THE SEARCHER BY TANA FRENCH

PLOT SUMMARY:

Retired detective Cal Hooper moves to a remote village in rural Ireland. His plans are to fix up the dilapidated cottage he's bought, to walk the mountains, to put his old police instincts to bed forever.

Then a local boy appeals to him for help. His brother is missing, and no one in the village, least of all the police, seems to care. And once again, Cal feels that restless itch.

Something is wrong in this community, and he must find out what, even if it brings trouble to his door.

MY REVIEW:

This was my first book my Tana French and overall I really enjoyed it. The writing is excellent and the characters are really strong!

I won't lie, it was definitely a slow burner. It took me longer to read than most books do but in a way it allowed me to really get into it and immerse myself in the story. The writing is really beautiful and atmospheric. Being an Irish girl who lives in London, it felt so nice to be brought back to the homeland and I could so clearly picture the fields, mountains and just beautiful landscape of the country. French does an unbelievable job at drawing in the reader and making them feel like they are watching this story play out right in front of them.

The characters are also excellent. Each of them bring so much to the overall story and they felt like real people who you could bump into on the street. The bond between Cal and Trey is so nicely portrayed and French does a sensational job of drawing it out in a way that feels real and authentic. Trey is this enigmatic, mysterious and serious character that just has so much raw emotion and depth - definitely a top character for me!

The overall wit and perceptions of the Irish characters is hilarious at times. It felt a little stereotypical but to be honest, I could really picture in Sean Og's Pub and hearing and seeing these people chatting while having a pint. The only thing I'll say is that I found it hard to see Cal as American, the way the writes his speech actually came across a little Irish at times but that could be just me.

So the writing and characters are great and totally had me hooked but I won't lie, I found the ending a little disappointing. Due to the slow and evolving pace of the story, it felt like it was building up to this huge twist and reveal but it just didn't meet the mark for me unfortunately. This is the only flaw which is why I still gave it a 8. The writing is just sensational and I can't wait to read more from French.

Big thank you to Net Galley for letting me read this pre publication!

IN 3 WORDS/PHRASES:

Atmospheric

Well Written

Great Characters

FAVOURITE QUOTE:

'He wonders, without necessarily believing in ghosts, whether their ghosts wander. It comes to him that even if they do, even if he were to take up his coat now and go walking the back roads and the mountain sides, he wouldn't meet them. Their lives and their deaths grew out of a land that Cal isn't made from and hasn't sown or harvested, and they've soaked back into that land. He could walk right through those ghosts and never feel their urgent prickle. He wonders if Trey ever meets them, on long walks homewards under the dimming sky.'

FAVOURITE CHARACTER:

Trey, of course! There was just so much to them and I loved getting to know them more as the story developed.

OVERALL RATING:

8/10