Well, I've come full circle. I'm now a Tana French completist. And I'm devastated about.

I'm so glad that I saved this one for last, for many reasons. I've heard for years that this book is polarizing, or not very good, and I can see how people might have felt that way, especially if they were dedicated readers of commercial, popular mysteries. I can see too, how this book's complicated plot and deeply unlikeable narrator might have put people off. And especially, I get that the

Spoiler

lack of a solve for Rob's mystery

would be deeply frustrating for people who like puzzles (

Spoiler

but also, I wish people would consider that this makes the narrative more interesting and true to life. Not everything has an answer

). But Tana made a bold, brave statement with her debut. She did not just release a literary thriller, nor did she follow a formula. She created a new world of crime in which the good guys can't always be called good, but can't always be called bad either, where the characters surrounding the case are just important (if not more) as the case itself. In many ways, DMS reminds me of the 1990s procedural show Homicide: Life On the Streets (Law & Order's predecessor and crossover), in that the detectives were much more than just devices for the solve. There are people who weren't going to and still wouldn't enjoy that kind of story. But for those of us who do, it's become a devotion that I rarely find myself having for authors.

I had trouble with many of this series' detectives. I truly thought I hated Scorcher ([b:Broken Harbor|16171207|Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad, #4)|Tana French|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356090188l/16171207._SY75_.jpg|15718578] and [b:Faithful Place|7093952|Faithful Place (Dublin Murder Squad #3)|Tana French|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550500994l/7093952._SX50_.jpg|7350661]), but wound up with a grudging respect/love/concern for him. Conway ([b:The Trespasser|34267285|The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6)|Tana French|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492948586l/34267285._SY75_.jpg|48321130] and [b:The Secret Place|47879392|The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5)|Tana French|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566422252l/47879392._SY75_.jpg|21598636]) was incredibly difficult for me, but the same thing happened. Rob Ryan, however, remains my most despised and least sympathetic narrator of all. His actions are largely inexcusable, and despite the beauty and sadness of his past reminiscences, I remain mostly unmoved. I started this series with [b:The Likeness|5941114|The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad, #2)|Tana French|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538062804l/5941114._SY75_.jpg|6504351], and I think that if I hadn't, my opinion of Cassie would have been very different. So all in all, I agree with most that this book is the weakest in the series, but it's still an incredible debut and an incredible start to a series that has now become one of my favorites of all time. I'm deeply thankful that this series can be read out of order, and I think I had a better experience for that. I read 2, 5, 3, 4, 6, 1, and I think that's a perfect order for anyone looking to start. Tana please write another book. Please.