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In a small town outside Dublin a young woman named Aislinn Murray is found dead in her home, her head bashed in. Garda detective Antoinnete Conway and her partner Steve Moran are handed the case. On the surface it seems to be straightforward: she'd prepared a romantic candlelight dinner; when her date showed up and she didn't answer the door he rang, then texted her. No answer in either case. Was he the killer, and the text and call simply a ruse to suggest he was innocent? All the signs point that way. Complicating matters, Conway is convinced she's seen the woman before, even talked to her. But for the life of her she can't remember where.
As they work the case Conway and Moran grow suspicious. A girlfriend hints that Aislinn had another man in her life, though she has no idea who he was. And as they work to identify him, a troubling coincidence comes to light: Aislinn's father had disappeared nearly twenty years earlier, and the case was never closed.
Conway's progress on the case is hindered by the fact that, except for her partner, the other members of the murder squad make little effort to conceal their hostility: vital pieces of evidence go missing, and she's the victim of sexual harassment by her colleagues. It seems that everyone wants her to fail so she'll be bumped off the squad, and the Old Boy's Club can be resurrected. She struggles to solve the case, knowing that her posting to the murder squad hangs in the balance.
Just over a decade ago Irish crime writer Tana French burst upon scene with IN THE WOODS, a work that earned her Anthony, Barry, Edgar and Macavity Awards for Best First Novel. Since then her standalone novels have been nominated for two other Anthony Awards (Best Novel for FAITHFUL PLACE and THE SECRET PLACE), and a Dilys nomination (for BROKEN HARBOUR). In each case she stretches the boundaries of conventional crime fiction. BROKEN HARBOUR is notable for (among other things) devoting nearly the first two hundred pages to an account of a crime team's initial visit to the crime scene. Her most recent effort, THE TRESPASSER, is no different: it includes a single suspect's several police interviews that run to over twenty pages each. It would be many writing instructors' worst nightmare, and is not a structure that will appeal to all readers.
That said, the entire novel is exquisitely handled. A contemporary hard-boiled, THE TRESPASSER is a classic depiction of a feisty cop with a chip on her shoulder who finds herself immersed in a quagmire of mutual distrust, and struggles to do her job in the face of not only the suspicions of others, but also while wrestling with her own lingering self-doubts. French perfectly captures the nuanced atmosphere of detectives working a case, their relationships with one another, with the forensics team, and with witnesses and suspects. The gritty dialogue, racing through the implications of every statement as if on speed, is spot on. The details of the investigation are laid out convincingly, and the jaded cast of characters and cunning plotting all gell to make for a riveting story that will hold you in its grasp until the very last page. A superb read, not to be missed.
§ Since 2005 Jim Napier's reviews and interviews have appeared in several Canadian newspapers and on websites worldwide. He can be reached at jnapier@deadlydiversions.com
Reviewed by Jim Napier, December 2016
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