Jess

Jess asked Tana French:

Hi Tana! One thing I really love about your books is the way that they look at bigger societal issues while also dealing with the mystery at hand, like the gender dynamics of In the Woods and the class struggles in Faithful Place. What is the writing process like for including these concepts? Are they something you strategically set out to include or do they flow naturally from the characters and the story?

Tana French Thank you very much :-) That's not a deliberate plan (I almost never have anything like a plan) - the themes just sort of work their way in. I think it's because when you write psychological crime, you spend a lot of time thinking about *why* this specific character would commit such an immense crime as murder - and the answer is often (not always) rooted deeply not only in the individual character, but in the flaws and priorities of the society around him or her. So, to one extent or another, societal issues tend to seep into the books.

More Answered Questions

Cristina Ferrandez

Cristina Ferrandez asked Tana French:

Tana, I found the idea of the 'animal' in Broken Harbour extremely chilling and a superb metaphor for mental illness and/or depression, but also loved the ambiguity of it (we can never be quite sure that the animal didn't exist - what about the skeletons in the attic?). Could you please tell us how you came up with the idea of the animal, and whether this ambiguity was intentional? Thanks!

Jeff Falzone

Jeff Falzone asked Tana French:

Is there a novel (of somebody else's) that that has your favorite opening sentences?

Jzj

Jzj asked Tana French:

Secret Place:The endings were (although I love this book and only felt a little let down by this aspect!!!) so obvious to me from early on that I want to ask you: Was the whodunit-aspect not important to you in this book? and You took some risk by making the supernatural elements (light bulbs, hot and flying objects) sound real, literal. Why did this step seem necessary?

All answers from Tana French…

29,473 followers

To ask Tana French a question, please sign up.

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions