READ THIS: BROKEN HARBOR by Tana French Our Coverage Sponsored by The Cutler Salon, Official Hairstylist of Whom You Know
The Best Hairstylist in Manhattan
&
Official Hairstylist of Whom You Know:
47 West 57th Street 2nd Floor
212 308 3838
465 West Broadway
Park Avenue at the Ganesvoort
Also in Miami in South Beach at the Ganesvoort
Rodney Cutler is a Mover and Shaker:
***
Who knew there was also an IRISH Sherlock Holmes? He even works out of Dublin Castle which we can say firsthand is gorgeous. (We know about BBC Home Entertainment’s latest version…) For anyone that loves a dramatic tale of crime and murder, Broken Harbor by Tana French is for you, especially because it’s set in Ireland, which makes any book better. You can’t go wrong with a protagonist named Michael Kennedy and we love how he tries to make order of the world; he is a truly admirable character. Sadly, the collapse of the Celtic Tiger has permeated Irish society. Since the real estate and financial markets are not at their hottest here in America either, all reading this on both sides of the pond will be able to relate.
You’ll be learning the rules along the way, like: no emotions on the scene (count to 10, say the rosary…), deduce odd behavior, and if you want to come out a success, you cannot go in smelling of failure. Do not go with the flow: make the flow go with you. All common sense really, but crucial to be followed in a successful solve.
“Are people really who you think they are?” you’ll be asking yourself, and your answers will evolve with each turn of the page. As we learn more, you’ll become increasingly creeped-out and sucked in to the plot, which is phenomenal. The evidence will startle you. What the internet can bring back is amazing as well. You also might become more careful about who your friends are and wonder if you are going crazy! Calm yourself with French’s reiteration of Shakespeare:
“’Be not afraid, the isle is full of noises: sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.’”
Though this is nearly 500 pages, which is quite long for a novel of this kind, Broken Harbor goes by quickly and takes place over quite a short period of time. It is quick and smart, with action and motives constantly being considered and all kinds of scenarios that will drive you mad until you reach the last page, so you understand how it all works out.
The characters are tops-it is good to know O’Kelly is fashion-forward and anti-hoodie. And you can tell they have good taste if they are mentioning venues like Café en Seine in Dublin, which we love. Quigley does have a striking character resemblance to Thomas of Downton Abbey: each of them make our blood boil. You’ll also want to find out who this is: “[She] is mad as a hatter. She’s five beers short of a six-pack. She’s up the wall and swinging from the chandelier.” Stay with Mikey Kennedy and you’ll find out-he brings sincere simplicity to the scene to set all straight, and things don’t happen for no reason. Not only is Michael Kennedy bloody good at his job, but Tana French is as well. Mary Higgins Clark, you have another Irish writer to have your Irish Murder mysteries to sit next to on the shelf!
Whom You Know Highly Recommends Broken Harbor! We can’t wait to see what Tana does next.
***
With her three bestselling and award-winning novels, Tana French mastered the cinematic police procedural. She demonstrated a knack for picking heroes and creating fallible, deeply human detectives as broken as the cases they investigate. With her mesmerizing fourth novel about the Dublin Murder Squad, BROKEN HARBOR (Viking; $27.95; 978-0-670-02365-3; Strict on sale July 24, 2012), and her choice of veteran detective Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy (Frank Mackey’s nemesis from Faithful Place), her readers will not be disappointed.
BROKEN HARBOR opens with Scorcher and his newly assigned rookie partner, Richie Curran, being called to a gruesome triple homicide of the Spain family in Brianstown, a seaside town outside of Dublin, locally known as Broken Harbor.
At the crime scene the father, Pat, is found fatally stabbed, the mother, Jenny, is barely alive, and the two young children, Emma and Jack, have been smothered to death. Early investigation points directly to the suspect and voyeur, Conor Brennan, who is obsessed with Jenny and has been stalking her. As is always true in Tana French novels, the most obvious suspect isn’t necessarily the culprit.
Tana French is a master of intricate relationships and has a true gift in making unlikeable characters, like Scorcher— an over-confident, unimaginative, and by-the-book detective—appear sympathetic. She integrates Scorcher’s own broken past and present turmoil into the narrative. His attempts to come to grips with his mother's suicide, save his mentally unstable younger sister as she spirals out of control, and face his childhood memories of Broken Harbor form a window into his flawed humanity.. However, it’s Scorcher’s own past, prejudices and family that influence how he investigates the Spain murders and reveals the culprit.
BROKEN HARBOR is story of how the dreams of a better life can collapse, of how a modern family can fall prey to the most modern of curses, and how one man – the ideal detective – can fall to pieces.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tana French is the author of three bestselling novels, including the award-winning In the Woods. She has won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards for Best First Novel and the IVCA Clarion Award for Best Fiction, and has twice been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Best Mystery/Thriller. She lives in Dublin with her husband and daughter
BROKEN HARBOR by Tana French
Viking ▪ $27.95 ▪ On-sale date: July 24, 2012 ▪ ISBN: 978-0-670-02365-3 ▪ also available as an e-book
Visit Tana French at facebook.com/TanaFrench
Visit Penguin Group USA online at us.penguingroup.com
Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group. Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children's trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Berkley Books, Dutton, Frederick Warne, G.P. Putnam's Sons, Grosset & Dunlap, New American Library, Penguin, Philomel, Riverhead Books and Viking, among others. The Penguin Group is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.
