Anonymous
08/07/2023 16:08
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
Oooh - I hated the With Elm. The others were good to tolerable. But in my opinion, The Witch Elm was terrible.
Anonymous
08/07/2023 15:15
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I read the first Tana French book and was so mad one of the mysteries wasn't solved, I never read her again.
100% same. Once I realized that she never ties up that storyline, I angrily threw the book away. Never again.
that's so funny. I have done that with The Likeness
Anonymous
08/07/2023 15:08
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
Anonymous wrote:I read the first Tana French book and was so mad one of the mysteries wasn't solved, I never read her again.
100% same. Once I realized that she never ties up that storyline, I angrily threw the book away. Never again.
Anonymous
08/07/2023 14:45
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
I found the Witch Elm unreadable.But I loved the rest, even the implausible.
Anonymous
08/06/2023 22:34
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
Anonymous wrote:I've read all her books. The best by far is The Witch Elm. The worst is the newest one (most boring imho).
I started with In the Woods and the lack of resolution re: the forest kidnapping didn't bother me like it does a lot of people. I feel like she does hint throughout that there is something supernatural about the woods and I could see her revisiting that one again sometime in the future. I also feel like it is very realistic to life that sometimes you just don't get answers and it is what it is.
The Likeness: totally agree that the plot hole is stupid and unbelievable. But IF you can let that go and just enjoy the immersion into the college descriptions, it's a good book. I love books set on college campuses and boarding schools though. In fact, it kind of reminded me of a less well written version The Secret History.
Broken Harbor: probably my second favorite after The Witch Elm. I like psychological mysteries. What I got from it was that the husband was tipping over into psychosis. He probably did see or hear an animal at some point but the stress of the recession/layoff triggered a latent mental illness and caused him to hallucinate the rest.
I didn't really like the main character in The Faithful Place - they're all cocky jerks but this one takes it to new heights - so also didn't enjoy when he popped up again with his daughter in the boarding school book (The Secret Place, I think?).
I did enjoy the book about the female detective. Hopes she starts writing mostly female characters in the future, she does that best.
I'd love to know why you thought The Witch Elm was the best of them all?
Anonymous
08/03/2023 21:46
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
Anonymous wrote:I read the first Tana French book and was so mad one of the mysteries wasn't solved, I never read her again.
This. I loved In the Woods and HATED that she put detail about the blood in the shoes in there and never wrapped up that story. Infuriating.
Anonymous
08/03/2023 21:25
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
The books definitely have plot holes/really unresolved red herrings. On the tv show, I really wanted to see Tom Vaughan-Lawlor play Frank Mackey for the books that focused on that character.
Anonymous
08/03/2023 19:34
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
I've read all her books. The best by far is The Witch Elm. The worst is the newest one (most boring imho).
I started with In the Woods and the lack of resolution re: the forest kidnapping didn't bother me like it does a lot of people. I feel like she does hint throughout that there is something supernatural about the woods and I could see her revisiting that one again sometime in the future. I also feel like it is very realistic to life that sometimes you just don't get answers and it is what it is.
The Likeness: totally agree that the plot hole is stupid and unbelievable. But IF you can let that go and just enjoy the immersion into the college descriptions, it's a good book. I love books set on college campuses and boarding schools though. In fact, it kind of reminded me of a less well written version The Secret History.
Broken Harbor: probably my second favorite after The Witch Elm. I like psychological mysteries. What I got from it was that the husband was tipping over into psychosis. He probably did see or hear an animal at some point but the stress of the recession/layoff triggered a latent mental illness and caused him to hallucinate the rest.
I didn't really like the main character in The Faithful Place - they're all cocky jerks but this one takes it to new heights - so also didn't enjoy when he popped up again with his daughter in the boarding school book (The Secret Place, I think?).
I did enjoy the book about the female detective. Hopes she starts writing mostly female characters in the future, she does that best.
I started with In the Woods and the lack of resolution re: the forest kidnapping didn't bother me like it does a lot of people. I feel like she does hint throughout that there is something supernatural about the woods and I could see her revisiting that one again sometime in the future. I also feel like it is very realistic to life that sometimes you just don't get answers and it is what it is.
The Likeness: totally agree that the plot hole is stupid and unbelievable. But IF you can let that go and just enjoy the immersion into the college descriptions, it's a good book. I love books set on college campuses and boarding schools though. In fact, it kind of reminded me of a less well written version The Secret History.
Broken Harbor: probably my second favorite after The Witch Elm. I like psychological mysteries. What I got from it was that the husband was tipping over into psychosis. He probably did see or hear an animal at some point but the stress of the recession/layoff triggered a latent mental illness and caused him to hallucinate the rest.
I didn't really like the main character in The Faithful Place - they're all cocky jerks but this one takes it to new heights - so also didn't enjoy when he popped up again with his daughter in the boarding school book (The Secret Place, I think?).
I did enjoy the book about the female detective. Hopes she starts writing mostly female characters in the future, she does that best.
Anonymous
08/03/2023 19:24
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
Anonymous wrote:I read the first Tana French book and was so mad one of the mysteries wasn't solved, I never read her again.
Doesn't the ending kind of hint that there is something supernatural about the forest? I feel like she will revisit this one again.
Anonymous
08/03/2023 19:24
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:In Broken Harbor, wasn't it a raccoon or something?
No animal was ever seen or caught, IIRC. There were claw marks on the ceiling and noises that only the (obsessed) husband could hear.
I read this a really long time ago so the details aren't super fresh for me anymore. But, iirc, the husband was tipping over into psychosis. He probably did see or hear an animal at some point but the stress of the situation and his mental illness caused him to hallucinate the rest.
Anonymous
08/01/2023 23:47
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
Anonymous wrote:In Broken Harbor, wasn't it a raccoon or something?
No animal was ever seen or caught, IIRC. There were claw marks on the ceiling and noises that only the (obsessed) husband could hear.
Anonymous
07/31/2023 17:17
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
I read the first Tana French book and was so mad one of the mysteries wasn't solved, I never read her again.
Anonymous
07/31/2023 09:49
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
In Broken Harbor, wasn't it a raccoon or something?
Anonymous
07/31/2023 09:44
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
I can really only comment on The Likeness. I agree that it's implausible, but the fact is the murderer could have left his victim very close to death yet they were found and survived anyway.
For me, the idea that someone looks EXACTLY like another person is also deeply flawed. We all know people who look a bit like each other, we've seen celebrities who get confused for each other (Javier Bardem / Jeffrey Dean Morgan, etc) but the level of mistaking one person for another in this story is way beyond reality.
I did enjoy the TV version of this which was combined with another of the books, In the Woods, to make one single series, but I found when I tried to read the books, they were almost unreadable. Well done for getting through so many of them. I think what you pick up on, is that her stories are mainly plot led, rather than character led which is why her characters do things you don't always find believable. They are there only to serve the story, which undermines any character development.
For me, the idea that someone looks EXACTLY like another person is also deeply flawed. We all know people who look a bit like each other, we've seen celebrities who get confused for each other (Javier Bardem / Jeffrey Dean Morgan, etc) but the level of mistaking one person for another in this story is way beyond reality.
I did enjoy the TV version of this which was combined with another of the books, In the Woods, to make one single series, but I found when I tried to read the books, they were almost unreadable. Well done for getting through so many of them. I think what you pick up on, is that her stories are mainly plot led, rather than character led which is why her characters do things you don't always find believable. They are there only to serve the story, which undermines any character development.
Anonymous
07/31/2023 00:00
Subject: Can we talk about Tana French's plot holes
*** spoilers ahead ***
I've been binging Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad audiobooks this month and love her writing style and character development. But it seems that in every book I've read so far (about to start The Trespasser) there's at least one plot hole/ unresolved question, some of which are pretty central to the case. Here are the ones I remember off the top of my head in no particular order (stop reading now if you don't want spoilers). What am I missing here?
The Secret Place: What was the point of giving the 4 girls short-term superpowers (for lack of a better word) ? They seemed to only use them to turn lights off and on and move objects a few inches. Lasted less than a year IIRC and had no bearing on the murder.
In the Woods: The old case, which to me is far more interesting than the present-day one, is left unsolved. (Also I found it odd that that the male detective would cut his BFF off so completely without a better reason.)
Broken Harbor: How did the animal skeletons and claw marks get into the attic? What was the deal with the mysteriously decapitated bird in the garden?
The Likeness: Why did it take so long for the killer to call bullshit on the "victim" coming back to life and picking up where she left off? At least 2 housemates witnessed/participated in her death.
Faithful Place: Overly responsible and resentful older brother kills 2 (including his own brother) because he has an unspoken wish for his siblings to shoulder some of the responsibility of taking care of their dysfunctional parents. Um ... OK.
Again, I like the writing so I'll stick with it for now. Love the pattern of taking a character from the previous book and giving them center stage in the next one. Just a bit frustrated at the loose ends. I understand that real life is full of loose ends, but I expect a little more from a fiction writer.
I've been binging Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad audiobooks this month and love her writing style and character development. But it seems that in every book I've read so far (about to start The Trespasser) there's at least one plot hole/ unresolved question, some of which are pretty central to the case. Here are the ones I remember off the top of my head in no particular order (stop reading now if you don't want spoilers). What am I missing here?
The Secret Place: What was the point of giving the 4 girls short-term superpowers (for lack of a better word) ? They seemed to only use them to turn lights off and on and move objects a few inches. Lasted less than a year IIRC and had no bearing on the murder.
In the Woods: The old case, which to me is far more interesting than the present-day one, is left unsolved. (Also I found it odd that that the male detective would cut his BFF off so completely without a better reason.)
Broken Harbor: How did the animal skeletons and claw marks get into the attic? What was the deal with the mysteriously decapitated bird in the garden?
The Likeness: Why did it take so long for the killer to call bullshit on the "victim" coming back to life and picking up where she left off? At least 2 housemates witnessed/participated in her death.
Faithful Place: Overly responsible and resentful older brother kills 2 (including his own brother) because he has an unspoken wish for his siblings to shoulder some of the responsibility of taking care of their dysfunctional parents. Um ... OK.
Again, I like the writing so I'll stick with it for now. Love the pattern of taking a character from the previous book and giving them center stage in the next one. Just a bit frustrated at the loose ends. I understand that real life is full of loose ends, but I expect a little more from a fiction writer.