Without going into the plot, Ms. French's book was really quite good, considering this is her debut novel. I don't often say that about many people's first work; most of the time I feel like the writer's second novel will be more fully fleshed out and more satisfying to me as a reader. I picked this book up this morning and did not move until I had finished it. I just could not put it down, it was that good. I liked the characters, the twists and turns that the story took, the police procedural aspect of it, and I especially liked the fact (unlike some authors) that Ms. French stuck to the point and didn't wander off with more subplots or add more murders in her story -- I get so annoyed when that happens. So imagine my surprise when I went to another website to look at reviews by other readers when I'd finished and found that they all felt cheated by the author at the end! At first I thought I must have looked up the wrong book, because I was perfectly okay with how this book ended. I mean (and I've said this before in many other reviews), there are some things in life that simply have no resolution -- and in real life, we don't have the luxury of a deus ex machina to help us through our trials and tribulations, and in real life police work, the answers or breaks needed to solve a case just simply do not exist.

Personally, I really enjoyed this novel and I'm a tough mystery novel reader. If I don't like it, the author doesn't make his or her reappearance on any of my shelves. I won't be saying that about Tana French. Her next novel (and probably any other one she writes based on these characters) is guaranteed a spot.

This book would appeal to people who enjoy reading crime fiction set in Ireland, as well as to those people who like a very good mystery story. However, if you're going to get irate that the author does not package things in neat little bows to your satisfaction (thereby imitating real life) you may want to move on to something where everything's spelled out. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.