This is the third Tara French book I’ve read (I’m endeavoring to read them in order) and the main character is a secondary character from the previous book, Frank Mackey. While I like the idea that French chooses a new character to be the main character of each new book, this was my least favorite so far because I don’t much care for Mackey.
The story starts out with Mackey getting a call from the only sibling he’s still speaking to, his youngest sister Jackie. They found a suitcase in the abandoned row house at the end of their lane, and they think it belongs to Rose, Frank’s old sweetheart who went missing the day Frank and Rose were planning on running away together. Soon they find Rose’s body as well, and then Frank is trying to butt into the murder investigation, even though he’s not working the case.
Mackey is definitely a distinct character. He’s the kind of guy who seems like he’s gotten by on manipulation and charm much of his life, and he doesn’t hate to bully people. While this book is ostensibly a police procedural about a cold case, it’s really a story about Mackey’s relationship with his family of origin. Faithful Place, the street he’s from, is a dirt-poor Dublin neighborhood with a rigid sense of social rules, primarily among them that the police can’t be trusted and squealing is worse than beating family members unconscious. It’s a place that is stuck in the past. Rose has been dead for twenty years, but for Frank Mackey, it might as well have been the week before. Mackey’s parents are still angry about things that happened decades earlier, carrying ancient grudges with neighbors about who got to marry the girl/boy of their choice, and who got the coveted jobs. Even Frank, who escaped Faithful Place, is still anchored by his love for Rose and his grief that she never showed up on the day they meant to escape together.
The overriding emotion in this book is shame. Mackey feels deep shame about his origins. Not only has he not visited since he left (though it seems that it’s not that far of a distance) he doesn’t even speak to most of his family. He won’t let his daughter even know about them. As far as he’s concerned, his daughter only has a maternal side of the family. One of the things that made me dislike Mackey is that he unilaterally decided that his daughter shouldn’t ever know his family. Even when he’s at a memorial service, ensconced in his deep roots, feeling the comfort of belonging and connection, he doesn’t see the value he’s denying his own kid. When his sister circumvents that, instead of reconsidering that he was wrong, he flies off the handle and throws a temper tantrum. This is the kind of guy who doesn’t discuss and collaborate with the people close to him, he decrees and wheedles and demands.
The other thing that made me dislike Mackey is his selfishness. He leaves home without a second thought, never considering how his absence affected the people he left behind. For example, when his little brother calls him, agitated, he ignores several calls and just completely blows him off. Decent people wouldn’t blow off anyone who requested help that urgently, much less a younger brother who never did you any harm. I’ve known people like Mackey, people who are only nice to you when they want something and if they don’t, you’re trash to them, no matter what history you’ve shared. When Mackey comes to regret his actions later, it’s too little too late. He’s not really changed as a person. He doesn’t grow or become more decent and never openly acknowledges that he’s denied his daughter something of value by not letting her be a part of the family. True, his dad’s a turd and his mom isn’t much better, but Mackey doesn’t even recognize that Seamus has made legitimate sacrifices to help raise his younger siblings. True, Seamus has a martyr complex, but a little gratitude would have made Mackey more able to pass for a decent human being.
I recognize the skill with which French has drawn these characters, but I didn’t much like the characters. It’s a finely drawn portrait of a very ugly scene. One thing French has done in these books is to bring the dead characters to life. The opening scene has Frank Mackey waiting for Rose Daley, and the ending scene is a flashback of Mackey and Rose starting to fall in love with each other. It was a sweet scene that mitigated the grime somewhat.
The next book in the series centers around “Scorcher” a man Mackey didn’t like very much. I have to decide if I want to read another well-done book about a not-very-likeable character or if I’ll move on to the one after that, which deals with Steven Moran, a young detective Mackey manipulates in this book.
