How Should I Start Reading Tana French Books In Order?

What is remarkable about this adaptation is the difference between the plot of the film and the story of the novel. On the surface the film has all the right elements: a detective, a cold case, a personal connection, an investigation, a solution. But in missing the main part of the story of the novel – the slow dissolution of the detective’s reality as he descends into the depths of his own erosion, haunted by the past, suspicious of memory – it has made a film of the plot of the novel. Yes, there is an adaptation here, but it is an adaptation of the events of the novel, not of the essence of the novel.

In Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series, the recurring characters are detectives who take turns as protagonists across the books. Frank Mackey, a sharp and unorthodox undercover cop, appears in 'The Likeness' and 'Faithful Place,' bringing his gritty charm and complex backstory. Rob Ryan, the narrator of 'In the Woods,' resurfaces in later books, his unresolved trauma lingering like a shadow. Cassie Maddox, Rob’s former partner, is central in 'The Likeness' and pops up in 'The Trespasser,' her empathy and resilience making her a fan favorite. Stephen Moran, a young, ambitious detective, starts in 'The Secret Place' and returns in 'The Trespasser,' his growth mirroring the series’ evolving dynamics. These characters weave through the novels, their lives intersecting in ways that deepen the series’ emotional and psychological layers. What I love about French’s approach is how she shifts focus, letting each detective step into the spotlight while others remain in the background. It’s like catching up with old friends who’ve changed since you last saw them. The recurring characters aren’t just there for continuity—they’re integral to the series’ exploration of identity, loyalty, and the cost of truth. Their interconnected stories make the Dublin Murder Squad feel like a living, breathing world, one where every case leaves a mark.

Here is a neat list of all the novels so you can read them in the correct order: 1. 'Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line' (by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham). 2. 'Veronica Mars: Mr. Kiss and Tell' (by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham). 3. 'Veronica Mars: The Perennial Philosophy' (by Rob Thomas & Ed Brubaker). The third book has a different co-writer, but it's part of the same narrative. Read 'em in this order. That's the way to do it. Read these in the above numbered order. While there are no short stories, alternative perspectives or prequels to insert into the above list, the books do make for a fun and quick read that really captures the voice and spirit of the show. Enjoy.

The ending of this novel subverts the ‘detective as hero’ trope. The novel’s protagonist Rob is not a hero. He is a casualty in many ways. He solves the murder almost despite himself and is left broken at the end. The only real hero of the novel is Cassie and she leaves the novel, and the ‘heroic’ narrative, behind. The novel ends with the anti-hero alone in his ruin. This was a fresh take on the crime novel when it was published. It signaled a change in the direction of crime fiction towards more psychologically complex and morally ambiguous stories where the detective’s journey is as important as, and can often be as detrimental as, the crime itself. The ending of this novel is a landmark in this shift.

Read the books in publication order. I started with “In Dublin’s Fair City” by accident, but all of the personal arcs are kept intact by reading them in the order listed on the author’s website, so start with “Murphy’s Law”. The series follows Adair’s relationship with Daniel and her growth as a detective in that order.

While reading long series can be very tedious and we would like to provide our readers with ‘skip’ lists for the filler volumes, Spice and Wolf does not have any of those. Every book, even those that are almost like standalone stories for their economic adventures, always enhances the relationship between the characters and introduces a theme that will become very important later on. Every little conversation, every mistake, every small success builds the road the characters are walking together on. If you skip one brick, the road later on gets all bumpy and strange. So you have to read all the bricks in the order they were laid.

Read Lonesome Dove first, then read Streets of Laredo. The prequels are later optional reading for more background information on the characters. But reading them in chronological order would ruin the big surprises in Lonesome Dove and dilute the impact of the rest of the book and the emotional payoff of the ending. It is a simple book and overcomplicating it ruins it.

His short stories are good starting points, because they are short and exploratory. His best short story is “The Destructors”, because it is short and devastating. A first novel is often quite bad, so why start with those? If “The Destructors” gets under your skin then you’ll be able to tackle his novels that explore similar themes of chaos, pointless rebellion and the collapse of order.

Incidentally, I read a few of them out of order and it really doesn’t matter. Each is a self-contained mystery, or crime story. If you are following the Dee’s career as Magistrate then it is best to start with The Chinese Gold Murders, his first posting. The subsequent books can be read in publication order. The Chinese Lake Murders, The Chinese Nail Murders, The Haunted Monastery, The Red Pavilion and so on. More complex plots but inevitable as the author develops. The only one that really shouldn’t be read last is Poets and Murder as it is quite different from the rest of the series and involves a lot of Chinese poetry. On the other hand, one must note that the very last book of Dee’s, Poets and Murder, is in a different style, and largely depends on Chinese poetry. It would be best for new readers to avoid this one altogether.

The other entry point of note is Black Mountain Breakdown, an earlier novel by the author that explores a woman who becomes so defined by the expectations of others that she literally becomes paralyzed. A deeply psychological portrait of a woman in dissolution, the novel is set against the suffocating backdrop of a Southern Gothic landscape and is, in short, a bleaking and unsettling read. It’s a vastly different novel to her typically warm and expansive works and is less about the sprawling families and histories that populate much of her output and more of a concentrated and intense exploration of a single person’s collapse. It’s a very dark and disturbing novel but for readers interested in darker, more intense character studies, it could provide an ideal starting point. However, it is not typically representative of the author’s work as a whole.