A Good Read

"Broken Harbor" by Tana French   Viking   450 pages   $27.95

The book is set in Dublin, a place that Richie and I enjoyed very much.  We admire the Irish spirit - make the best of it; quit whinging and get on with it. 

The main character is a top detective on the Murder Squad named Mike "Scorcher" Kennedy (a reference to the speed with which he clears cases) now partnered with a rookie on a major murder.  Out in the sparsely-sold suburbs in a floundering development, a man and his wife and their two young children have been attacked -- the father and both kids are dead; the wife nearly so. 

French cleverly uses the way Kennedy is teaching the rookie police detective practicalities to teach the reader as well. 

When a stranger is found, squatting in an empty house overlooking that of the slain family, it would seem that the case can be closed.  But why did this family have five baby monitors pointing at holes smashed in walls all through the house?   Why was their computer totally wiped out? 

The good news is that this is French's second novel featuring Kennedy - something to look forward to!