Review of "The Searcher" by Tana French

 

My Review:

I have seen this book on many different lists in 2020. The blurb that accompanies the book sounded interesting, so it quickly moved to my "Want to Read" pile. I also researched the author a little bit and realized she has several other interesting books. I thought about buying a copy, but eventually went with putting a hold on it at the library. 

The story is about Cal, a retired cop from Chicago, who after a difficult divorce, decides to leave everything behind and move to Ireland. Cal moves into this dilapidated home outside a very small town. This slower pace of life suits him just fine as he gets to know his new neighbors and their eccentricities. Cal thinks he has escaped the darkness and stress of being a cop, but somehow it still follows him to his new home. A local kid seeks Cal out to help with finding an older brother. Cal soon learns that this small Irish town isn't as quiet as he had hoped. 

While this book is a mystery, it is a very slow moving mystery. At times, I did wish the plot would hurry along, but over all I really enjoyed French's storytelling. I really had a chance to connect with the characters, especially Cal, and appreciate the plot development. I found that I wanted to keep reading to find the next clue Cal would uncover. The mood of the book also led to an uneasy feeling as you knew something was off. This feeling kept me reading too as I wanted to figure out just what was going on in this book. 

If you like fast paced mysteries with a surprising twist at the end, then this is not your book. The story ended pretty much as I thought it would based on the clues. There really wasn't a big reveal at the end, which I must admit left me a little disappointed. I think I'm so use to many mysteries having a surprise twist that I kept waiting for one in this book. I could see where some still might say the end was a surprise, but I felt that French's writing led up to that conclusion pretty easily. I was really hoping for something more darker and sinister at play, but sadly that was not the case. Even so, I greatly enjoyed French's writing style and plan to give another one of her books a try.

How Much Coffee Was Needed?

I had just a few days where I needed an extra cup of coffee. This book took me quite some time to read. Again, I enjoyed the different pace, and while I wanted to keep reading, I didn't feel that I had to keep going late into the night. Sure there was a night or two I stayed up a little later, but nothing too terribly late.

What's Next?

The Bookworm's Guide to Faking It by Emma Hart