Tana French writes psychological studies that happen to be mystery novels. Her novels are at least as much about the investigating officer as about the mystery of whodunit. I thought that her best integration of plot and psychology was in Faithful Place, her third novel. Sadly, I still think that's true after reading her fourth novel, Broken Harbor.
Not that Broken Harbor isn't good. As a view into the mind of detective Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, the novel works very well; we see his journey from complete control over himself and his emotions into a man who can't keep it together. His relationship with his sister gives an extra fillip to his story, and his fraying nerves are on display most when he's trying to deal with her.
But the story itself is overly complicated. For the whole thing to work, French puts two borderline crazy people into the story, then adds in a third person who has a nervous breakdown. Throw in Mick's schizophrenic sister and suicidal mother, and it feels like sane people are a small minority in French's Ireland. This novel is not so much as disappointing, particularly after the very successful Faithful Place.
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