Faithful Place by Tana French

The course of Frank Mackey’s life was set by one defining moment when he was nineteen. The moment his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, failed to turn up for their rendezvous in Faithful Place, failed to run away with him to London as they had planned. Frank never heard from her again. Twenty years on, Frank is still in Dublin, working as an undercover cop. He’s cut all ties with his dysfunctional family. Until his sister calls to say that Rosie’s suitcase has been found. Frank embarks on a journey into his past that demands he re-evaluate everything he believes to be true.

Tana French’s Faithful Place took me by complete surprise. I hadn’t expected a book with so much depth, so much atmospheric colour and an insight into the Irish neighbourhood culture that existed back in the 80’s and is certain to exist in some form today. Faithful Place, for me, is more than a crime novel; it’s an examination of relationships – fragmented ones at that – and a family held together by a thread of cotton likely to break at any time. Despite taking the usual authorial liberties, French writes in such a way that made Faithful Place feel very real to me – can’t ask for more than that.

As a crime novel the book takes second place to the subtle and not so subtle nuances that Dublin has to offer ranging from late night crawls from the pub, amorous assignations in the alleyways and family confrontations that travel through thin walls and out into the street – one guaranteed to attract an eavesdropping audience. But in times of strife and consternation that same neighbourhood rallies around the grief stricken offering support only a close knit community can offer.

Along with a gripping storyline French captures the colourful Dublin dialogue with ease and certainly gives the book an authenticity into the lives of those living in and around Faithful Place. A humorous dialogue, despite the grim conditions, it lightens up the most tragic of stories.

The closest I’d ever got to seeing a naked woman before was black and white cleavage, and then Rosie tossed her clothes in a corner just like they were getting in the way and spun around in the dim light of Number 16, palms up, luminous, laughing, almost close enough to touch. The thought still knocks the wind out of me. I was too young even to know what I wanted to do about her, I just knew nothing in the World, not the Mona Lisa walking through the Grand Canyon with the Holy Grail in one hand and a winning lotto ticket in the other, was ever going to be that beautiful.

Faithful Place isn’t a quick read – there’s a lot to get through – I’d class it more as a book to take on holiday and take your time reading either on a sun lounger or preferably in the bar cowering from the inclement weather that’s followed you. What better way to read Tana’s novel than to be firmly ensconced in a pub drinking Guiness?! It’s all about the research and method reading of course!

As with any crime novel, there are crimes to investigate and lives to disrupt but when Frank Mackey is pulled back –begrudgingly – into his old neighbourhood he has to juggle old feelings, deeply buried, and an investigation he has no jurisdiction over. His family don’t want him there and he has a hard time coming to terms with his father’s drinking and wife beating – as I said this is so much more than a straightforward crime novel.

We’ll tell them we’re from Outer Mongolia. How’s your Mongolian accent? She grinned “Who needs an accent? We’ll speak Irish and say it’s Outer Mongolian. You think they’ll know the difference?”

I did a fancy bow and said “póg mo thóin” – kiss my arse! An ancient Mongolian greeting.

So there we have it, to go too deeply into the crimes would give away too much of the underlying crime aspect of this book and I’ll let you discover that for yourselves but needless to say Faithful Place is an engaging novel that sucks you in to another way of living – Dublin style. I leave you, the avid reader, with one piece of sage advice – whatever you do, don’t call Frank’s mother ‘Ma’ she doesn’t like it and she won’t let you forget it! Enjoy!

Published by Hodder Faithful Place is available from Amazon (Paperback & Kindle)