Blooming heck... this was a bit of a marathon of a slow burning read. In fact, by about half way through I had almost forgotten we were supposed to be focussing on the disappearance of the brother of the youngster that Cal had befriended. In fact, the book focussed much less on that than it did on small town living and all the shenanigans that that entailed, along with Cal and his fixing up of his cottage. This is the first book I have read by this author and I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I don't think I was quite prepared for the saga that presented itself to me.
There's a whole load of nothing really happened all the way through this book but, at the same time, the feeling that you are left with as you turn the final page is one of fulfilment at the quality and indeed quantity of what you have just read. It's hard to explain but there is so much small stuff going on that it all adds up in the end even if it is less than remarkable as you are reading about each individually.
Cal is an interesting and intriguing character. Retired (burned out) from Chicago PD he has retreated to a small Irish town where he has bought a cottage. He has made a few friends and connections in the town and, when we first meet him, is ticking along nicely doing up his home. Until his peace is shattered when he becomes the focus of Trey who wants his help. But more than that Trey wants to be noticed and looked after and all things missing from family life. It's very character driven and the characters mostly do their stuff all the way through, just occasionally it all becomes a bit of a slog as nothing really much happens and then, suddenly, it all happens as we race to the end of the book. It's weird pacing but I guess it's how it must be to fit the story being told.
All in all, a slow burner of a story that didn't always hold my attention but which did interest and intrigue me enough to make me carry on reading even if it didn't wholly satisfy me at its conclusion. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A standalone from Tana French...and about as far as you can get from the Dublin Murders books! The third person perspective leaves you feeling detached from the characters, however there is no doubt that Tana's prose is most definitely captivating. Her descriptions of the people and community of a small town W Irish village; it's scenery, weather and the comings and goings of it's populace are easily pictured in the mind....the scenes are set very well, but...in my opinion, this is just a little too long, too drawn out to be truly 'classic' territory. It's still a good read though, but not amongst the very best. Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the chance to tread and review the ARC.

I’ve not read books by this author, as far as I can remember.  Overall, I thought it was a pretty well written, intense mystery.  I didn’t find it to be completely mind blowing or unputdownable, but was able to finish without too much having to talk myself into it.  I thought the character development was pretty good, the plot intriguing, but something was lacking for me.  Would recommend to those who are looking for a decent whodunnit mystery, with a different location, if you’re from USA! 

Will buzz around and use lower Amazon reviewer number on release date!

This is a slow, atmospheric mystery novel set in a fictional town in Ireland. It takes its own time to reveal itself so it is not for someone who wants a fast paced action thriller.

The story takes you to an old town with lazy sheeps, crazy rooks and some alcohol-loving farmers. 

Our protagonist is Cal Hooper - a not-so-young and retired Chicago policeman.  He's come to escape his personal problems in an apparently idyllic Irish town. Cal for a while is hypnotized by the misty rains, open mountains and nosy but friendly neighbours. 

However, this cannot be. Cal is drawn in reluctantly to solve a missing persons case. 
As he chases the truth, he will soon come to realise that there is much more about this town than meets the eye. 

While the main mystery is quite anticlimactic, but the central theme is the inner journey our protagonist has while chasing the truth. 

Personal view: 
This is a slow burn story. For me a bit too slow! For a large part of the story I felt we kept moving in circling.  
As much as I appreciate the attempt at creating the setting there were some descriptions such as rabbit hunting day, then skinning it to make a stew that felt rather unnecessary. Description heavy writing style and quite repetitive in general. I would love it if it can be edited to follow the writing adage of more show and less tell.

A little slow to start, but as the plot wends and weaves around a small community in Ireland, the plot begins to emerge. Cal is a fully formed main character, looking for peace in a small place, in a small country, far away from his job, Chicago and his failed marriage. 

But of course, as with any small community, his very presence brings whispers and disturbs the settled dust around secrets long buried in the peat. 

An interesting read, and a great commentary on modern life in a rural location.

This was my first book by the famous thriller writer Tana French, and even though I'm curious to read her other books, I'm not sure that this was it for me. It was a very slow burn, maybe a bit too slow, but that also meant that the characters had a lot of depth to them. I liked the atmospheric setting of a small Irish village, and French's writing style, but I definitely would have liked a bit more action/mystery/thrills. But even if this wasn't really my cup of tea, I am looking forward to reading her more fast paced Dublin Murder Squad Series. 

A big thank you to the publisher Penguin UK and Netgalley for my free copy!

This is the first book by this author that I have read and I have heard great things about previous novels so I was keen to try this.
Sadly I found the book quite slow to start and I struggled to identify with the main characters until about three quarters through the book. 
The main make character is a retired US policeman who has decided to move to rural Ireland, following a marriage break up and some issues at work, resulting in early retirement. The family situation is never really looked into although I kept hoping to see what had happened between him and his wife and what had been the cause of the rift with his daughter.
The story in Ireland starts with Cal, our retired policeman, befriending a local lad, who then turns out to be a girl, looking for her brother. The people in the area seem very deprived but look out for their own. There is an almost love interest for Cal which comes to nothing and the ending, although it picks up, didn’t really keep me that interested.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this prior to publication. A very different, slower-paced, read to those by French that I’ve read before but it has a curious charm. It took me a while to attune myself to its rhythms, but once caught up it was hard to not want to learn more.
Our main character, Cal, is an American ex-cop who’s moved to a remote Irish village. He wants a peaceful life, but finds himself caught up in a situation he can’t walk away from.
Young Trey comes from a local family not known of for their good decisions. Trey’s brother went missing earlier in the year, and Cal is curious enough to do some searching. Of course he gets himself caught up in some strange shenanigans, and those around him harbour a few secrets of their own. 
We do get answers, though not quite what we expected. Cal makes some curious decisions and in spite of the bleak subject, there were some positives to this. Rural idyll it might not be, but it certainly showed a charm of its own...

A perfectly paced mystery takes us to the heart of rural Ireland, where all is not as tranquil as it seems!
Retired Chicago cop Cal Hooper is hoping to escape it all in Ardnakelty village where he has bought a derelict cottage to do up. But almost from the start he feels he is being watched - and is proved right when a young under-privileged kid, Trey, appears. Trey wants Cal's help in finding older brother Brendan, who disappeared months ago. Unwillingly, Cal is drawn in - but he needs all his skills as an investigator to break through the barriers of silence built up by the whole community. So far, his neighbours have welcomed Cal into their fold - but what will happen when he starts asking questions?
This was a really absorbing read, not just for the mystery waiting to be solved, but for the sheer beauty of the prose. Author Tana French uses nature to create an air of menace - the story opens with Cal looking out at a clamour of rooks devouring a young rabbit - an allegory of what is to come when young Trey falls foul of the folk whom Brendan courted.  Characters form before your eyes in  just a sentence or two - shopkeeper Noreen "favours tops with explosive flowers and has short brown hair set in such tight curls that it looks like a helmet". Immediately you just know she's nosy and interfering! In a similar way, we get to know Noreen's sister Lena; Mart, a neighbouring farmer; Sheila, Trey's mum - together they are part of a community that is on the surface the kind of familiar small town that could be found anywhere in the world. Yet scratch the surface, and it becomes alien and somewhat menacing when it perceives itself under threat. 
Cal's relationships are integral to the story - his brittle communications with his ex-wife and daughter back home, his friendship with sardonic Mart, his growing bond to Lena (just about the only person in Ardnakelty he truly trusts) are all explored with sensitivity. But it's his relationship with Trey that matters most. Through their bond, the narrative explores themes of trust and friendship, and also redemption as Cal looks back to a former life when he let down the person he loves most in the world. Conflicted by the situation he now finds himself in, will  he allow history repeat itself? And what will happen to Trey if Cal turns his back?
Pathos, empathy, pace, atmosphere, perfect prose and an intriguing plot make this a superb read.

This author is known for her creepy and atmospheric thrillers. Unfortunately her latest in my opinion was not. The book was so slow. I wanted something to happen. Where were the twists and shocks I expect from this author. This read more like a domestic drama. Saying that I am sure other readers will enjoy it more just not for me. 
Thanks to Penguin General UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

The Searcher by Tana French.

I enjoyed Tana French's The Wych Elm and bought a copy for my mum and sister (both of whom did not like it as much as me) so was interested in reading this novel by the same author.  It is the story of Cal, a disillusioned ex police officer from the US, who has travelled to rural Ireland to escape from a failed marriage and some estrangement from an adult daughter.  He buys a dilapidated cottage and intends to renovate it and keep himself to himself, enjoying the peace and natural world.  However, when he notices someone or something infringing on his land and watching him, he is drawn into the world of the town, whether he likes it or not.

Gradually he makes acquaintance with his elderly neighbour, Mart, who lives alone with his dog Kojak.  The mysterious visitor turns out to be a child of thirteen, offspring of a maligned local family, the Reddys, whose eldest son has mysteriously disappeared.  The child, Trey, asks Cal for help in finding out what has happened to Brendan, the missing brother.  Using his policing skills, Cal begins to ask questions around town and stirs up trouble for himself and Trey as a consequence.

The book created a sense of menace and has a very keen sense of place.  French really draws you in to this rural town and its rather desolate mountainous environs, and there is a real sense of winter encroaching, along with the creeping feeling of danger as Cal interrogates locals for information about  Brendan's last movements.  It is not fast paced, but its pace is in tune with that of a small, rural community, where locals are slow to warm to strangers and where Cal sticks out like a sore thumb. A scene in the pub where Cal is invited to drink poteen with Mart and his friends, is a brief humorous interlude.  

The mystery of what happened to Brendan is gradually revealed, with violent repercussions for both Cal and Trey along the way. Without too many spoilers, I cannot go into too much detail, but there was an excellent key scene in the latter part of the novel, where the writing conveys real emotional intensity and almost cinematic visualisation of a crime scene.  The book does end on a positive note with indications that Cal is willing to lay down some roots in the town, purchasing a puppy from Lena, a potential love interest, and with him deciding to stay to add some consistency to Trey's life, advice he was given from his adult daughter. 

The book is  an interesting depiction of the relationship between two outsiders, Cal, the American out of towner and Trey, the child on the cusp of adolescence, ostracised by the town and missing a father figure.  Although tragic events bring them together, it is their love of furniture restoration and fixing up things that allows them to continue their friendship.  In a sense, they are both broken themselves in some way and in their friendship to some extent their emotional vacancy is partly fixed.  The Searcher of the title, could be Cal, looking for the missing brother, but could equally be Trey, looking for a less broken family and both find something of what they are looking for by the end of the book.

I was so excited to read my first Tana French novel. Unfortunately this just did not work for me. While the writing and descriptions were beautifully written, it made the story too drawn out and slow.

The Searcher by Tana French is one of those relatively rare books that grips me and keeps me reading from the first page. Immediate atmosphere, authentic characters and an air of mystery. All the factors that work so well are additionally enhanced by the location of the story. Tana skilfully describes the geography and the culture of the area, which Cal has recently moved to, without using tedious descriptors or cliches. The tension builds with many unanswered hints about Cal’s family, and about a local missing person but life is breathed in to it all by the evolving picture of a bereft sibling, Trey. (Therein lies another great twist!) This book was a delight despite it being disturbing with a somewhat surprising revelation.  Even though there was a disappointing outcome to the mystery, Tana still achieves a good ending! Definitely in my five star list. I’d love to follow Cal’s journey, as I believe there are many sequels just waiting to be written

The Searcher follows Cal who moves to Ireland to get away from his past life as a detective and ends up searching for the missing brother of a local boy who asks for his help.

I really enjoyed the writing style of the book, the book is slow paced and there is a lot of focus on the setting and village life/villagers – not something I typically read and I thought I would get bored but I was really invested in the story. I really liked the build up and suspense in the story; getting to know the various characters and seeing two sides to them, the different ways Cal questioned some characters and the general atmosphere of the book with the small village who are nosy and yet keep each other’s secrets.

I did like Cal as a narrator and enjoyed reading about how he dealt with things and how he adapted to his new life and the new people around him. I also enjoyed the growing relationship between him and Trey and how they helped each other out. The ending reveal was not surprising, but I liked how it was dealt with.

4/5

Cal Hooper is a retired American police detective who's left for Ireland to find peace and escape. He's purchased a run down cottage near a rural Irish village; but peace eludes him. He's dragged into a mystery by a local kid and finds himself getting involved in a missing persons case. Deep down he knows something is wrong and no one else seems to care about this isolated family, but even Cal didn't expect to uncover layers of darkness all too close to home. There are a whole host of supporting characters and this rural location is brought to life with amazing detail.

It's atmospheric, realistic, compelling and intense. Tana French is a master at her craft, writing detailed locations, deep characters with history and demons all of their own, and twisty stories that keep you turning page after page relentlessly. I'm genuinely sad this is a standalone, because Cal is such a brilliant character. I'd love to drag him back to the city and watch him put back to work!

An absolute must read, possibly my favourite book of 2020 so far!

All of a sudden he has that sensation he kept getting, back when Trey was an unknown quantity and Cal was deciding what to do about him: an intense awareness of the spread of the dark countryside all around his house; a sense of being surrounded by a vast invisible web, where one wrong touch could shake things so far distant he hasn’t even spotted them. [loc. 1436]
A stranger comes to town ... Cal Hooper was born in North Carolina and served for a quarter of a century in the Chicago police force before taking early retirement and emigrating to Ardnakelty, a small village in the west of Ireland. He wants peace and quiet, and the soft-focus loveliness promised by the Irish Tourist Board: instead, he encounters a complex and shuttered community, and Trey, a teenager who's desperate to learn the fate of beloved older brother Brendan. 

 Cal realises that if he doesn't help Trey, nobody will, and he starts asking questions about Brendan's disappearance. It quickly becomes apparent that the Irish Tourist Board has elided some key aspects of rural life in Ireland: feuds, poverty, criminal enterprise. The gardai are, in different ways, as corrupt and prejudiced as the police force from which Cal took early retirement: and his core belief, that truth and justice matter more than anything else -- a belief which contributed to estrangement from his family, though Cal is still not sure how that happened -- is profoundly shaken. 

 French is one of my favourite authors: this may be my least favourite of her books. That's at least partially because of my own expectations, based on prior novels. The Searcher is told in third person, not in first, which robs it of some (though not all) intimacy. The setting is rural, and the folk he encounters have long memories: little resemblance to the city bustle and shifting allegiances of the Dublin Murder Squad. And I kept waiting for the weirdness: and, unless you count one character's riff about sheep-mutilating aliens in UFOs, there was none. 

 Once I acknowledged and set aside my expectations, I could focus on the creeping sense of threat; the restraint with which French describes the unspoken undercurrents of a night at the pub; the descriptions of Cal's loving manual work on the decrepit house he's bought; the rich atmosphere of the Irish countryside, its air 'rich as fruitcake, like you should do more with it than just breathe it'; the ominous flocking of crows. It's fascinating to see Cal trying to conduct an investigation without either the tools of his trade or the status of the badge he resigned. And, though on the face of it Cal is more privileged than Trey, or Brendan, could ever aspire to become, he's very much an outsider. ... Perhaps that's where I felt the dissonance between this and previous works: French's other novels frequently feature an insider discovering secrets within their community, their family or even their own mind. 

 Vivid secondary characters (I especially liked Mart, the neighbour who somehow manipulates Cal into buying him biscuits, and whose ignorance is almost a caricature); marvellous prose; a powerful story about masculinity and community in fast-changing times, and about justice in its various forms. Yet I'm not sure I'll come back to this one, at least for a while. 

 Thanks to NetGalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this honest review. UK Publication Date: 05NOV20

Recently divorced and after twenty-five years in the Chicago police force, Cal Hooper relocates to a remote Irish village where he thinks renovating an old cottage will be a quiet escape.  However, when a local kid asks for his help to find out what happened to their missing brother, Cal reluctantly investigates and finds that the pretty village and it’s inhabitants aren’t what they seem.
Very descriptive making you feel you are there and good characterisation.

I love Tana French. Her way of drawing characters is flawless & even when the plot meanders a little you stick with it because of the sheer beauty of the writing and the compelling characters. I absolutely loved Trey & her relationship with the MC, the vibrancy of the setting & the page-turning plot. Highly recommended.

Well, I can’t say I enjoyed this book at all. So many pages were just descriptive and dull. Then suddenly things start to happen and even they are long and drawn out. And all of a sudden it’s finished! Sorry but this was not a food read at all #NetGalley#TheSearcher

Tana French is an American-Irish author of psychological mystery/crime fiction and Ireland has been the backdrop for all of her books so far, as she has lived there since the '90s. You may have heard of her Dublin Murder Squad series (it starts with Into The Woods) or perhaps her 2018 standalone novel, The Witch Elm, and this year, The Searcher is another standalone novel set for release in November. Personally, I have never read a Tana French novel before even though I do enjoy the odd crime novel and like to read a good mystery now and then, so this review is coming from a Tana French newbie!

Having no expectations or preconceptions, I was drawn to the book because of its setting and the fact the main character was no longer working in law enforcement. To me, a crime novel without all of the cops offered something different.

The Searcher follows Cal Hooper, a recently divorced, recently retired policeman from Chicago. He's now in the fictional small town of Ardnakelty for some fresh air, good scenery, and to throw himself into the project of fixing up the old farmhouse he's trying to live in. It doesn't take long for another project to demand his attention. The object of his search is a missing nineteen-year-old, and Cal must do his searching without all of the tools of the police at his disposal. This means Cal has to figure out the town and its people, seek them out, get them talking, and get to uncovering secrets all the while trying to fit in as the American stranger in their town.

The setting and surroundings within The Searcher add to the enjoyment of the novel. Ardnakelty is almost a character itself as it is always present but changing. The isolated rural town adds to the slow-growing tension and gives off a good atmosphere. At times, it was almost a cosy reading experience because of the plentiful descriptions of the weather, animals, and the food. I read this as the weather changed to a grey, rainy week in October, which is similar to The Searcher as it is set during the time of year where the darker nights are closing in.

The slower pacing allows time to introduce the reader to the residents of Ardnakelty, as well as giving a bit of background to Cal. The character of Marty helps the reader get to know about who's who. This is done well as the same time he's getting Cal up to speed on his neighbours, the reader is being informed too. This helps the reader on their journey as they are trying to work out the secrets along with Cal. Although the slow start is not a negative, I would have liked to see an increase in pacing after the halfway point, because slow burners are not for everyone.

I'd have liked a fuller conclusion for an ending, but I appreciate different readers are going to want different things. It would have been more engaging to have a bit more drama, or a twist in the plot of the mystery, but on the other hand, too much drama would have been out of place with the setting of the novel. I think this is one of those stories and endings that will divide opinions!

Also, I must add a mention that Tana French gets some bonus points for dropping in a mention of the amazing musician, Hozier!