We have written many articles about Crime Writers and their popular books. In this article, we are going to talk about a writer who has taken the crime novels to the storm and has won many hearts. It’s none other than French Tana! She is one of the first Irish writers that has presented new work in crime, mystery, and suspense writing.
As a child, she has lived in many countries including the US, Italy, Ireland, etc. She is also trained in acting. In her childhood, her focus was more on acting rather than writing but as she came in her 30s her passion for writing increased. She grew up reading the mystery and crime novels and that’s where she developed a love for the genre.
Her first novel was, In The Woods, which was released in the year 2007. Even though it was her debut book, but it has made the mark and won many awards for the first novel. People have loved her new writing style as well as deeply compelling mysteries. Readers have also appreciated the well-developed characters as well as incredibly diverse scenarios. So if you wanna read novels that have the best-kept mysteries and sensational crimes than it should be your first choice.
Although there are only a few books by Tana French and here we are naming them all with a little description of them. So that you can know a little bit about the plot and decide if you wanna take up her books. Although her books can be read as a standalone it would be better if you read them in order so that you can keep up with the character development.
Also check- Robert crias books in order / Harry bosch books in order
Tana French Books
1. In The Woods
In The Woods is the first book by Tana French and it’s also the first installment of her series Dublin Murder Squad. The book has been popularized for her beautiful work. You will see the best character development as well as the well-written mystery plot.The story of the novel revolves around Rob Ryan. He is now a detective at Dublin Police but he has a past memory who h he couldn’t leave. When he was 12 years old, he went missing with his two friends. But when he was discovered aging at the edge of the woods, near his home and with a shoe full of someone else’s blood. Till now the memory haunts him and he has no idea what had happened to him during that period of time.Now after 22 years of that incident he has been sent investigate the murder of a child and that too in the woods. He is with his partner, Cassie Madox. He has kept his history secret from everyone but Cassie and this is now overwhelming him. The theme of this book is the past memories and how they can still affect your present.
2. The Likeness
The Likeness is following the story of the first books In The Books. It majorly revolves around the character of Cassie Madox. She is traumatic after what happened in the woods and she has now decided to leave her position at Dublin Murder Squad. But she has been brought back to the department by Frank Mackey when an unusual case knocks. They have discovered a young dead woman in an abandoned house and her name is Lexi Maddison! The same name was used by Cassie in her former undercover case! Is this somehow related to each other? Or is she over thinking about it? The character of Cassie is sent to the house as ‘Lexi’ and she is overwhelmed while pretending to be someone else. She will be struggling a lot and is revealing her own true identity throughout the book.It’s a tense thriller and has so many levels and diversity of the story and till you reach the end you will be shocked. It’s a pretty great story and will entertain you until the end.
3. Faithful Place
The third Tana French Book in order will also live up to your imagination. We can assume that you are already in love with the series and you have developed a better understanding of the characters as well as her plot writing. And this book is focusing on the character of Frank Mackey!You will know a little more about his character and how to battle with a rough childhood. He has survived an abusive working-class family, a failed marriage, an estranged daughter and this can reflect in his flexible moral codes which can get things done in his way. He left his house when he was 19 and with that, he had also left his childhood sweetheart Rosie!After 20 years of that incident, her abandoned suitcase and her dead body are found! He is frustrated with the fact that he couldn’t involve in this case because of his personal relations with Rosie. But as we said earlier he always managed to get his way so he has taken things in his own hands and doing his own investigation for the case. It would be interesting to see where this investigation leads him and will he be able to find the truth about Rosie?
4. Broken Harbour
This time the story is featuring the character of Scorcher Kennedy, who is an incredible detective of Dublin Murder Squad. You must remember him from the Faithful Place, where he was dismissed by Frank Mackey (because according to him he is a pompous, rule bounding boring git!). Even after all this, you should be aware of the fact that he is one of the best detectives they had and that too with the highest solve rate.After all this, he is given multiple cases but with one disadvantage, he has to work with the new trainee detective Richie Curran. What started as a simple, straightforward murder-suicide case has now become a mystery! The novel has the potential to affect you with it’s unraveling mysteries and you won’t be disappointed! Overall it’s going to be a pretty enjoyable book that you will read.
5. The Secret Place
If you like reading the mystery novels you will definitely like to read the time-bound mystery thriller! And that’s what it is! The story starts with a murder that happened in the same boarding school as Frank’s daughter Holly study in! And now after a year of that case, Holly appears at the doorstep of Detective Stephen Moran’s with new information that can help them find the killer.Stephen desperately wants to solve the case and made his mark and earn a reputation on the Murder Squad. But he has only 24 hours to solve the case. This time ticking mystery is definitely a good example of modern mystery and thriller drama.
6. The Trespasser
What happens if there is someone withing the squad betraying them? Well, the ideas seem absurd but it might be true. The story highlights the character of Antoinette Conway whose relationship with Stephen Morgan solidified during their previous case in The Secret Place! Both of them are assigned a case that seems pretty straightforward but soon they come to realize that someone within the squad is trying to steer the investigation. This case is a make it or break it point for Antoinette Conway and it would be interesting to see where this situation leads them.
7. The Witch Elm
The book is the first standalone by Tana French and it has been appreciated by the readers as well as the critics! This mystery novel has featured one of the best mysteries and thrillers of this time. It featured a character who has been nearly murdered by a few burglars. When he tries to recover from this horrific incident by going to his uncle’s, he found a skull in the trunk of the elm tree. And that’s where the detectives come along and try to solve the case. Toby is now struggling with his past memories and how he should handle them!
Conclusion
So these are all the Tana French Books in Order that you wanted to know about. We are pretty sure that you will be in love with her books after you would complete her first book. So ho ahead and read the book which excites you the most!We hope our article has helped you. We have done other articles like this for numerous other authors and their books in order, so go ahead and check them out as well. Thank you for visiting us!