100 pages into Magic Burns. I really love this work and Kate Daniel‘s snark.

I‘m listening to Truth or Beard on audio. I‘ve never read Penny Reid before but I‘m liking the romance.

#WeeklyForecast - Honestly no idea what I‘ll read next but it‘ll be off #bookspinbonanza list

It was so good to be back in the world of Ireland and the Murder squad. Such a great mystery. I didn‘t know who the murder was going to be. I know a lot of people didn‘t care for the supernatural elements, but I didn‘t have any issues with it. It made an interesting storyline.

I have 2 left I think in the Murder Squad.

#BookSpinBonanza - Book 4 or 5 (I have to double check 😬, this was the 5th number picked)

I loved how the current day timeline happened all in one day! French is masterful at unfurling little bits of the story in just the right way to keep your mind constantly flipping between suspects. I could have done without the supernatural element, I just didn‘t see how that added to the story.

Book 5 for #bookspinbonanza

It was not nice out today. Some sun, lots of clouds and lots of wind. 😬😬

But we were working outside today at a friends house and obviously are not able to hang out inside. I had a winter hat, a vest, a long sleeves shirt, and a jacket/sweater on 😂😂

So I laid on their hammock and got a few chapters in.

#NutsInMay #dogsoflitsy

Also, apparently I was more concerned about getting Buddy in the picture than my book 🤷🏻‍♀️🤪

French captures the adolescent girls‘ relationships very well..the angst, intensity, bitching, young love, secrets...right down to the annoying teens talk (“OhmyGod!” “awesomesauce”). Intricately plotted, character driven & a great sense of place. I love when French writes about her detectives, this time, an odd-pair & an appearance of Frank Mackey (my fav). Fantastic read, my only complaint in the comments.

#mandmchallenge2020 #favoriteauthor

Debate! I just left a meeting where there was a hot debate about the effectiveness of step-back covers (a paperback cover that is trimmed slightly shorter to reveal the page underneath filled with reviews and awards). As a general reader, do you pay attention to review blurbs? Do they help convince you to buy a book? Have you ever even noticed a step-back cover? If so, is that more meaningful than just one blurb on the front?

#MagnificentMarch Day 17: Tana French definitely fits the #IrishAuthorSetInIreland theme. Bought all of her books in this series while I was in Dublin. How could I possibly resist that marked-down price? More of my book haul while in Ireland here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-iLv

This is my least favorite book in the series. Unfortunately, I think I‘m done with this series as the books have not gotten any better. The first book was fantastic but they‘ve steadily declined.

I have a new challenge video out!

https://youtu.be/eBtPOnWGGa0

#WeeklyForcast

Started tagged book early this morning in bed & in the dark ... kindles are good like that ! So glad to be back on the crime scene

Also these 2 Curtis Sittenfelds are looking good !

And there are books wrapped up under the tree ... soooo 🤷🏼‍♀️ who knows where this weeks reading will go

Lovely to be reading Tana again ❤️

I liked this, but maybe not as much as her others. It seemed to move more slowly. But, still very good!

Getting ready for a family picture! Listening to this one from French‘s Dublin Murder Squad series, and while it‘s not my favorite, there are some strangely supernatural elements that make it feel perfect for Halloween 🎃

I very much liked this one. High school was awful and this captured that intense desperation for me. The detective was very likable. The bit of supernatural weirdness was odd, and for me it was never properly defined whether that was real or not, but maybe that was ok? Any A+

My #libraryhaul from today!!

Does anyone know if you have to read Tana French in order? Thank you!

Gilded youth in boarding school angst as Dublin Murder Squad‘s Antoinette Conway and Stephen Moran partner up for one day to follow up on a clue in the death of a golden schoolboy one year ago. Conway gives no quarter, Moran is all about using this chance to move onto the squad. Heady, secret,and dangerous teenage world seems impossible to parse. Don‘t think I would have survived high school now. Now for French‘s next one🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back to the Dublin Murder Squad for me. I‘m enjoying this one on audio.

I love Harney and Sons hot cinnamon spice. #teatime #polarvortex2019 #snowday

Experimenting with tracking my reading with the Bookly app. I love reading to the sound of "light rain". The actual weather is another story. It hasn't stop snowing since yesterday morning. Current temp is 2 degrees with -15 wind chill. Back to my book and gentle rain! #snowday #readallday

Grateful for a new audiobook to get me to work on this ridiculously cold day.

Another great book #setinireland #irishauthor completed for #booked2019. This one seemed different than the rest of the Dublin Murder Squad series. I liked it, but toward the end it drug on. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️