The Secret Place

Adult mystery 

    If you're one of the many who at least covertly enjoy finding the rot behind the ivy in those posh boarding schools populated by the offspring of the rich and influential, have I got a treat for you!  In Tana French's The Secret Place the detective protagonists are from working class families, all potential suspects are cloistered and privileged teens, and the crime is murder.

     A year ago a very popular student from a nearby boys' school, Chris, had been discovered dead, slain by a blow to the head, on the grounds of St. Kilda's.  An investigation had turned up nothing.  The crime had been relegated to cold cases.  Unexpectedly it's about to be hot again.

     St. Kilda's has a bulletin board called The Secret Place where students can post secrets anonymously.  One day a picture of Chris appears along with words cut out of a book: I know who killed him.

     A pair of detectives--one from cold cases, one from homicide--who have never before worked together go into a world far different from the one they inhabit to search for evidence that may have been overlooked.  The girls they interview are very clever.  They also have rich and powerful parents who can easily get an investigation shut down.  And then there's the headmistress, Miss McKenna.  The murder and original investigation were a public relations nightmare leading to the loss of 23 tuition paying students.  Now she's intent not on bringing the perpetrator of the crime to justice, but on getting the detectives off the premises before they anger her rich parents clientele.

     The narrative is engaging and suspenseful.  Maybe if you're a bit more clever than me you'll be able to identify the culprit before the police do.

On a purrrsonal note, today in the Commuter Lounge we had one of Quil's events, canvas painting.  We had these little canvas squares and paints.  Of course my role was going around telling people what was going on.  I'd made a little painting to show people that no talent was required.  I paint like a gifted and talented four-year-old.  It was a harder sell than the succulents.  More of a time commitment.  Plus even after seeing my piece people were convinced they weren't talented enough.  But we did get people and they had a good time.  And one of the students made a painting for me.  So I'd call the event a success.  (Jules)

Well of course it was a success.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the students who had fun painting.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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