I have loved Tana French’s books for many different reasons.

The books that preceded this one have been compelling contemporary police procedurals, with a wonderfully real Irish settings. They have been was a compelling character studies, written with real insight and understanding. They have been perceptive state of the nation novels, speaking profoundly about a particular time and place …. and they have been linked, but not quite in the way series are usually linked.

Each book was centered around a member of the Dublin Murder Squad, who had usually appeared in an earlier book before becoming the protagonist of their own story. A story that would usually draw out their own story as well as the part they had to play in the investigation of a crime.

That was a wonderfully effective way to both link books and allow then to stand alone; but this book breaks the chain.

All of the familiar elements are there but the perspective is different. This time the character at the centre of the story has no connection to the police or law enforcement.

Toby is a good-looking young man, he is bright and charming, and he comes from a comfortably off and closely-knit middle-class family. His passage though life had been smooth, and he had just survived a crisis at work that would have felled most others, when woke up to find burglars in his flat and was violently attacked. He was left with physical and psychological damage.

His recovery was slow, and so he retired to the family home to convalesce. His uncle – who was terminally ill – had always lived there and other family members – his parents, his aunts and uncles, and his cousins – congregated there for lunch every Sunday and passed though often.

It was after Sunday lunch that the two young children of one of Toby’s cousins made a grisly discovery in the old wych elm at the bottom of the garden. That discovery led to a police investigation, and to the realisation that someone he knew had been murdered and that the evidence pointed to one or more of his family being involved.

Toby began to question his memories of his family, of his past and of his own nature. He tried to work out what happened but he feared what he might learn ….

I don’t want to say more than that about the plot, because I don’t want to spoil the story, and because it is difficult to pull things out and have them make sense on their own.

The story moved slowly and inexorably, and the narrative voice was perfectly realised. I saw that Toby had strengths and weaknesses, and I could understood what made him the person that he was. But I had to ask questions about how reliable he was, whether he really couldn’t remember or whether he had chosen to forget, and just how damaged he really was.

All of the characters around him, everything that happened, was utterly believable. The portrayal of someone who had to struggle for the first time in his life is so well done; and the drawing of a family living with a terminal illness is both acute and sensitive.

The writing is clear, lucid and intelligent, and the conversations were so very well done that I could hear the voices in my head.

It was strange not to come to know the detectives well, not to follow the case from their perspective, not to be able to link them to the Dublin Murder Squad. I understand why that wouldn’t have worked for this story, but I did miss the momentum and the depth that I have found in Tana French’s earlier books.

Following a case with a detective was more rewarding than following one man’s story.

I was always engaged but the story took a little too long to come together. When it did come together it was extraordinary. The crime story was intriguing, but the exploration of what happens when a charmed life is derailed and of coming to terms with the past and with new knowlege about that past is the greater story.

This is a very good book, and if the earlier books hadn’t set my expectations so high, if I didn’t have comprisons to draw, I would be able to focus on the many things done so very well in this book and think much less about my relatively small concerns.

I think that the change of perspective unsettled me’ and I think that I need to see where Tana French goes next to put this book into context ….

An entertaining story with mystery and intrigue albeit far fetched. Interesting characters and story line which keeps the reader hooked.

The Wych Elm is a stand-alone tale of consequences and redemption from one of my favourite crime authors, Tana French. I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of it to review and I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for the experience, however I found the book quite hard going for much of the time and although the ending was worth persevering for, I was relieved when it was finally over; at one point I felt as if I’d been reading it for weeks and wasn’t getting any further forward.

Toby, the narrator, has found himself having to cope with his golden existence being shattered when he suffers from a violent burglary, leaving him vulnerable and disabled. Unable to cope with his normal life and career in Dublin, he moves in with his terminally ill uncle and gradually starts to realise that his past carefree actions have badly affected the lives of those around him. His injuries have damaged his memories of the past however, and for the first time in his life he suffers from guilt and self-doubt. When the murdered skeleton of an old school friend is found in the garden of his old family home, Toby can’t remember what happened – could he be a killer or even the indirect cause of the young man’s death?

I found it a frustrating read compared with Ms French’s previous books, but it was still skilfully executed. Toby is so self-centred throughout that most of the other characters seem to be very one dimensional, (but then perhaps this was the author’s intention) – I certainly worked out the whodunit fairly early on, but The Wych Elm is such a slow-burner that it would be difficult not to.

A bit of a hard slog, but still a clever and memorable read from Ms French.

Very enjoyable, fast paced. Love Tana’s writing, she has such a good turn of phrase. Thank you for the opportunity to read, and share with others.

Absolutely loved this book! Even though it was long and detailed, I just couldn't put it down. It was a mixture of thriller, family saga and mystery. It was a really interesting dynamic with lots of sub plots. I have to confess I hadn't paid much attention to the first part prior to Toby's attack, so I had to go back and re read it. Really enjoy Tana French novels.

Although I found this book excellent in parts and repetitive in others I had to keep reading especially towards the end of the book to find out what happens to the main character. I did think the chapters were too long though. Thank you to Netgalley for the read.

This is the first book by the author Tana French that I have read and although I thoroughly enjoyed the experience I found the chapters to be long and laborious and I nearly gave up a couple of times. The book centres on one character "Toby"and his extended family and starts with his suspension from work to the robbery in his flat and him being left for dead. He then spends an extended period in hospital and his release where he goes to live with his uncle who is dying of cancer. It is during this time a skull is found in a hole in the wych elm tree in the garden and the subsequent police investigation.

Took me a bit to get into this book but once in I was hooked. A Brilliant read . Can’t wait for her next book

The description of this novel - particularly the comparison to The Secret History - made me very keen to read it. So, being approved was very exciting.

Toby is living in Dublin, a successful, in-love twenty-something, when he is viciously attacked in his flat. What follows, post-recovery, is a long stay at his uncle Hugo’s the Ivy House, a rambling mansion in an unnamed Dublin suburb. Hugo is terminally ill with a brain tumour and, before long, a horrible discovery is made in his garden - the skeleton of Dominic, a bully who went to school with Toby and his cousins Su and Leon. A murder investigation ensues and, eventually, a surprising turn of events changes the direction of the novel - to an extent, anyway.

Tana French’s new novel is extremely well-written - perhaps, at times, over-long and slightly implausible (the actual hiding of the body in the wych elm is perhaps not the most realistic). However, it’s unnerving how two young people connive to commit a crime that essentially goes unnoticed forever.

French has a brilliant knack at creating atmosphere and character. The prose is atmospheric but, to a degree, lacks a sense of place. The novel could have been set anywhere, aside from some brief references to Dublin landmarks.

All in all, an excellent novel.

An interesting and unusual thriller. Lots of twists and turns and family interactions.Kept me guessing to the end.

I am a little unsure as to where this review is going to be honest because, whilst I really enjoyed the elements of it, it suffered a little for its meandering nature. But the mystery of who put the body that is found in the tree is at first as unknown as the real mystery upon which the novel is based (and I will declare an interest here, as the said tree isn’t far at all from where I live).

The characters are of course crafted really well; central to the story is Toby who we see suffers a brutal beating which leaves him with a brain injury that means he has trouble with his memory, And it’s this struggle for a sense of identity that is so engaging; how much of ourselves is tied up in our memories? How much of a role does memory form in our behaviour? Are we good because we choose to be or because that is who we’ve always been? Likewise are we bad because that is the memory we have of ourselves? Surely if Toby was guilty of murder, he would know that that is something that he is capable of?
Then there is dying Uncle Hugo, seemingly a loveable, dependable man. Is Toby’s feeling about him real, or is he in some way culpable?

I will confess to working out the answer to the mystery fairly early on, but the question of why still remained ensuring that I wanted to keep reading, And not in fact that it matters a whole lot who was responsible in the end anyway. I might be totally off the mark saying that, but the investigation of characters seemed to be far more important, well in my reading of it anyway.

I think if you go into this expecting a thrilling murder crime-ridden read you might be disappointed, and that’s not even because it doesn’t have those elements - it does of course; but it isn’t a detective-led plot line at all. It’s best to go in with no expectations of what you’re going to get, other than a good story.

I've had to DNF this one at the 20% mark. It's well written but incredibly slow, to the extent that after 100 pages I still felt like the book hadn't really started. It's a shame, because many of the lesser characters (especially the cops) were really engaging.

I have read and loved Tana French's previous Dublin Murder Squad books and had little prior information about this standalone book. Once I had realised that it wasn't a standard detective mystery and settled into the story I really enjoyed it. It's hard to categorise The Wych Elm, but what it is, is well written, spooky and unsettling and a departure from bog standard thrillers. Once I was into the last 50% mark and the story started to come together for me, I couldn't wait to find out what had happened. The denouement, when it came, was satisfying and made perfect sense.
If it hadn't taken me so long to get into the main story I would have given it 5 stars. Well worth a read if you fancy something a bit different.
I would like to thank the author, the publisher - Viking, and Netgalley for giving me an advance digital copy of this book.

After a brutal attack radically changes Toby's charmed life in Dublin, he's forced to go and live with his wealthy dying uncle in his mansion house in the countryside. When a skull is found in the wych elm tree in the garden, Toby's memories of the summers he spent there as a teenage come in question. As detectives dig deeper, Toby realises how his perception of the past is not the truth.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this novel - with its elements of The Secret HIstory (privileged youth., wealth, death) and the power to create atmosphere through building and location. Certainly the writing was crisp and taut, moving the book along through it's complex twists and red herrings. Ultimately I didn't love this book mostly because I didn't buy into Toby's character enough. I found it hard to feel any sympathy for the predicaments he found himself in but equally I couldn't feel anger or voyeuristic enjoyment at his mistakes. He was well balanced in some respects but that made it harder to engage with the two different portrayals of him - his own arrogance as a golden boy vs the perspective his teenage friends had of someone who would protect bullies and show a complete lack of self-awareness.

I enjoyed this novel a lot though and am keen to go back and read Tana French''s other books.

I had high hopes for this book as the synopsis sounded very good and having read other books by Tana French I was looking forward to another good read but sadly not for me.
Unlikeable characters, a lot of dithering and I was about half way through the book before the story really got going. I found myself dipping in and out and I just wasn't motivated to pick it up.
I would read more by Tana French as have enjoyed previous books butt this one just didn't work for me.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I like this author and all the other books she has written but really not sure about this one at all. It was hard work for my liking

Not quite what I was expecting. Unlikeable characters and an unrealistic storyline meant this book was a bit of a slog rather than the unputdownable thriller I was expecting. This is the first book I have read by Tana French and I was expecting great things after reading previous reviews but this didn’t live up to expectations.

Rather tedious read and repetative. Sounds like many families with problems and not many characters that you could like or fell sorry for. Many clues along the way and fairly easily solved near the end although the last chapter is a bit different.

A psychological crime mystery to remember

Loved Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad detective novels but this is quite different and much longer. The protagonist here is the victim, Toby, rather than the detective. Toby is an unlikable character to start with: pampered, self-satisfied, careless of the effect of his actions on other people and confident that his charm (or his parents if there's money involved) will let him get away with anything. After he is violently attacked, this changes. He goes to recuperate at his uncle's rambling old property, Ivy House, in a plush part of Dublin, where another key event takes place. Gradually you realise that he is not so self-assured now. Physically and mentally damaged, he becomes fearful for his life and questions whether he really trusts certain members of his large Irish family, or indeed himself.

Strong characterisation, descriptive writing (especially of the overgrown garden at Ivy House) and frequent twists in the plot make this a book to remember, though it has a rather slow start. Persevere, it's worth it!

A standalone by one of the best crime authors currently at work – I could hardly wait to read this one. And yet, it was disappointing. Far too much background – the story only gets going about halfway through, and even then there is too much dithering.