Book Review: The Trespasser
Sixth in the Dublin Murder Squad series, Tana French's The Trespasser is an astutely engineered crime thriller. While I have always admired the author's strong central leads, French outdoes herself this time with the character of Antoinette Conway, who first appeared in her previous novel The Secret Place. She has a thoroughly unlikeable demeanor (which in turn makes her thoroughly likeable!), doesn't hesitate to bite back if pushed over and her firebrand no-nonsense toughness is a treat to read. So is her dynamic with fellow detective Stephen Moran.
But the fact is you cannot fault Conway for behaving the way she does. For her, a transfer from Missing Persons to Murder squad has done nothing what she had hoped for. Her work life reduced to being constantly having to prove herself (due to her being a woman) and having to endure constant harassment and vicious pranks from her male colleagues. Thus when Conway and Moran are partnered in a new case that comes their way from the gaffer, she treats it for what it is. An open-and-shut case. A routine lovers tiff gone deadly, resulting in the death of a pretty blonde girl at the hands of her man.
Or at least that's what she believes it to be. Until it does not. And uncovering more and more leads only leads to more confusion, eventually leading Conway to reevaluate and second guess everything, including herself. At one point early in the story she says she hates weak people for not having "the strength to make actual situations go their way." Those who instead prefer to hide in their daydreams, turning them only more weaker in the process. As it turns out, Conway, who in no way can be called weak, suffers from the same so-called "daydreams," letting the paranoia about her work take over control.
There can be no doubt as to French's masterful staging of the crime interrogation scenes. Not only are they gripping, they offer a fascinating window into the inner workings of the justice system. Coating the thriller with layers of psychological and sociopolitical commentary, The Trespasser is richly detailed and a superlative crime fiction that's best read as a series.
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| The Trespasser |
Or at least that's what she believes it to be. Until it does not. And uncovering more and more leads only leads to more confusion, eventually leading Conway to reevaluate and second guess everything, including herself. At one point early in the story she says she hates weak people for not having "the strength to make actual situations go their way." Those who instead prefer to hide in their daydreams, turning them only more weaker in the process. As it turns out, Conway, who in no way can be called weak, suffers from the same so-called "daydreams," letting the paranoia about her work take over control.
There can be no doubt as to French's masterful staging of the crime interrogation scenes. Not only are they gripping, they offer a fascinating window into the inner workings of the justice system. Coating the thriller with layers of psychological and sociopolitical commentary, The Trespasser is richly detailed and a superlative crime fiction that's best read as a series.
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