Tana French has absolutely still got it — her epics (in every sense of the word) are not about whodunnit but rather why, and nothing is ever as it seems even though the truth was staring you in the face this whole time. It felt a lot like Into the Woods, particularly around the climax, reprise, and falling action; I haven’t yet had a chance to really dig into the rest of her books so I’m not sure if they’re all like this, but I imagine that (like Jodi Picoult’s formula) it could get old. Right now, though, it rings very true to real life and I love it. 

Toby is a lucky, lucky bastard (though at least he comes to realize this) even in the face of his misfortune: most particularly the long-term effects of his head injury; through his cousins, Leon and Susanna, we get a more nuanced, less rose-tinted view of the world — the former is gay, the latter is female, and by societal standards that’s reason enough to treat them poorly. This is very much a book about how external circumstances shape a person, for better and for worse; the things we do and don’t know about the people we love, and the things we’ll do for them; the nature of the bond between family and between friends and between romantic partners. Zach and Sallie are adorable in the few scenes in which they feature. 

As with the DMS books, the scope of this story amazes me. Not just in the lasting effects of Toby’s head trauma and his messed-up memory, or the PTSD that leads to the second climax, or the therapy; just the quiet moments After Everything, when nothing’s the same and never will be again.