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silas_rnold's review
4.0
“Only teenagers think boring is bad. Adults, grown men and women who've been around the block a few times, know that boring is a gift straight from God. Life has more than enough excitement up its sleeve, ready to hit you with as soon as you're not looking, without you adding to the drama.” - Tana French, Broken Harbour
"Scorcher" Kennedy is the epitome of a by the book detective. His record isn't perfectly clean, having botched a case in the past, but this is his first jump back into the big time with a new partner and a multiple murder in a countryside suburb. The first wrinkle we find is that one victim is still alive.
The investigation has its twists and turns and is as interesting as all of the other Dublin Murder Squad novels. Taking a cue from Faithful Place, Broken Harbour's inclusion of Kennedy's personal life was one of the most interesting parts of this book to me. It did a great job of bringing the theme of mental illness full-circle and made me notice it much more than I would have normally.
French's writing is still wonderful and the plots find a way to throw pieces I didn't expect. It makes me appreciate how thought-out all of her novels are. I hope the series keeps its strength.
"Scorcher" Kennedy is the epitome of a by the book detective. His record isn't perfectly clean, having botched a case in the past, but this is his first jump back into the big time with a new partner and a multiple murder in a countryside suburb. The first wrinkle we find is that one victim is still alive.
The investigation has its twists and turns and is as interesting as all of the other Dublin Murder Squad novels. Taking a cue from Faithful Place, Broken Harbour's inclusion of Kennedy's personal life was one of the most interesting parts of this book to me. It did a great job of bringing the theme of mental illness full-circle and made me notice it much more than I would have normally.
French's writing is still wonderful and the plots find a way to throw pieces I didn't expect. It makes me appreciate how thought-out all of her novels are. I hope the series keeps its strength.
mariabeaucage's review
3.0
The mystery/crime is so convoluted, and I didn't really enjoy the characters. I really wish Richie was the main detective because the narrator's arrogance was grating. I might give another one in this series a try to see if any of the other detectives jive more with me.
ldv's review
4.0
An intense murder mystery, very character-driven. There are few characters in the book, in fact, but they are nicely layered and intriguing. They are all flawed, which keeps things very interesting. Especially the protagonist/narrator, who doesn't see his own flaws but they are clear to the reader - just like real life! While some elements of the ending are as I expected, none of them is wholly what I predicted. There are no additional murders or deaths, for example. The ending is satisfactory without being perfectly tidy or done epilogue style. A great mystery! And so unlike French's other books.
leahjanespeare's review
4.0
In my opinion, Broken Harbour has the most horrifying ending in this series so far. These books definitely need a period of psychological recovery between each one.
alyssa's review
3.0
I enjoyed reading this book, but I wasn't satisfied enough with the resolution of the mystery to give it a super strong rating. I predicted the "solution" to the mystery, but there were a lot of questions that were left unanswered, and honestly I mostly read detective novels for that intense feeling of satisfaction when the thing gets solved.
kimmym's review
4.0
Once again, as soon as I finished reading the previous book in this series (Faithful Place), I had to start reading this one! I really love these books, and this one had a tough job because Faithful Place had been my favourite so far. Would this one be just as good?
In my opinion, yes! Broken Harbour was another hit. I loved the main character, who made a brief appearance in the previous book, I was pulled in by the mystery, and I could not put the book down once I started to read it.
And again, without getting into the plot or spoilers, it’s difficult for me to talk about this. I loved the writing, and I really enjoyed how different Scorcher was from Frank, the previous book’s main character.
One of my favourite things in this book was Scorcher warming up to Richie, his rookie partner. Scorcher is not the sort of detective who works for long with a partner, and I really enjoyed seeing the way that he and Richie became a good team.
Spoiler (for this book and for In the Woods): Part of what really stands out for me with this book was the way Scorcher and Richie’s partnership fell apart. It was kind of heartbreaking for me, much the same way it was for me when Rob and Cassie’s partnership – and friendship – was destroyed in In the Woods. More than the mystery, I think that’s what I will remember about this book down the road. Scorcher and Richie could have been great partners, the kind that Scorcher talks about who spend years working together, who trust each other and have each other’s backs, but it comes to nothing in the end. End of spoiler.
It should be no surprise now that I loved this book, as I have loved Tana French’s previous books in this series, and I fully expect to love the next one, The Secret Place, which is the only one I haven’t read yet (I did read The Trespasser when it came out, although I will definitely be rereading it as I make my way through this series).
(From www.pingwings.ca)
In my opinion, yes! Broken Harbour was another hit. I loved the main character, who made a brief appearance in the previous book, I was pulled in by the mystery, and I could not put the book down once I started to read it.
And again, without getting into the plot or spoilers, it’s difficult for me to talk about this. I loved the writing, and I really enjoyed how different Scorcher was from Frank, the previous book’s main character.
One of my favourite things in this book was Scorcher warming up to Richie, his rookie partner. Scorcher is not the sort of detective who works for long with a partner, and I really enjoyed seeing the way that he and Richie became a good team.
Spoiler (for this book and for In the Woods): Part of what really stands out for me with this book was the way Scorcher and Richie’s partnership fell apart. It was kind of heartbreaking for me, much the same way it was for me when Rob and Cassie’s partnership – and friendship – was destroyed in In the Woods. More than the mystery, I think that’s what I will remember about this book down the road. Scorcher and Richie could have been great partners, the kind that Scorcher talks about who spend years working together, who trust each other and have each other’s backs, but it comes to nothing in the end. End of spoiler.
It should be no surprise now that I loved this book, as I have loved Tana French’s previous books in this series, and I fully expect to love the next one, The Secret Place, which is the only one I haven’t read yet (I did read The Trespasser when it came out, although I will definitely be rereading it as I make my way through this series).
(From www.pingwings.ca)
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