Tana French

While Detective Antoinette Conway and her partner Stephen Moran work a seemingly routine investigation of a lovers' quarrel gone bad, they discover the case isn't as by-the-numbers as they thought.

The Trespasser

"Being on the Murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she's there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment ... Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers' quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed to a shine, and dead in her catalogue-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There's nothing unusual about her--except that Antoinette's seen her somewhere before"--Amazon.com.

Denaiir

This is not my favorite Tana French book, maybe my least favorite? Maybe it's The Likeness, not sure. In The Trespasser, Detectives Antoinette Conway and Steve Moran have to investigate a murder that looks like a domestic violence case. They know something else is probably going on because of the way their fellow detectives act, but they have to fight hard to figure out what's actually going on.

The problem with this book is that, as usual with French, the main protagonist is unlikeable, but in that case she was annoying as hell and I just wanted to slap her in the face. And since the crime itself was not really interesting, this was a loooooooong book covering a boring act, and it wasn't engrossing at all.

Lara Engle

Overall, The Trespasser was disappointing. Antoinette Conway is not a fun or intriguing or exciting character. Her personal tragedies are predictable and somewhat inane. Her character growth is anticlimactic. Plus, the case in this one was also ho-hum and predictable. Throughout the book, I found myself thinking back to the earlier books in the series and reminiscing on the rich characterization and lyrical descriptions of setting. This one just doesn't hold up. That makes it easier to let go of the series, but it makes me sad it didn't get a more affecting end.

Jessica Ford

Typical Tana French book. Good mystery, unlikable characters.

Zoey Mikalatos

I love how Tana French so easily twists the reader, convinces them to see and think exactly what she wants to. Even on the sixth book, when I should be prepared for it, she manages to surprise me every time with the details that I missed and should have caught on to. While this isn't my favorite Dublin Murder Squad book, the series as a whole is one of my favorite series and this book is still excellent and very well written.

"You can knock down a genuine belief, if you load up with enough facts that contradict it; but a belief that's built on nothing other than who the person wants to be, nothing can crumble that."

The masterful Richard & Judy pick, from the Sunday Times bestselling author. Winner of the Irish Book Awards Crime Fiction Book of the Year. 'A TRULY GREAT WRITER' Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl 'ONE OF THE BEST CRIME WRITERS WORKING TODAY' Guardian You can beat one killer. Beating your own squad is a whole other thing. Being on the Dublin Murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed. Her working life is a stream of thankless cases and harassment. Antoinette is tough, but she's getting close to the breaking point. The new case looks like a regular lovers' quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty and lying dead next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There's nothing unusual about her - except that Antoinette has seen her somewhere before. And her death won't stay neat. Other detectives want her to arrest Aislinn's boyfriend, fast. There's a shadowy figure at the end of Antoinette's road. And everything they find out about Aislinn takes her further from the simple woman she seemed to be. Antoinette knows the harassment has turned her paranoid, but she can't tell just how far gone she is. Is this the case that will make her career - or break it? 'ONE OF THE BEST THRILLER WRITERS WE HAVE' Observer

Dublin Murder Squad. The gripping Richard & Judy Book Club 2017 thriller

Per usual, Tana French makes a long, complex, detailed murder investigation that sucks you in from the get-go. 

Jacque

Karen Shimek

I love Tana French and this book was worthy of 3.5 stars. I found it a bit slower reading than her others.

Elli

Tana French definitely gets her super psychological tone right in The Trespasser. In an interview I once heard with her, she spoke about caring less about whodunnit and more about who the detective is. It's what makes her books so tense and also addictive. Being in the head of someone who's spiralling and trying to grasp onto the truth amidst a flurry of lies. The mystery gets solved, but life is never the same. I really liked this one in particular. Conway is burnt out and jaded and it was at times hard to be in the mind of someone so angry. But she was a great character. 

Anna Adams

So good, I can’t wait to read the rest! Some good characterization. Excellent cop story.

'Contains the most tense and serpentine interrogation scenes outside of John Le Carr�' - Guardian This is the case she imagined. Precision-cut and savage, lithe and momentous. Antoinette Conway, the tough, abrasive detective from The Secret Place, is still on the Murder squad, but only just. She's partnered up with Stephen Moran now, and that's going well - but the rest of her working life isn't. Antoinette doesn't play well with others, and there's a vicious running campaign in the squad to get rid of her. She and Stephen pull a case that at first looks like a slam-dunk lovers' tiff. All she and her partner have to do is track down Lover Boy and bring him in. Then it'll be back to business as usual, watching from a distance as the real detectives go up against the psychopaths. Except when Antoinette takes a good look at the victim's face, she realises she's seen her somewhere before. And suddenly the conviction that there's a different answer takes her breath away.

Lori Keenom

What can I say about this book that others haven't said? Just read it. In fact read every book that has Tana French's name on it. You will not be disappointed. 

I certainly hope there will be another book after this one.

Tara King

Enjoyed this one--though a touch less than the Witch Elm.  

I loved being in the mind of one of her detectives this time; super appreciated the story of what it's like to work in a heavily male-dominated environment....and how that can impact your actual work. Watching Antoinette unraveling under the real and perceived pressure of her colleagues felt so real and relevant. I've never read anything that conveyed that pressure so well.

What I am generally enjoying about her books is the sense of how much the narrator's experiences change the way they investigate the crime--and how much the investigation or the crime changes them.  They're not iconic heroes who resume their regular life after a massive puzzle gets solved. They're changed, permanently, by this event.  

Also, she's so good at subtext--you know what the characters are thinking as much by what they don't say as what they do. Learning a lot from her about dialogue. Totally enjoyable.

Les Reynolds

So good. So different from the last one. She does such a good job of writing from her character’s point of view, and making you see the world the way they do. 

Kept me guessing all the way along.

The Trespasser

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