I love Tana French so I was really pleased to be given this to read. The characters were fascinating and I loved the interplay between the cousins. I did feel the book rambled a bit in the middle and could have done with a bit of pruning. Parts of the story were a stretch to be believable eg how much the main character can and can't remember. But I enjoyed the feeling of being mixed up in his head, and of watching the drama play out.

Thanks to Penguin Books UK and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

I’ve heard a lot of people raving about Tana French so was chuffed when I got an ARC of this novel. The mystery of the body in the Wych Elm is something that has always fascinated me, and this is an interesting spin on the concept. If you’re interested in the real-life incident that helped to inspire this novel, the “Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm” episode of The Dark Histories Podcast gives a really good overview of it. I also have another book on my reading list that features a similar story so it will be interesting to read that too and compare. That said, this book is not a simple retelling of the real incident, it just has a similar main event.

This book follows Toby and the fallout from a life altering event that happens to him towards the beginning of the novel. I’d say the story takes rather a long time to get going, I think I was a good 20-30% into it before things really started happening. I’m not against a slow burn myself, but other fans of the crime/thriller genre may find it more difficult to stay interested. The author is clearly a great writer and the Dublin setting and supporting characters are portrayed well.

My main issue with this novel wasn’t its rather sedate pacing, but more to do with the sheer unlikeability of the main character Toby. He really is just an awful person. I’m aware that this is probably intentional, but his snide inner monologue just rendered me entirely unable to feel any empathy for him. The family dynamics are portrayed well, and the characters are for the most part interesting, but aside from Uncle Hugo, I didn’t find myself liking any of them. I struggle with the “everyone is a shitty person” trope in any form of media and it was the same for this book. The resolution to the main mystery was quite underwhelming too.

All that said, I still enjoyed reading it for the most part. The quality of the writing carried the less likeable aspects of the novel and the story was interesting enough to hold me attention. I’ll certainly be checking out some of the author’s other work based on this novel and the positive reviews i’ve read from others.

Having been a fan of Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad books for a few years, I was very excited to be approved to review a preview of her new book ‘The Wych Elm’ from Netgalley.

Tana French is an extremely skilled writer. The development of her characters is second to none. Using a first person narrative style, you are invited into the life an experience of the character and French brings an unusual depth and truth to every one. You won’t find yourself wondering if that character would *really* have done that, because these characters don’t read as authorial invention - they feel real.

Toby, the main character of this book, works in PR for a small art gallery in Dublin - his girlfriend, Melissa runs a small boutique selling unusual creations from local artists and crafts people. As such, they differ from the slightly grittier characters from French’s earlier books. However, she is still able to build Toby’s background in exceptional skill and detail, her observation of family relationships and her ability to cover a wide time frame from childhood to the present day allows the reader to understand Toby’s life in detail.

After an horrific attack in his own home, Toby goes to stay with his terminally ill uncle in a house evocative of his childhood. It’s here we first encounter the ‘Wych Elm’, a tree in the extensive garden that has undertones of malice and danger from the first mention. ‘We used to climb those trees all the time’ [...] ‘Right, and then you fell out of that exact one and broke your ankle, you were in a cast for - Zach! Get down right now.’

Of course the tree itself then becomes central to the plot - an elaborate whodunit as Toby endeavours to unpack his own fractured memories and draw connections between all the events of the novel. Hovering on the outskirts of the story are the policemen who are typical of French’s other novels - sharp, gritty characters who leave no stone unturned.

Spoilers below

I have read other reviews who found Toby a completely unlikeable character and thus didn’t like the novel. I didn’t feel this way - he is definitely imperfect and frustrating in his sheltered view - I can’t believe that someone would be quite as self centred as he is painted. His cousins point out that anything unpleasant that has happened to him just ‘drops out’ of his head. In fact his cousins are infinitely more interesting characters, which we only really discover towards the end of the novel. However, his fractured memory is very useful in making him an unreliable narrator which adds an extra dimension to the investigation.

I was, however, intensely disappointed in the character of Melissa - who, by contrast, is painted as the most perfect character to ever exist (which does leave you wondering why she’s even with Toby). In fact this perfection results in her being a bit insipid. She hovers on the edge of the story - to be honest I was expecting a twist towards the end of the novel where it is revealed that she masterminded the whole lot. Instead she just fades out of existence which is a little disappointing to be honest.

This one wasn't for me.

Spoilers ahead!

Mostly I'm fed up with the use of violence against women in these books and the 2 main female characters were infuriating, to me at least. Melissa is barely a human being, displaying all the behaviour complexity of a stoned labrador. Our narrator is an interesting one, not a good guy, nor a bad one, but interesting. My switching between disliking him and finding him fascinating kept me reading. And the plot is steady, verging on slow. Overall, not for me.

Although I love this author I struggled with this book sorry and found it rather slow. I liked the underlying story but couldn’t really get into the book however it is a clever novel.

Reading The Wych Elm was like a rollercoaster ride in a very slow motion. You are slowly going up the hill, gradually building up the excitment, waiting to reach the top. In The Wych Elm, the first 'going up' takes longer than usual. You think you must be near the top, you check your watch, look around... surely, any minute now? Hell no! You are only half way up!
I can understand why some readers might decide to abort this rollercoaster ride before reaching the top and opt for a more balanced ride such as a Big Wheel.

Once the cart tips over at the top (at one third of the book), you feel a sudden rush of adrenaline and euphoria for a few pages. And then you find yourself climbing again for another while. For those who persist, the big dips start to come more often and the enjoyment is progressivelly greater and greater. When you think the ride is coming to an end and you are ready to disembark, you find yourself at the top again with the deepest dip in front of you which you NEVER saw coming!

I truly enjoyed my rollercoaster ride, especially the grand finale. Sure, the book drags on a bit at the start but I didn't mind. I found French's writing exquisite and engaging. The main character Toby comes across as a bit of an asshole, but after everything that happened to him I felt sorry for him and warmed up to him.

This was my first Tana French book and now I'm super keen to explore her other work.

Many thanks to Penguin Books UK for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Wych Elm is a move away from the traditional thriller for Tana French, as she examines the life and slow decline of Toby, a privileged Dubliner who moves to the country to look after his terminally ill uncle following a traumatic brain injury.

This is a book very much about our main character Toby. He’s led a privileged life, spoilt and good looking, everything just seems to fall at his feet. Yet the events at the beginning of the book start a spiral of events that see us watch him plunge into a physically and mentally decline. Toby’s a charismatic character, who is certainly engaging enough to carry the story. He’s multifaceted, well rounded and complicated. Flawed. Is he likeable? Not really, and I think this was one of my main problems with the book. I didn’t like Toby, had no emotional connection with him, and just didn’t end up really caring about him. For a novel that relied so heavily on its lead character, this was a major problem.

The secondary characters who support Toby, from his girlfriend Melissa to his dying Uncle Hugo and everyone in between also feel fully formed, colourful and just full of life. There’s a strong sense of familial bonds running throughout the novel, as they support (and sometimes hinder) Toby and his life. Tana French seems to be extremely good at creating characters that jump off the page.

But running alongside all this character development there’s no plot to support it. The pace is achingly slow, at times there are pages and pages about how Toby is feeling, and his meandering round his uncle’s house, but there’s just nothing going on. It takes until about half way through the novel before the pace ramps up slightly with the discovery of a human skull in the garden - but unfortunately by this point my interest was severely waning.

The ending is also deeply sad, and there’s just a general feeling of despair and melancholy that runs throughout the story, to the point where I was left feeling rather down on finishing it.

Wonderful character development, but an unlikeable main character and no plot just made this a difficult read.

This book has quite a good plot line and several surprises during its course but the middle section is rather rambling and so, in my opinion, the novel is overlong. The main character became rather tedious to me but I was intrigued enough to want to get to the end of the story. All in all the book could have been half the length but still a good yarn.

I loved this! I'm a big fan of the Dublin Murder Squad series and was excited by the chances to read something else by the same author. Excellent mystery story with well-realised characters, and a few surprises. I read it in a couple of sittings and only regret not taking a little longer to enjoy the story.

Tana French is a master of the tense drama/thriller genre, and The Wych Elm is no exception. I feel as though she was maybe itching to get away from the Dublin Murder Squad series and stretch her fingers a bit, and she’s certainly done that here, with an eerie tale of deception, murder and the tight family ties that bind us.

This is the first Tana French book I've read but it isn't for me. I couldn't engage with Toby as a character and it was slow in pace. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin/Viking for the opportunity to read and review it.

I enjoyed this book. The writing is recognisable as Tana French, it is very much in her style. A self deprecating hero writing in the first person, explaining his always very reasonable feelings as the story progresses. I felt that some of the angles: for example - the period in hospital and the long period in Hugo's house, were rather drawn out as the self explanatory behaviour continues.
I also felt that the reader is aware that there must be some connection with the discovery of a body and the attack in the early part of the book - but it took a long time to join the dots!
However, I did enjoy it and recommend it to Tana French fans

I loved this novel beyond words and beyond measure. I laughed at many points, then I cried at some points too. Then, at 90%, I started getting sad that it would soon be ending.

Where to begin describing what was so good about it? The characters, first and foremost, they all felt unique and real. Like actual flesh-and-blood complex evolving people - full of contradictions, weaknesses, passions and inner conflicts. I loved them all: Toby, Su and Leon, Hugo. The aunts and uncles. Stu and Dec. Melissa.

The way the story unfolded as well - it was never predicable or boring. It was carefully laid out, with every sentence and plot turn given meticulous attention by the author in order to keep us on absorbed, curious, and hungry for more. On the whole, I very much enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to everyone I know.

Thank you to the author for having written this beautifully-crafted novel and congratulations to the publisher for having landed what honestly feels like a masterpiece! I'd give this 20 stars if I could.

Toby our narrater seems to have a charmed life. Until one night he is brutally assaulted in his home. Upon recovery he is still having the after affects of a serious brain injury. He goes to stay with his Uncle Hugo at the Ivy House a place he and his 2 cousins used to hang out. The discovery of a skull in the Wych Elm starts a chain of events which will have Toby questioning if he had seen the past in the same way as his cousins. Rafferty one of the attending detectives seems to be able to see into his soul. Could he have actually had anything to do with this body? The tension is only ramped up more when his Uncle Hugo is taken in for questioning. You need to follow Toby with his mission to see the truth, no matter the consequences .
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

After suffering a brain injury during a burglary at his apartment, Toby goes to live with his uncle Hugo who is himself terminally ill.. When a skull is found in a hollow tree on Hugo's property, the police think that Toby might be a suspect. Given his brain injury however, he can't be sure he's responsible or not...

This is a novel where it does pay to wait to see what happens but it's too long a wait and I did feel that I was waiting for something to happen. The skull is found quite late on and from that point, things get interesting but until then it's very slow. I often find books where someone has a brain injury hard to believe at times, but this one was a bit more of a stretch if I'm honest. It was hard to like Toby and even though I enjoy reading about chaarcters I don't like, Toby took things too far for me

Dublin comes across loud and clear though and it was fun to go from one place to the other with the characters.

I have read other books by Tana and have enjoyed them and this was no different. A good thriller with some unforeseen twists. It does take a little while to 'get going' but enjoy the ride as its worth it once you get there.

I actually didn't love a Tana French book... the world is broken. I just knew I jinxed it by writing that first paragraph in my review of The Secret Place.

I keep trying to convince myself to bump this up a star because it's hard to believe Tana French can write anything that isn't amazing. It's definitely not a bad book, but The Witch Elm - French's first standalone outside of her Dublin Murder Squad series - just didn't contain a lot of the stuff I've loved from this author.

To start with, I feel like my love for French is centred around her awesome, snarky, flawed, messy, human detectives. The crimes are whatever; the detectives - their voices, quirks, passions and personal histories - are what make her books so damn addictive. I shipped Rob and Cassie so hard in In the Woods, and Cassie herself made the implausible plot of The Likeness actually okay. I will probably never get over Frank and Rosie from Faithful Place. And that's before we've got to Kennedy, Moran and the ferocious Antoinette Conway.

Toby? He just doesn't compare. He's an asshole, but it's not that because sometimes assholes can be interesting (I might want to rewrite that sentence later). It's more that he's obnoxiously clueless, a self-proclaimed "lucky bastard" wrapped in a bubble of his own privilege. He's tall, blond and handsome, works at a PR firm, has a loving girlfriend and a group of good friends, and pretty much gets away with everything. He's a person who thinks this about poor, homeless people:

They could have gone to school. Instead of spending their time sniffing glue and breaking the wing mirrors off cars. They could have got jobs. The recession's over; there's no reason for anyone to be stuck in the muck unless they actually choose to be.


Flaws are interesting, but Toby's casual misogyny, judgement of others, and condescension make him extremely irritating. Plus, French's narrators are typically smart and intuitive, so Toby's head-scratching was frustrating.

I think I can trace a lot of my issues back to Toby. For example, I usually enjoy the long-winded nature of Tana French's books. She can get away with waffling on because I genuinely enjoy learning details about the characters, and listening to them have pages of dialogue about something unrelated to the plot. But I was so uninterested in Toby that huge chunks of this book made me want to go to sleep.

It takes so long to get to the main mystery, too. I get the point of the lengthy build-up in order to understand Toby as a character - someone who has been handed everything in life without having to face the struggles others would have, and someone who cannot believe it when he meets his first misfortune - but that didn't make it any more enjoyable to get through. It's a good hundred pages before the main story even rears its head.

I also can't deny that I miss the exciting investigations and police procedure the detectives usually take us through.

But I don't want this to get too negative. French does a lot of excellent things in this book and she digs into something interesting with Toby: how someone's luck, privilege, whatever-you-want-to-call-it can really affect not just a person's physical circumstances but their entire outlook on life. He's a conceptually fascinating individual, but it was so hard to find sympathy for him. It was this, in the end, that made me unable to care who the murderer was.

A beautifully written, atmospheric and engaging book which reminded me very much of The Secret History. Tana French is an expert at capturing South Co Dublin and a privileged generation whose lives are not as charmed as they might first appear

This is another outstanding book from Tana French. I think her Dublin Murder Squad series has been excellent and this stand-alone book is just as good. It’s a psychological thriller which of itself would have put me off rather; dd to this a description including a damaged, unreliable narrator and dark family secrets coming to light and frankly, if it had been by almost anyone else I wouldn’t have bothered. However, French takes these well-worn tropes and makes something rich and rewarding from them.

The plot revolves around the narrator, Toby, a good looking, intelligent young man from a comfortable, supportive family whose life so far has been an easy cruise, smoothed by circumstance and easy charm. However, at the very start of the book he suffers a head trauma which changes everything. This is followed by a grisly discovery in the garden of a family house; the police investigate and slowly a past of which Toby has been blissfully unaware begins to emerge.

This is a long book at over 500 pages and events unfold slowly, but it never dragged at all for me. French is brilliant at creating wholly believable characters and situations and her portrait of someone trying to come to terms with genuine struggle for the first time in his life is exceptionally good. Anyone who has had to watch someone they love go through a terminal illness will recognise that this, too, is superbly and sensitively done...and so on. And throughout all this runs an increasingly tense plot as Toby tries to piece events together. French writes lovely, unfussy but very evocative prose, and her ear for dialogue is superb, I think. I found it compulsively readable and utterly engrossing throughout.

In short, this is a very fine novel with crime as its driver but which is much, much more than just a thriller and is in a wholly different league from the usual “Gripping Psychological Thrillers.” It’s definitely one of my books of the year and very, very warmly recommended.

(My thanks to Penguin for an ARC via NetGalley.)

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou! Netgalley and publishers I can’t tell u how I felt when I got the email to say I was being given the opportunity to read this stand alone tana French,one of my fave authors .
Right now down to business
Ok having read a lot of reviews this appears to be a marmite novel for tana ,u either love it or hate it. I was glad I read the reviews as this helped me a lot to go in more with an open mind as opposed to expecting it to be still a thriller at the fore
This is a novel about Toby ,his life ,his place in his world and his inability to see sometimes others and their struggles.
I like a slow burn so didn’t mind that it takes its time ,it is maybe a little bit too long but not by much and I like a novel that builds on characters their pasts and there present .
I cd picture ivy house ,I loved Hugo ,I found the cousins intriguing and cd have easily read a novel on them two alone ,what lies beneath that wife and mother juggling family life ,well I suspect a whole lot!
Toby interested me ,at times I thought oooh interesting here we see someone vulnerable yet we also have times where his character is quite unlikable ,his joking about his best mate went a bit too far in my option where banter cd become more on the side of bullying
His clear sepeertaion from his cousins as he can’t relate to people who have had struggles ,he has seen life as easy and is ignorant to the pain of others ,in fact he doesn’t think at sometimes bar his own amusement
I liked tana doing this ,it’s brave ,to have a character that’s not all good or all bad ,yes we do read but for me he was a little more on the cusp of sheer shallowness ,his past in the main and his inability to truly feel things or see them for what they are .
There are comsequnces
Then ending was great ,again felt wonderfully happy tana took that route ,angle on mental health yes but a part of me also thought he may have acted like that for other reasons,to see what it felt like ,to have that feeling others did when they did something similar .
I do get others frustrations but if u see it as fiction with mystery around it as opposed to a page turning thriller u won’t be disappointed .
I will always buy this author ,I’ve read every single one and though I prefer Dublin murder squad due to personal choice as I love a who done it page turner and her complex laying thisndoesnt mean this novel is written any less better .
It gets four for me because of the diffirent elements to Toby ,and not making him a totally sympathetic character ,and the ending ,the action Toby does usually that wd be at the beginning or middle and u just think woooh wat u gonna do now
Tana works it all out
Roll on the next one where I be praying I will be able to get another opportunity early on to read it as I find waiting very hard