Tana French Books in order

The Complete List of Tana French Books in order to read

French was enthralled by both acting and writing since her childhood but eventually focused more on acting. She grew up reading mystery and crime novels. She trained as a professional actor at Trinity, and she works in theatre, film, and voiceover.

In her later 30s, her passion for writing was rekindled. She began writing her debut novel in the months-long lulls between castings; In the Woods was published in 2007 to international acclaim and received rave reviews from many publications. Publishers Weekly praised French, saying she “expertly walks the line between police procedural and psychological thriller in her debut” and that “Ryan and Maddox are empathetic and flawed heroes, whose partnership and friendship elevate the narrative beyond a gory tale of murdered children and repressed childhood trauma.” It received several literary prizes, was a bestseller in hardcover and paperback, and has been termed a ‘dream debut’. As of 2015 more than one million copies of In the Woods have been sold. Flavorwire, in 2014, included it in their 50 of the Greatest Debut Novels Since 1950.

The second novel, The Likeness (2008), presents the story of the debut novel’s co-lead, Cassie Maddox. It quickly achieved high positions on bestseller lists in various countries and stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for several months. In its reviews of the novel, Kirkus praised its mix of “police procedures, psychological thrills and gothic romance beautifully woven into one stunning story”. In an interview with The Guardian, French stated that Donna Tartt’s The Secret History was a source of influence on The Likeness, opening up the “landscape of friendship as something worthy of exploration and something that could be powerful enough to trigger a murder.”

The first six novels are part of the Dublin Murder Squad series. After publishing The Trespasser in 2016, French published two standalone novels. Both The Witch Elm and The Searcher also take place in Ireland.

Tana French’s The Dublin Murder Squad Books in order


1. In the Woods (2007)

In the Woods (2007)

In the Woods is a 2007 mystery novel by Tana French about a pair of Irish detectives and their investigation of the murder of a twelve-year-old girl. It is the first book in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series. The novel won several awards such as the 2008 Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author, the 2008 Barry Award for Best First Novel, the 2008 Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel, and the 2008 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. In the Woods and The Likeness, the second book of the Dublin Murder Squad series, are the inspiration for the BBC and Starz’s 2019 Dublin Murders, an eight-episode series.

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children. He is gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a 12-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox (his partner and closest friend) find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

A gorgeously written novel that marks the debut of an astonishing new voice in psychological suspense.

 

2. The Likeness (2008)

The Likeness (2008)

The Likeness is a 2008 mystery novel by Tana French. Set in Ireland, it is the second volume in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series. The Likeness and In the Woods, the first book of the series, are the inspiration for the BBC and Starz’s 2019 Dublin Murders, an eight-episode series.

Still traumatised by her brush with a psychopath, Detective Cassie Maddox transfers out of the Murder squad and starts a relationship with fellow detective Sam O’Neill. When he calls her to the scene of his new case, she is shocked to find that the murdered girl is her double. What’s more, her ID shows she is Lexie Madison – the identity Cassie used, years ago, as an undercover detective. With no leads, no suspects and no clues to Lexie’s real identity, Cassie’s old boss spots the opportunity of a lifetime: send Cassie undercover in her place, to tempt the killer out of hiding to finish the job.

 

3. Faithful Place (2010)

Faithful Place (2010)

Faithful Place is a 2010 crime novel by Tana French. The book is set in Dublin, featuring undercover detective Frank Mackey, who was a supporting character in French’s previous novel, The Likeness. It is the third installment of French’s loosely related “Dublin Murder Squad” series. Each follows a case in the heart of Ireland, with overlapping, complex characters that get involved in cases tied to their pasts.

Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin’s inner city and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and his girl, Rosie Daly, were all set to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives.

But on the winter night when they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn’t show. Frank took it for granted that she’d given him the brush-off–probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. He never went home again.

Neither did Rosie. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie’s suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes it or not.

Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he’s a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly-and he’s willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.

 

4. Broken Harbor (2012)

Broken Harbor (2012)

Broken Harbour is a crime novel written by Irish novelist Tana French, originally published on 2 July 2012 by Hatchette Books Ireland. It is the 4th book in the Dublin Murder Squad series and was first published in the USA by Viking Penguin a member of the Penguin Group (USA). Tana French was honored with the ‘Irish Crime Fiction Award’ a bestseller list, eventually reaching the No.3 position. It was also listed in the ‘Ireland AM Crime Fiction Books of the Year 2009–2013’.

Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy is the star of the Dublin Murder Squad. He plays by the books and plays hard, and thatʼs how the biggest case of the year ends up in his hands.

On one of the half-abandoned “luxury” developments that litter Ireland, Patrick Spain and his two young children have been murdered. His wife, Jenny, is in intensive care. At first, Scorcher thinks itʼs going to be an easy solve, but too many small things canʼt be explained: the half-dozen baby monitors pointed at holes smashed in the Spainsʼ walls, the files erased from the familyʼs computer, the story Jenny told her sister about a shadowy intruder slipping past the houseʼs locks. And this neighborhood—once called Broken Harbor—holds memories for Scorcher and his troubled sister, Dina: childhood memories that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control.

 

5. The Secret Place (2014)

The Secret Place (2014)

The Secret Place is a 2014 novel by Tana French set in Ireland. The Washington Post named the book one of the five best thrillers of 2014. Amazon.com named it one of the best books of 2014 in the mystery, thriller and suspense category.

A year ago a boy was found murdered at a girlsʼ boarding school, and the case was never solved. Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of the boy with the caption: “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case—beneath the watchful eye of Holly’s father, fellow detective Frank Mackey.

With the clues leading back to Holly’s close-knit group of friends, to their rival clique, and to the tangle of relationships that bound them all to the murdered boy, the private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.

 

6. The Trespasser (2016)

The Trespasser (2016)

Being on the Murder Squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she’s there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she’s getting close to the breaking point.

Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers’ quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed-to-a-shine, and dead in her catalog-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There’s nothing unusual about her—except that Antoinette’s seen her somewhere before.

And that her death won’t stay in its neat by-numbers box. Other detectives are trying to push Antoinette and Steve into arresting Aislinn’s boyfriend, fast. There’s a shadowy figure at the end of Antoinetteʼs road. Aislinnʼs friend is hinting that she knew Aislinn was in danger. And everything they find out about Aislinn takes her further from the glossy, passive doll she seemed to be.

Antoinette knows the harassment has turned her paranoid, but she can’t tell just how far gone she is. Is this case another step in the campaign to force her off the squad, or are there darker currents flowing beneath its polished surface? 


 

Standalone Novels

1. The Witch Elm (2018)

The Witch Elm (2018)

The Witch Elm is a 2018 novel by Tana French. The novel is a standalone, not related to her Dublin Murder Squad novels.

From the writer who “inspires cultic devotion in readers” (The New Yorker) and has been called “incandescent” by Stephen King, “absolutely mesmerizing” by Gillian Flynn, and “unputdownable” (People) comes a gripping new novel that turns a crime story inside out.

Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who’s dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life—he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family’s ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden—and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.

A spellbinding standalone from one of the best suspense writers working today, The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we’re capable of, when we no longer know who we are.

 

2. The Searcher (2020)

The Searcher (2020)

Retired detective Cal Hooper moves to a remote village in rural Ireland. His plans are to fix up the dilapidated cottage he’s bought, to walk the mountains, to put his old police instincts to bed forever.

Then a local boy appeals to him for help. His brother is missing, and no one in the village, least of all the police, seems to care. And once again, Cal feels that restless itch. Something is wrong in this community, and he must find out what, even if it brings trouble to his door.


How many Tana French books are there?

There are total 8 books written by Tana French. Out of which The first six novels are part of the Dublin Murder Squad series and other 2 book are stand alone book .


Tana French Books in order of release date

Here is the List of Tana French books in Order of Release Date.

1. In the Woods — January 30, 2007
2. The Likeness — July 17, 2008
3. Faithful Place — June 24, 2010
4. Broken Harbor — June 6, 2012
5. The Secret Place — September 2, 2014
6. The Trespasser — September 22, 2016
7. The Witch Elm — October 9, 2018
8. The Searcher — October  6, 2020

 

Tana French books FAQ’s


Which Tana French book should I read first?

Publication order is easiest, because chronologically, the six Dublin Murder Squad books come first, followed by her two standalones.

Do you need to read Tana French books in order?

The publication order for Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series is also the chronological order of the story, so it is best to read them in this order. However, this is not essential as each book follows a different detective solving a new crime. Therefore, you can read them in whatever order you would like.


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