Below are the group members' comments about this work.
This debut mystery is a work of psychological suspense that won several prestigious mystery awards for Best First Novel. The story revolves around the murder of a twelve-year-old girl in a Dublin suburb. This new murder revives memories of a still unsolved case from many years before when three young children disappeared from that same neighborhood. Indeed, the detective now in charge of this new case was one of the three who went missing and the only one ever found. He has no memory of what happened that day but is determined solve this new mystery.
The discussion centered on the characters and how they dealt with various aspects of the two cases. Several members said they would like to see the character of Cassie Maddox, the female detective, developed more. The group agreed that the atmospheric setting of the woods and the archaeological dig contributed to the suspense. One member chose not to read the selection as it involved violence against children. Most members felt they could recommend the book to those who liked mysteries and several indicated they planned to read French's other novels.
