Read by Hilda Fay
Published October 2016 by Penguin Publishing
Source: audiobook checked out from my library
Publisher's Summary:
Being on the Murder Squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she’s there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she’s getting close to the breaking point.
Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers’ quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed-to-a-shine, and dead in her catalog-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There’s nothing unusual about her—except that Antoinette’s seen her somewhere before.
And that her death won’t stay in its neat by-numbers box. Other detectives are trying to push Antoinette and Steve into arresting Aislinn’s boyfriend, fast. There’s a shadowy figure at the end of Antoinetteʼs road. Aislinnʼs friend is hinting that she knew Aislinn was in danger. And everything they find out about Aislinn takes her further from the glossy, passive doll she seemed to be.
Antoinette knows the harassment has turned her paranoid, but she can’t tell just how far gone she is. Is this case another step in the campaign to force her off the squad, or are there darker currents flowing beneath its polished surface?
My Thoughts:
First of all, if you get a chance to listen to this one, do it. If you are not absolutely sucked into the book by the Irish accent alone, I'm not sure we can be friends any more. And not only do we get the accent, but Fay does a terrific job of reading the book and a great job with finding voices for the multiple characters.
As for the book itself, Tana French has never disappointed me yet. The Trespasser is no exception. This is the sixth book in French's Dublin Murder Squad "series." Here, French has, unusually, brought back two detectives from the last book; this time, however, Antoinette takes center stage and Moran plays a supporting role.
Antoinette might be my favorite French character. A loner with a temper by nature, Conway is even more isolated in the murder squad, the only woman, the only person of color. She's forced to work the night shift, she's never given the big cases.The good old boys do not make it easy on her and make it clear they want her out. They spit in her coffee if she leaves it on her desk when she leaves the room, they urinate in her locker, they abscond with reports and evidence. This is not a woman who can't get along with people, though. She did just fine when she was working in the missing persons division and she does have mates. And this is a woman who calls her mum after her shift every day. French does a great job of making this porcupine of a character someone readers can cheer for.
Like all of French's Dublin Murder Squad books, you'd better be paying attention because even though there's not a lot of evidence or suspects in this one, French keeps her readers guessing. Knowing that French's books generally don't end tidily, I wasn't surprised that things got very twisted toward the end. On the other hand, I still didn't have any idea where she was going. I rarely do with her books which is part of what makes me keep coming back.
I really want to read the first in this series. I just finished up Witch Elm and while I thought it went on a bit long and the ending wasn't quite what I wanted, overall I was really impressed with Tana French. I'd love to read her other books. And listening to her books are always a bonus with the Irish accent!
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