Twenty-two years after he left his home on Faithful Place in Dublin, Frank Mackey gets a telephone call from his sister telling him that a suitcase was found in an abandoned house in the neighborhood where he was supposed to meet his girlfriend, Rosie, and together run off to a new life in London all those years ago. Only she didn’t show up and Frank believed for years that she had left without him. Instead, he walked away that night and eventually became the police detective/undercover cop he now is.
Frank immediately goes to Faithful Place and in looking over the house, he eventually discovers in the basement human remains beneath a concrete slab. The remains prove to be those of his first love. While officially Frank is removed from the case, an undercover cop has no rules to follow, so he pursues the trail as best he can.
Mackey’s efforts to discover who murdered Rosie force him to return and spend time in the poor neighborhood in which he grew up and, more distastefully to him, with his mixed-up family, especially his alcoholic father and domineering mother. He has to re-enter the life and ingratiate himself with old friends to learn about the past. The descriptions and voice grab the reader, and the dichotomy of returning home and hating every minute of it is brilliantly portrayed, as are the foibles and intricacies of Irish families. Highly recommended.
Sounds like Ms. French has done it again. Thanks for the review! I love this title.