The author, who typically writes very good mystery novels, has written an even better Western (albeit one sent in present day rural Ireland). There is an element of mystery here, of course, and her choice of a lone wolf investigator, who is a retired American police detective isolated from society by choice and culture, is brilliant. This book is carefully crafted and detailed, so that the plot twists and the characters' decisions are believable and elegant. The story is compelling and emotional; it will appeal to fans of crime fiction, Westerns, and literary fiction in general. Highly recommended for all libraries.

This is another great mystery novel from the excellent Tana French. This one is slower paced than many of her others, and more nuanced. The main character is Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago policeman who moves to a tiny Irish village to find peace and heal from a traumatic divorce. He buys a run down home and begins the process of repair, both him and the house. Of course the village is not idyllic, and the story slowly unfolds, bringing in well-defined characters and an dangerous set of secrets. The characters grow, especially Cal and the Kid, and the book is a character study along with beautiful descriptions of the Irish countryside and the contrasting crimes. It's one of her best.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Netgalley!

I enjoy Tana French's books, but the last two (this one and the Wych Elm) have not done it for me. I hope she brings back the Dublin Murder Squad books.

The main character, Cal, used to be a Chicago PD officer. His wife left him, he retired, and then he uprooted himself to the middle-of-nowhere in Ireland. He laments about about his failed marriage, and honestly it becomes painfully obvious why his wife left. Cal is one of those guys who thinks he's smarter than everyone else and who doesn't think things through before he acts. Indeed, there would not be much of a story here if he did not possess those irritating qualities.

Cal is approached by Trey, whose brother is missing. Cal sets out to find out where the brother has gone and ends up in a tangled mess. It's not a terribly interesting mess, though. It's a slow, plodding, somewhat predictable mess. There are entire chapters devoted to the landscape and hunting/fishing/drinking. Cal gets some points for having some personal growth by the very end of the book though,

So, if you're into slow moving books with infuriating main characters, this may be the book for you.

Tana French’s new book “The Searcher” turned out to be one of my favorite books of the year. It is different than her past books, less brooding and depressing, but still deeply psychological and thought provoking. The book has a perfect pace that includes Tana French’s ability to make the mundane always interesting. “The Searcher” has an American Western flavor, which includes a touch of frontier justice, but the reader always knows that they are in rural western Ireland with rooks and rabbits and an Irish culture that becomes the story.

The story is about Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago detective that has moved to western Ireland to start over, but a mysteries kid named Trey changes that showing up at his door to ask him to help find a missing brother. The small town culture and its own sense of moral justice becomes the obstacle for Cal in finding the missing brother as the story twists and turns and the relationship between Cal and Trey becomes stronger leading to a satisfying conclusion.

In this time of isolation and anxiety this book was a perfect escape and a satisfying story that is both artistic and captivating and most important, well worth reading. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this Advanced Reading Copy of this book.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A retired Chicago detective retires to a small Scottish village and takes on a case as a favor. The Scottish bogs hold secrets.

The writing was excellent. Maybe her best yet. But the mystery felt a little thin to me. I think I expected more. But I did really love the characters.

I've read all of Tana French's books, and I think she has a huge talent, but I was not a fan of her last book (The Wych Elm). To be honest, I was hoping she'd return to the Dublin Murder Squad. I don't think she's ever going to do that. But it's ok now. Because I have to say, I honestly think this is one of her best books yet. The story and the writing are excellent. I loved the characters, the situation...loved everything.

I've been sad that I won't likely read another Dublin Murder Squad, but now I'm ok with that. This was just such a good story and I"m so glad that Tana French is back.

The Searcher has a nice smooth vibe. It's clear and intricate and, overall, quite comfortable with itself. I wanted a little something more from it though, by the end.

Not typically a police/mystery reader, but found this to be a well-written, satisfying read. The story kept me interested, and I appreciated the exploration of community and how far it is willing to go to preserve itself, teetering on a moral line.

A new book by Tana French?! Sign me up! I am here for it! This was a really good portrayal of small town, country life as experienced by an outsider,and learning to navigate the undercurrents. I loved the relationship between Cal and Trey so very much. Cal comes off very brusque and has a "I need noone" attitude, and then Trey comes into his life and flips it all around, upside down. Watching the friendship grow while trying to solve the mystery of Trey's brothers disappearance was great. The book kept me guessing till the very end. I'm still kind of shocked by the ending if I'm being honest.

Cal Hooper is a retired Chicago police detective seeking solace in a remote village in Ireland. As he becomes acclimated working on his cabin, a young boy befriends him and pleads for help to find his brother. What Cal doesn't expect is that no one in the village seems to care about this boy or his family. Cal must find the answer and in the process brings trouble to his own door. The is a departure from French's Dublin Murder Squad series. It introduces a likable character in Cal and the Irish community, but still brings the suspense and mystery that is consistent with Tana French.

A new Tana French?! Sign me up! While this wasn’t my favorite of her books, as usual the characters are what made it. This was an unsettling mind game of a book and I enjoyed it very much.

First, thanks to Netgalley and Viking for providing this copy for me to review.

This is my first Tana French novel, after having heard for so long how great they are. As this is a standalone book, it seemed a grand opportunity for me to jump in.

My thoughts? This is a nice character study, with a little bit of a mystery mixed in. While the mystery didn't seem so complicated or clever, I *did* enjoy watching Cal, the erstwhile Chicago detective looking for peace in Ireland, grow over the course of the book. Also, it is very evocative of Ireland, or so I imagine, given that I've never visited. Maybe now I will...

Enjoyable, and I'll definitely give some of Ms. French's other books a shot now!

Retired Chicago police detective Cal Hooper moves to rural Ireland, and is spending his days fixing up the old cottage he's bought. He has the sensation he's being watched, and shortly thereafter catches a local youngster, Trey, spying on him. There's a fairly slow start, a long build up before the reader discovers why Trey is interested in Cal.. This is not a fast paced story....lots of introspection on Cal's part, lots of interaction with the locals. Nonetheless, the writing is excellent, and the story held my attention effortlessly. Highly recommended! Many thanks to NetGalley and Viking for access to the eARC in return for an honest review.

I always really enjoy reading Tana French novels, and am especially drawn in by her characters. Unfortunately, the majority have fallen flat for me in the end for various reasons. Not so with The Searcher. It's a fairly simple story, but the characters, the atmosphere of the small Irish village, and the main character's arc are all really wonderful. It was a tight narrative with a satisfying conclusion, and had an emotional tenor consistent with French's best work--an overwhelming wistfulness for a gentler and simpler world.

Overall though, it's a tough time to be reading about an American cop (a Chicago cop, even!). I found that French treats the subject with some care and reflection (specifically about racist policing and the systemic brokenness of policing), and ultimately her decision to make Cal an ex-cop who left the force purposefully is a meaningful one. However, all this couldn't quite put to rest the nagging discomfort of reading a "good cop / bad system" narrative, even if Cal is a pretty evenhanded narrator about the topic.

Enjoyable read about a retired cop from Chicago who moves to a small fixer-upper in Ireland to get away from his past stressful life. But rather than enjoy the change of scenery he gets involved in a local missing person search which gets him into much more trouble than he came looking for. Aside from the plot, the books contains nice descriptions of the Irish setting, the local characters in the village.

I'm a big fan of Tana French and I think this is her best novel yet.
I really liked the premise of this book, a retired cop from Chicago moving to Ireland, becoming acquainted with the people and customs of the town. Cal is portrayed as a quiet, patient man, who is able to observe the way of life and fit in--so refreshing not to see the ugly American template who is forcing his way of life on where he's living. I hope to see more of Cal Hooper in future books.

I enjoy Tana French’s books and The Searcher was no different. Cal Hooper is a recently retired Chicago cop who relocates to a small Irish town and buys an old fixer-upper house. Hooper can’t quite escape detective work, however. A local kid with a missing brother that no one seems to care is gone shows up at Hooper's house and relentlessly harasses Hooper for help. Hooper gets drawn in and can’t leave it alone, even though everyone in town is telling him to do exactly that. This is a book that I’m still thinking about after I’ve finished. I would recommend it to French fans and those who like a detective story, especially one that deviates from all the cop-story cliches. This would also make a great bookclub pick.

This is a slow burn of a mystery that goes back to the feel of French’s Irish Detective series. I couldn’t finish last year’s Witch Elm, but this was the type of read that makes me love Tana French. The feel of the Irish country side is a leading character, along with retired detective Cal who recently moved from Chicago. A teen named Trey shows up at his cabin with a request for help, leading to a missing teen and hidden secrets.
Highly recommend to fans of French’s early novels.

Tana French scores again with this standalone mystery. Although the mystery itself is not terribly complicated, French's beautiful prose, her ability to paint vivid pictures of the setting and to make it another character, one that is as important as the human ones, and, perhaps most importantly, her talent for making the characters real people, people the reader comes to know intimately, make this an outstanding novel. I would classify it as literary fiction rather than a mystery novel and I recommend it highly.