The Witch Elm Book Reviews

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Where is Tana French. This book never starts. So disappointing.

The destination isn’t as good as the journey. •WARNING! SPOILERS ahead•I have read all French’s books. Her earlier ones were utterly mesmerizing. This one - very engrossing and I couldn’t put it down BUT the ending…it left me feeling unsatisfied. It’s almost like French had this all thought out but then she couldn’t quite get the ending she wanted so instead she kept writing and writing and when she still couldn’t wrap it up neatly she just gave up and ended it. It was all very depressing and confusing. Hugo was the glue and how he was treated in the end was so sad. Susanna was an evil person who let Hugo take the fall so all the good he did was erased and he was a killer in perpetuity to everyone who didn’t know the whole story. That he died in the hospital instead of at his home was tragic. He fell on the sword for his family members and look how they repaid him. That was very sad. Toby had a great life with Melissa but he ended up broken and alone. That was depressing. All those good memories Toby thought he had with Susanna and Leon turned out to be mostly lies and in the end the house was sold so it didn’t stay in the family. What about the genealogy thing? In hindsight…unnecessary as it didn’t go anywhere. It was this great side story and instead of a big reveal it was wrapped up with an email. That was weird. I don’t understand why Toby had that violent showdown with Rafferty. So bizarre. Why did Rafferty try to kill Toby?! He was a cop so why didn’t he just arrest him for assault? Here’s how I was thinking it was gonna go-as Susanna is telling Toby what she and Leon had done I thought for sure it was leading up to them attempting to kill Toby and then make it look like he killed himself from grief but the cops get there in time to save Toby and Susanna and Leon get arrested. Instead it dragged on way too long and French lost the plot. Also anyone else get the sense that Susanna’s son inherited whatever psychotic killer tendencies from her? That kid was a serial killer in the making…creepy. Also there were two men who attacked Toby but we only found out about one. For such a violent attack I feel we should’ve been given info on the other one even if he was just a random “skanger”. I will say that even though the ending was disappointing I really enjoyed the book pretty much the whole way through until the violent showdown. That’s where it started to fall apart for me. I don’t think you can write a book off completely if the ending is lacking. French wrote a pretty great book overall so I don’t regret reading this. This would make a great movie.

Tedious. Tedious

Wha?!. Great story, interesting characters. The end left me dangling from a cliff! :-(

Tedious. I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen, then finally almost half way through it does. Then it takes until the last 1/8 of the book for it all to come together and ends on the most boring note possible. How do some of these books get on the best seller list?

Drags on.... Like most of her books, this one drags on forever.

Long Winded. I really wanted to like this book but found myself bored and unable to connect with the main characters.

I couldn't stop reading. This book started out slow then grabbed me by the neck and never let go. I spent a few nights not able to put my phone down, good and unexpected twists and turns. I always enjoy Tana French's storytelling and writing style.

Boring and frustrating. How can this be marketed as a thriller?? I made it to page 283 and nothing has happened. Nothing.

Hmm. Started out great. Half way through it started getting implausible and stupid and then it just seemed to me like it was written by 2different writers. Towards the end it started getting interesting again but too late.

The Witch Elm. I say ‘‘tis about few books. I didn’t,t finish reading this book. It was moving so slowly I jut stopped reading. sorry, but it just didn’t appeal to me.

The 1st Tana French Book I Didn’t Like. For all her previous books, I found myself wanting to turn the next page to find out want happened. Reading this book, I found that the more I read, that more laborious it became to keep going. The narrator and main characters with a couple exceptions are awful people. But that itself didn’t turn me off—it was the repetitive thoughts of the main character. Ok. I got it the first time. This guy is shallow and privileged. It is about one-third into the book when something happens that lets you know that this book centers on a crime. By then I kept looking at how many pages were left, and I kept wondering whether I could get through this book. I couldn’t.

One star!. Wow, it look nearly a third of the book to get to the murder plot and then no real mystery. Could predict the outcome almost immediately. If it hadn’t been for Hugo it would have been nearly impossible to get through. Not her best stuff and definitely not the best mystery book of 2018 as apple rated it!! Someone paid a handsome sum to get that title....ONE STAR!

Just an awful tedious book with an awful tedious main character. This book just went on and on and on without any payoff. The main character was implausible, obtuse and unlikeable. The narrative suffered from the same qualities. I would warn everyone I know not to waste their time with this book.

Quite Dreadful. Really a terrible book. Wanted to like it, was looking for a literary thriller, a la Kate Atkinson, Ian McEwan, etc. I didn’t do enough research on reviews and stopped after reading a couple recommendations (notable book of the year, etc.). Having read the iBooks sample I decided to purchase, hoping that the narrator’s grinding verbosity and self-preoccupied rumination about his protracted, incipient panic attack would eventually prove germane to some later development. It finally became clear it was going absolutely nowhere and I bailed after reading 200 pages. I know every author can write a major clinker and I’m hoping French’s other books may be worth a look, but this proved tedious and non-revelatory — I couldn’t find even the redeeming value of well crafted sentences to justify continued reading or to maintain credibility for the scenarios French was trying to convey.

So boring – doubt I’ll be able to finish it. The bickering between the cousins is exhausting and painfully boring. It started out strong but now it’s just dragging on and going nowhere. I keep hoping for some progression in the story but it’s like the same scenes keep getting rehashed over and over.

Least favorite book of hers. I’m such a huge fan of all of her previous novels. This one took so long to get into, and once in, I thought it was predictable. Unfortunately I really didn’t enjoy the ending. I’m hoping her next one will be better.

Dry and long. It was a dry and long book

Thrilled. Beyond excited for this book to drop .

Ugh - boring tale of nothingness.. Thought this would be an interesting, mysterious type of novel. No suspense, what little there is doesn’t have any meaning - I only finished it because I spent so much money on it. It was a chore to finish and highly unsatisfying. And I’m a fan! 😭

Sad. It’s my first Tana Trench book. I picked it on a whim and it left me in a pit of despair.

Disturbingly addictive.. Couldn’t put it down. The writing is lush without being over the top. Pictures and emotions painted so clearly I could see and feel them. Disturbingly human characters.

A good read. Long time readers of the Dublin Murder Squad will appreciate the emotional unraveling of the mystery and the well written introspection. Not quite as good as French’s other novels, but still definitely worth the read.

The Witch Elm. This is by far the most disturbing and depressing book I have ever read. Very well written so I kept thinking it was going to get better. Alas, it did not. I would not recommend anyone spend time in this dark place.

Good enough. Interesting enough to stay engaged, but found myself waiting for something to happen - the big reveal that would tie the plot all together. This was more like a meandering, slow burn. I never fully grasped the characters of Toby, Susanna and Leon and their complicated relationship. The only character who felt real to me and fully formed was Hugo.

Loved it. Great story

Boring. I am 150 pages into the very slow moving story. I don't think that I will finish it. I feel as if I am slogging through a very boring stream of consciousness with no end in site.

What a disappointment.... No twist or big reveal here....they should have paid ME to read this.... So boring....I hate saying that but, a big disappointment

Huh?. Very random loosely connected events

Disappointing. I was expecting an intruiging thriller and ended up with a great deal of build-up with no climax in sight. I truly thought that by the end things would all come together, but instead was left hanging as I was with every other chapter of the book. I wish I had known this before reading half of the book just to get to the first interesting plot point.

The witch elm. Loved every minute of this book. I wish it didn’t have to end.

Just wouldn’t end. I loved Tara French’s previous books. This one just wouldn’t end and instead meander pointlessly between different characters and unconnected strands. I was relieved when I reached the end.

Witch Elm. This book was OK. Toward the end, it became verbal diarrhea in a sense because she went on and on and on and at one point, I was ready to threw in the towel. It became very boring, so I found myself reading the same paragraphs over and over because I couldn't get into it at all. The concept was good but the ending was definitely not great.

Awful audiobook. Dull slow start too boring to even finish. Heavy English accent in extremely fast speech patterns difficult to follow.

The Witch Elm. Tana French is simply one of the best at writing about “normal” people coming unmoored and what happens when they do. I finished this book a few days ago but I just can’t stop thinking about it. There are so many levels to the story!

Not the most thrilling thriller. I felt like bits and pieces of the story were amazing, and the rest was a bit boring. I had to force myself to read the last 60 pages or so. I saw the big reveal coming from chapters away and felt nothing towards the main character. Better luck next time.

Not good. What began as slow moving did not pick up, but I always finish books I start. This one was a challenge. The ending, while not horrifying, was more like a mildly depressing way to mop up a spill.

A bit dark but well written. This novel is certainly well written & I love the way the author describes and paints a scene.. I am a rather sensitive human and that being said, this book was a bit dark and depressing for me. Perhaps that’s the author’s style, so if you’re into that then I highly recommend this book. If you’re looking for resolution and a happy ending, then maybe not so much.

The Witch Elm. Sorry, I have read all her books and recommended them, but this one I could not even finish, what happen!

Falls Short. A want-to-be thriller ala Dostoyevsky- but falls way short. The narrative getting into the troubled mind of the protagonist is b-o-r-I-n-g

Loved it.. Beautifully written, amazing insight into a person’s persona. What are we truly capable of, as individuals? Descriptive, to the point of feeling as though one is a part of the story. Thank you, Ms. French. Can’t wait for your next, although this one will stay with me for quite a while.

Not my favorite of hers. Took for-ever to get to the actual plot. I almost stopped reading in the 4th chapter when the character development was still going on, and on, and on...

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Just ok. I didn’t find the story to be terribly interesting and while the characters are well described, the book is very drawn out, wordy, and rather dull.

Tense as Piano Wire. Reading this book is like desperately yourself awake from a stress dream only to be immediately kicked in the throat. That’s a compliment. French’s best novel, and it’s a very high bar.

An Interesting Story, But Poorly Written. The Witch Elm was suggested to me by others, who know that I very much enjoy The Thursday Murder Club books by Richard Osman. Unfortunately, this books does not look good in comparison. The story concept is good, and there is a nice, teasing orbit that the plot takes around the main event. One can sympathize with all of the characters, but most are happily imperfect. That said, the writing is clumsy and the story suffers for it. Dialogue in particular is stited, drawn out, and so character interactions don’t reveal the back story or character motives and feelings in a very natural maner. Instead, the dialogues are often a bit tiring to read. The first 150 pages or so should have been treated to a pair of scissors by an editor; so little of the first half is relevant to the rest of the book that the loss of 100 pages would improve things immensely. Overall, a good idea spoiled by a lack of writing refinement and editing. What could have been an intriguing read to look forward to every evening becomes a test of endurance and of diminishing interest in the characters fate.