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4.5 Out of 5 Stars
The Searcher Takes Off Like a Rocket of Mystery
The Searcher by Tana French took off like a mystery rocket. The first pages had us hooked right away, trying to figure out what was happening. It’s always a joy when a book can do that without losing our interest in confusion.
Here, The Searcher by Tana French pulls readers into a mystery-guessing game all in a rural Irish setting.
Cal, the central character, is a retired American cop who moved to Ireland to get away to a quiet place, thinking the Irish countryside perfectly fits the bill. The only problem, just after his arrival, Cal finds himself pulled into a missing-person mystery, and he’s in a pickle with what to do. Either he stays out of it, or he goes against his gut which is to help.
“In The Searcher, Tana French stakes out new territory: a rural Irish setting quite different from the urban and suburban Ireland of her previous works, and a central character who is an American . . . The Searcher blends qualities of French’s best novels, the first and third of her “Dublin Murder Squad” police procedurals . . .”
—Los Angeles Review of Books
The Searcher Has a Lovely Blend of Rough and Soft Qualities
We gave this novel a 4.5-star rating because we felt it was a little slow in the middle. That’s not to say it’s not a good read. As we’ve mentioned in previous reviews, we never put down a book before finishing it because you never know. And this one is still an excellent read.
That said, when the story did pick up stride again, it was then that we realized the prose had a lovely blend of hard and soft qualities between the protagonist’s rough ways and picturesque setting that it created quite a wonderful texture in our minds. From that point on, the book held our interest to the end.
The Searcher Publisher Synopsis:
Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a rural Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens. But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets.
“One of the greatest crime novelists writing today” (Vox) weaves a masterful, atmospheric tale of suspense, asking how to tell right from wrong in a world where neither is simple and what we stake on that decision.
Author Bio:
Tana French is the author of In the Woods, The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, The Secret Place, and The Trespasser. Her books have won awards, including the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards, the Los Angeles Times Award for Best Mystery/Thriller, and the Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Dublin with her family.
The Searcher FAQ
The print book is 463 pages.
The novel was published on October 6, 2020.
Yes, the audio book can be purchased here.
The cover image of this feature is by Robert V. Ruggiero on Unsplash
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