I first stumbled upon Tana French early last year when I read her sixth — and most recent — novel The Trespasser. Which was an excellent book, by the way! I really enjoyed French’s writing style and thought the twists at the end of the novel were very unpredictable and bone chilling. I had been meaning to pick up another one of her books for a while, but I’m so buried in other books that I simply didn’t have the chance. Anyway, at some point I landed a copy of In the Woods and was very, very impressed. And now, I want to binge read the entire Dublin Murder Squad series!
The Dublin Murder Squad Series
All six of Tana French’s books are Dublin Murder Squad crime novels,which is a series composed of six novels (currently) following the fictitious police detectives assigned to solving murder cases in Dublin, Ireland. Each book can be read as a standalone, which is awesome. Read them out of order if you want! These novels are excellent and very well written, filled with rich and very deep characters, unusual suspects, and big-fat-juicy unpredictable twists. DMS novels will keep you glued to your couch on a Saturday morning, guaranteed.
All the Awards for Tana French
Tana French is a fantastic writer, there is no questioning that. Her novels have won alltheawards! Edgar Award for Best First Novel, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Barry Award, Irish Book Award, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize — just to name a few. So yeah, give it a go!
Books in the Series
What’s also fun about this series? We typically follow two lead detectives / characters, and one will be the main focus in the following book, and so on and so forth. We never follow the same pair of detectives twice (well, OK maybe one time…). French is constantly rotating through detectives in the Squad so we get to meet all the players. It’s fun!
- In the Woods — Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox
- The Likeness — Cassie Maddox and Frank Mackey
- Faithful Place — Frank Mackey
- Broken Harbour — Scorcher Kennedy
- The Secret Place — Stephen Moran and Antoinette Conway
- The Trespasser — Stephen Moran and Antoinette Conway
And that’s my case for why you should pick up any of the Dublin Murder Squad novels if you’re looking for your next murder series. Or even just a new series, period. Can’t wait to hear what you think!