The Searcher

A Novel

By: Tana French

Narrated by: Roger Clark

Best Book of 2020
New York Times |NPR | New York Post

"This hushed suspense tale about thwarted dreams of escape may be her best one yet . . . Its own kind of masterpiece." --Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post

"A new Tana French is always cause for celebration . . . Read it once for the plot; read it again for the beauty and subtlety of French's writing." --Sarah Lyall, The New York Times

Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just 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.

A little dark, fairly tense and highly atmospheric

SUMMARY
After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a difficult divorce, Cal Hooper has retired. He thought a fixer-upper in a small Irish village would be the perfect escape. He just 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.


“If you don’t have your code, you got nothing to hold you down. You just drift, any way things blow you.”

“He want to punch something, but knows that would do nothing but bust his knuckles. Having that much sense makes him feel old.”


REVIEW
THE SEARCHER is Tana French”s latest book and it’s an absorbing and intriguing character driven novel. It’s a little dark, fairly tense and highly atmospheric. Cal Hooper drives the story and is quite an interesting and noble character. He is a smart, hard-working, thoughtful, patient and compassionate ex-police officer. His relationship with, and mentoring of thirteen year old Trey was extraordinarily special. Trey’s perseverance and determination was the light in this tragic story.

Cal’s dogged investigation into the truth of what happened to Trey’s brother, Brenden, was the nexus of the story and nicely plotted. It included a unique cast of neighbors and towns people that added depth and mystery to the search. This harrowing and thought-provoking story would make a fabulous movie. French’s vivid descriptions of the people, their actions and landscapes were phenomenal She has a way of making the scenes come alive on the page with meticulous details.

“The morning had turned lavishly beautiful. The autumn sun gave the greens of the fields an impossible, mythic radiance and transformed the back roads into light-muddled paths where a goblin with a fiddle, or a pretty maiden with a basket, could be waiting around every game and bramble bend. Cal was in no mood to appreciate any of it

“Landscape is one of the few things he knows of where the reality doesn’t let you down. The west of Ireland looked beautiful on the Internet; from right smack in the middle of it, it looks even better. The air is rich as fruit cake, like you should do more with it than just breathe it; bite off a big mouthful, maybe, or rub handfuls of it over your face.”

By the end the chill of the bog seeped into my bones

I expected atmospheric descriptions of Ireland and a rich Irish accent. Without that in the beginning, it took a while to sink into, but well worth reading and haunting.

Giving Ireland A bad name

I love ireland and have been there several times.
But thats not how i remember the beautiful country!

Maybe i’m naive but meth labs are everywhere i guess. And yes the irish are gossipy in an endearing way. But murder and burial and getting away with it in the end?

Really smeared my illusion of ireland.

Long and drawn out but great descriptions and accent.

Just didn't do it for me

Loved the narration and the Irish dialect and dialogue, but the story wasn't all that believable and took too long to develop

Good book

The writer is very gifted in writing to paint a picture in your head. She is eloquent and descriptive. The book itself is well written and researched but the story is mundane. The eye catcher quotes on the book cover is misleading, especially the one from Stephen Kind. I would not find it to be a nail bitter or terrifying, it is just a regular story described in great detail and eloquently. I did enjoy reading this but not so much for the story as it was for the mini vacation to Ireland in my head.