This is why you read Tana French: for the nuances that go into an ambush like this, and for her ability to immerse you in the moment completely. Nobody beats French when it comes to writing pub scenes fraught with tension. They’re also ominous, given what we know about the close-knit, gossipy nature of the town. These scenes are keenly observed, with a strong sense of place, and unfailingly entertaining.
One of this book’s many pleasures is French’s way of building Cal and Trey’s bond. there’s a lot at work in The Searcher, even if its story sounds simple. an audacious departure for this immensely talented author. Evocative and lyrical, The Searcher is a mystery worth reading slowly to savor every perfectly rendered detail. This is not a place where Cal can bury his head in the sand. What sets The Searcher apart from French’s earlier novels is its depiction of how deeply intertwined the residents of the village are-with young people leaving the area, farms struggling and poverty and drug use plaguing the area, each person is somehow dependent on his or her neighbors for survival. As the book progresses, Cal’s idyllic country adventure begins to rot around the edges. French scrapes away at the idyllic landscape of rural Ireland and reveals the vices that plague every village and town, including drugs like methamphetamine. Trey’s insistence rattles something in Cal, however, and as he begins a quiet investigation into Brendan's disappearance, he realizes that his tiny community is full of secrets and people who don’t want Brendan found. With few prospects, it’s reasonable to assume that he fled to Dublin like many teens before him.
The Reddys are poor, Brendan didn’t make it into college, and his girlfriend recently broke up with him. The Irish police, and indeed Brendan’s own mother, believe Brendan left of his volition. Trey’s 19-year-old brother Brendan has vanished and Trey believes that he’s been met with foul play. Gossip gets around through, and soon Cal finds 13-year-old Trey Reddy on his doorstep. His decision to move to Ireland and fix up a ramshackle farmhouse feels impulsive, but Cal is almost immediately centered by the beautiful landscape and by the kindness of his neighbors. It’s this nuance, a signature of French’s writing, that makes this novel more than just a mystery it’s also an exploration of rural poverty and the closely intertwined lives of people who are just trying to scratch out a living.Ĭal is a former Chicago detective burned out from his job, licking his wounds after his divorce and struggling to reconnect with his adult daughter. Cal Hooper is an outsider in his rural Irish town, and before he can be ensnared by a missing person case, Cal-and by extension the reader-must get his footing in his new community. Much like her previous standalone novel, The Witch Elm, Tana French’s The Searcher meanders its way into a mystery with a deliberate patience.
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