Keyes' Brightest?

Marian Keyes has been one of my favorite authors since one of her early books, Last Chance Saloon, caught my attention over a decade ago. Its plot consists of Tara, Fintan and Katherine, friends since the days of "legwarmers, pink stretch jeans and Duran Duran." Sure, it, like most of Keyes' novels, had it's serious moments, like dead-end relationships, broken hearts, characters' negative self esteem in regards to their bodies, drug addiction, and later on physical abuse, and tragic death, but it also had lots of laugh out loud funny scenes, witty and a bit over the top, that tended to overshadow the 'tragedy' of everyday life.

In her latest release, The Brightest Star in the Sky, Keyes' introduces an unseen, unnamed, 'magical' character who is able to infiltrate the daily lives of the numerous residents of 66 Star Street, Dublin, a la her fellow Irish author, Cecelia Ahern. Almost a dozen main characters and even more secondary ones flit through the narrative. My personal favorite, although I am reluctant to admit it, is the tiny but tough (okay, bitchy) Lydia, who mysteriously moves from a comfortable flat with her best friend into a cramped apartment with two Polish male students who cringe in fear from her. There is also Katie, a 40 year old 'babysitter' to artistes, who is on the rebound from her workaholic boyfriend Conall with the young and sexy Fionn; Matt and Maeve, a young couple whose early married life was horrifically marred seemingly beyond repair, and Jemima, Fionn's foster mother, a holder of great wisdom surrounded by despair and confusion, round out the residents.

While I did enjoy The Brightest Star in the Sky, and how the characters' lives would intertwine, I did however find that there was a bit too much going on, a few too many characters, to have this book replace Keyes' others as my favorites. And the magical element didn't quite do it for me. Now, to qualify my statement, I'm not saying this is a bad book: Keyes' style has grown to be more than light-hearted 'chick-lit,' her characters more developed, her situations less wacky. It is, in my opinion a good book, but lacks the levity of her previous writings. If you are considering embarking on a relationship with Keyes, I strongly recommend her earlier titles if you're looking for laughs, then grow with her into her later fiction.

Unputtdownable!!!

Twenty years ago, Adam Ryan and his two best friends walked In The Woods to play, but only Adam came out. Now known as Rob, he is a detective in Dublin with his partner, Cassie Maddox, who is one of the few people to know his secret. When the murder investigation of a young girl takes them to the same woods, Rob deals with disturbing memories, trying to see if it ties in with his horrible past.

The Likeness follows Cassie in an undercover investigation, trying to find out who murdered a young Trinity College grad student who not only looks exactly like Cassie, but whose name is Lexie Madison, the same name Cassie used years earlier while posing as a student to infiltrate a drug ring. Under the pretense that Lexie survived her attack, Cassie poses as the dead woman. While getting close to Lexie's small circle of friends and housemates in her search for the murderer, Cassie finds herself a bit too comfortable in her new living arrangements.

Tana French writes gripping and gritty psychological police dramas that had me ignoring my promise to myself to 'just read one more chapter.' Her use of language is superlative, her characters flawed and human, her situations frustrating and disturbing. Combined, these traits make some of the best reading I've experienced in several years.