The Searcher Book Reviews

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Her best book yet. A great read and wonderful story. So much better edited than her previous books!

Moving and mysterious. I really loved this novel. There’s a satisfying mystery to solve, and French is great at winding us in. But the characters and setting grabbed me more. This one reminded me of her first novel, “In the Woods,” for the sensitive way it depicts a hurting adolescent. The friendship between this character and the main character, a disillusioned Chicago cop looking for peace and quiet but getting more than he bargained for, feels exactly right.

Ok. I like the relationship between trey and cal but the book was pretty boring and the investigation was stupid

Plot 4, characters 6. As one reviewer said, “Read it through for the story, then again for the writing.” Couldn’t have said it better. After I read another of hers I might come back to reread this one.

Unsatisfying ending. So French’s books sweep you up in a lot of drama and mystery but then you get to the unsatisfying endings and you feel ripped off. All of her stories could be told in two sentences but they are dragged out to 400-500 pages. You get caught up and for all the time you invest you want a better payoff. Of all her books this one felt the most like the author just ran out of ideas so it ends with the characters eating and looking at the landscape. Okaaay…I loved this book and the ending was full of possibilities but she took the easy way out. It was like “A kid died oh well…he was trash anyway so let’s all move on.” Wow! And I’m sorry but Cal needs to move back to America. He’s just gonna be ok with living near a guy who is deceitful and a murderer and low key like the town mob boss bully. What happens when Cal doesn’t do what he’s told? He needs to convince Trey’s mom to sign her over to him and he needs to take her to America and let her have a normal life. A mother who beats her own child just cause an old geezer tells her to. Ha! She doesn’t deserve those kids. So depressing. Mart should’ve been reported-maybe Brendan dying was truly an accident but all the other indecent stuff he pulled around town (pulling strings to have power over people) should have repercussions. There was no Justice in this story. Very disappointing.

Started out but landed flat. Not a fan of this one it started out interesting enough but then started stinking it up and never recovered

Skip this one. Don’t waste your time or money on this one. I can’t believe that Tana French wrote this. I loved the Dublin Murder Squad series, I cannot believe this was written by the same author.

The Searcher. Superbly paced novel that allows characters to reveal themselves in authentic ways. Imagery is creative but subtle, not trying to convince but to nudge, to coax. Nice mix of melancholy and optimism, often in the same sentence. Does not resort to inexplicable or not credible theatrics. I highly recommend.

Slow moving. Story moves slowly. Subtle anti police message. Horrible ending.

The Best Kind Of Novel. Atmospheric and compelling. The characters seem to step out of the bog, and speak to you in a dialect that didn’t even know you could understand. It really gives you a whole new perspective on what’s going on in the small villages across Ireland, or anywhere for that matter. It’s a page turner that deserves to savored. I am looking forward to reading Tana French’s other novels.

Unlike any mystery I've ever read.. Unlike any other mystery I've ever read. Total suspense but you won't realize it until the end. While there are specific clues, the whole story from the retired cop's view is the main clue. Good luck! Excellent and unique writer.

Not interesting at all. A very ordinary mystery.

Great story. I really enjoyed this! No, it’s not a fast-paced thriller. Tana French’s descriptions of this part of Ireland, along with deeply involved character studies, made this “what happened” story absolutely tantalizing for me. So descriptive. I’ll remember this one for a long time. Thank you, Ms. French. Cants wait for your next one!

Skillful, touching, mystery. Tana French again nails it. In some ways the mystery is the backdrop versus the foreground which is taken with superb character development. I didn’t want it to end because I knew my heart would be wrenched by leaving these characters.

Awful adolescent writing. Not worth the money! The writing is so amateurish. There is too much dialogue,the story is predictable, and the characters are cliches. There are also stupid digressions and everything is a pathetic stereotype. An elementary school kid would have gotten an F for this dreck. The story unfolds so slowly without any real tension or interests and ends poorly. Don't bother!

The Searcher. Very good. Probably helped to have just finished Banville’s Snow which is shockingly dreadful

Refreshing and engaging accomplishment. A great read. Full of images and a quiet meeting of male and female culturally informed life experiences. All wrapped in a great story. Sorry when it ended but pleased to have gone through journey.

The Searcher. This author develops her storyline slowly using very lyrical content. At times, the plot line sags but overall, a good read

Just OK. I love this author and liked parts of this book. The ending was unsatisfying and seemed lazy vs the mystery being figured out. I’ll read her again. There’s a huge section in the middle that serves no purpose and was annoying.

A quiet book. I enjoyed this novel immensely. Much different from her prior books but I enjoyed the character study of a man at odds with his life and the somewhat redemptive quality of a small town and helping another by finding the truth. I hope the author revisits this character and this small town in the future.

More a piece of literature than a mystery. This differed from Tana’s other books. Though not much of anything happened (particularly for the first half), somehow everything happened. I couldn’t put it down, but it wasn’t because of the mystery, it was in spite of the mystery. The mystery was secondary to the beautiful writing. The characters so developed.

The Searchers. Tana French is a gifted describer of scene and character. I didn’t want this to end. Dialogue incredible.

The Searcher. This is the second book I’ve read by Tana French and not sure how to rate it. Both were very well written and suspenseful, right up to the last page and then what a disappointment. Will probably not buy another book by her.

The Searcher. I was truly excited to buy French’s new novel! However, an Irish Western with an American protagonist is a dull read. I’m halfway through & forcing myself to finish. Cal is boring & predictable, Tre a stereotype of “poor Irish families.” DO NOT recommend buying this, a real dud from an excellent author.

Huge disappointment. The least interesting and most poorly written of all her books. Sorely disappointed. I disliked every single character.

The Searcher. A novel of varying plots of characters, site, and environment. Enjoyed the details of the atmosphere and the sparseness of feeling in his renovation. The undercurrent of good versus evil in this small Irish community feels authentic. A good read.

A big disappointment. Every character is a cliche. The dialogue is ridiculous and repetitive. I own every one of Tana French’s book and have loved them all with the exception of The Witch Elm which improved somewhat the second time I read it but The Searcher? Even a true fan can’t enjoy this terrible book

Amazing. My favorite Tana French book. Has all the elements: a excellent story, good pace, perfect amount of details & setting,

Excellent. Excellent. Channels a world of isolation and shadows.

Super Fan But Super Disappointed. I have always been a major fan of French’s and have lost myself in each of her novels. This one is an exception. Incredibly dull, the story never picks up speed. Where’s the thrill? Where’s the mystery? Halfway through the novel I had to convince myself to keep reading, hoping the story would get better. Her protagonist is a retired Chicago detective. While actually an American raised in Ireland, French seems to have no knowledge as to how Americans speak. It’s cringeworthy. Not sure why this novel is such a departure from her others. I hope she returns to her other, proven style of writing. I can’t recommend buying this book.

A - F Scale: C. Easy read. Predictable. Storyline: Meh.

Solid 4 stars. Brings the reader to a locale they’ve likely never been before. All the characters are well drawn, the plot hangs together, and the outcome is realistic. It was my first Tana French but not my last.

The Searcher. Disappointed with the ending. Yeah, things seem back to normal. But what about Mart and the guys who led to Brendan’s death? Seems out of character for Cal to let that lie. Enjoyed the depth of learning about Irish culture and the dialog. I read on an iPad, so I can look up the words and places I’m unfamiliar with. Even paper books I get as gifts. Takes longer, but I love immersing myself in the culture. Been to Dublin, only, and loved that experience.

Not a fan of mysteries…. But Tana French can make it count! A mystery with a good drama to it. French is now on my writer’s watch list!

What’s the point?. I’m not sure about this new genre of Ms French which I guess I can only describe as crime drama gone awry. It’s different, for sure. Very unfulfilling for me as a reader

Meh. Tedious. Very slow. She writes well but the book really doesn’t go anywhere until the end. An over hyped novel.

Enjoyed every page. I could not seem to get this story out of my head . I loved the characters and wanted to know more after it was over . I highly recommend .

Ok, bad ending. Not a fan of the anticlimactic ending. Good read

Worth the wait. It was a slow starter, but the author used that slow start to build characters that I ended up caring very much about, and she used that slow start to create the appropriate atmosphere and to paint a complete picture of the setting. Give it a chance. The payoff is well worth it.

I usually love her stuff. But this book was not it. I trudged through pages and pages of nothing happening only to get to a very boring ending. I kept hoping it would get better but it didn’t. Skip this one imho.

immersive and poetic. The plot is beautifully woven together with the descriptions of the land. The characters are superbly created, with a keen sense of compassion, understanding and depth. Nothing is black and white, it is all in shades of green and blue like the colors of Ireland. The complexity of the plot and characters make the dichotomy between happy and non happy endings superfluous, it is both and neither.

The Searcher. I enjoyed reading this even though I’ve never liked Westerns. Cal and Trey are great characters, but I prefer this author’s other novels. I don’t think I’d like to live in that place, either, but must admit having a group of neighbors willing to do whatever it takes to keep out Dublin gangs to keep the neighborhood safe is tempting. Reminds me of those Charles Bronson movies where he provides vigilante justice.

The Searcher. Tana French is a wonderful storyteller….and knows her way around a good mystery. Really entertaining yarn!

Meh. My first Tana French novel. After reading a great deal of hype, I was somewhat disappointed. I like the writing style but the story was nothing special.

Disappointing. I was disappointed. This was a woman’s fantasy about a macho man’s growth as a person. As a guy i didnt believe the protagonist would react to the teen’s acting out the way he did. I didnt believe a retired cop would not envokve the police.

A good read but a bad story. Was a great read well written but the plot was terrible.

Beauty & Pain. Ireland is a beautiful place for retired Chicago cop Cal Hooker to retire. Beauty has its ugly side as it’s people and place are not exactly who they appear to be. French tells an atmospheric story , painful and powerful.

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