After a night out with friends Toby goes home and awakens to find 2 men burgling his home and is then subjected to a viscous assault that hospitalises poor Toby.

Normally Toby is a very lucky man but after being discharged from Hospital, he discovers that his uncle Hugo is dying of terminal brain cancer. Toby moves into his ancestral home with his girlfriend Melissa to care for him, along with his 2 cousins Leon and Susanna, who spent childhood summers together but have drifted apart since adulthood.

When a gruesome discovery is found in the garden, Toby’s luck has well and truly scarpered!! The police start to interview him but his memory has deteriorated since the attack and Toby is feeling very vulnerable.

I did enjoy this book, but it was a little too long winded at times but I am glad I plodded on, as Tana French is a very talented writer and I was still intrigued as to how this would all end.

Even though this is my favourite Tana French’s book I would definitely look out for her next creation.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy on exchange for a review.

This book took me a little while to get into but I persevered and ended up really enjoying it. Different from the previous books I've read from this author but would most definitely recommend.

My thanks to Penguin Books U.K./Viking for an eARC via NetGalley of Tana French’s ‘The Wych Elm’ in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with Tana French’s writing when I read ‘In the Woods’, which was the first in her acclaimed ‘Dublin Murder Squad’ series. So I was very excited to have the opportunity to read this stand-alone psychological thriller/murder mystery.

Although this is on one level a mystery, it is also a work of literary fiction with in-depth exploration of the relationships between its characters and the fluid nature of memory.

Set in Dublin its narrator is Toby, a 28-year old who seems to have everything going for him until a traumatic event shatters his seemingly charmed life. I don’t want to say much about the plot as it reveals itself over time.

Following the initial trauma, the narrative slows down significantly to explore the aftermath of that event before the central mystery presents itself. The pace then starts to increase to a shattering climax that left me shaking.

Admittedly Toby is a bit of a lad, though quite good natured and I had a lot of empathy for him as he was swept up by events beyond his control.

It is a complex novel that demanded close reading with rich language, powerful and believable characterisation and multiple layers to be explored. It’s a book that I expect to be excellent for reading groups that are looking for thought-provoking novels that are also readable.

Unfortunately this book is painfully slow!
I started this book a couple of times, and failed to connect with it in anyway. I just felt like nothing really happened. I expected to be drawn into a world of turmoil, and mystery. To feel the pain and confusion with Toby, our main protagonist. I wanted my heart to be with him, and be consumed in his confusion, out of touch with a life he thought he knew. Unfortunately, for me this felt completely flat, and uninteresting. I wasn’t enthralled with the story, and it failed to hold my interest. It just felt a little shallow, and long winded.
I have not read anything by Tana French, but I understand she has some great books out, so may be tempted to try one of those in future.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Tana, and penguin books (UK) for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review. I wish you all the best with the launch.

Toby seems to have a perfect life but it all blows up after a burglary that leaves him seriously injured. He goes to his Uncle Hugo's to recoup and look after him. But a body is found in the Wych Elm in the garden. What else can go wrong? Read and see. Gripping novel, well written that keeps you wanting to read more until the last pages, enjoy.

A scary standalone thriller, that will keep you awake at night wondering what is going on! Recommended!

#TheWychElm is one of the most immersive things you'll read this year. From the outset, Tana French had me in her grip. The characterisation and settings are each so vivid, so perfectly rendered, that I felt I was reading about somewhere I'd been, news from old friends. But then, how well do we really know our friends - or even our family?

It's a given here to say the writing itself is impeccable. Ms French knows how to weave a sentence and the words at her command are a joy. But much more than this, what I loved most about this book were the moral and existential questions the central character uses to sift through his memories of a summer that was very different things to different people and the way this amplified all the twists. What is a good person anyway? What a bad one? Which one are you? If you can't trust your memories, then who are you really? And who, or what, can you trust?

This book definitely didn't go where I thought it would. It is an order of magnitude more interesting than your average crime novel. The whole time I was reading this, forcing myself to put it down at times to make it last longer, I had that Goldfinch feeling. So I'm not remotely surprised that other reviews have been saying this is as good as Donna Tartt. Nor will I be surprised when the next Donna Tartt arrives and people start saying it's one for fans of Tana French.

With many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me see an advance copy of this title in exchange for an unbiased review.

Delectably creepy, a perfect winter read curled up by the fire. I've seen the word spellbinding used to describe this book and couldn't agree more. Can't get enough .

A well crafted mystery. This book explores family ties and secrets. I have read mixed reviews about this book, and it is a bit of a slow burn at the start, however, I found it to be compelling and would recommend it to any mystery/crime fans.

The Wych Elm finds Tana French writing with her Barbara Vine hat on as opposed to her Ruth Rendell one. As a fan of her Dublin Murder Squad books, it was a joy watching the investigation unfold from the baffled perspective of the suspect and adjacent persons, and she's so good at both the slow, inexorable slide into catastrophe and some breathtaking hairpin turns. A detailed, classy, psychologically rich thriller with some beautiful writing.

Toby is the central character. The reader finds that he's had a fairly charmed life, is happy at work and has a lovely girlfriend, Melissa. But everything changes for Toby when burglars enter his home and he is very badly beaten - so badly that he nearly dies. When he comes out of hospital, he has problems with his memory and his coordination, now walking with a limp and often losing the thread of any conversation. Being in his flat his stressful for him, bringing back memories of the night he was attacked. He moves in with his uncle, Hugo (who is dying of cancer), to the house where he spent a lot of his very happy childhood - the Ivy House. And then a skull is found by the Wych Elm at the bottom of the garden and everything changes.

I've never read Tana French before and expected more of a page-turner than this delivers. I didn't really care that much about Toby - or his cousins - and the reveal of the truth of the events that led up to the point at which a body came to be in the hole in the tree seemed to drag on for too long. In addition, there was a subsequent scene which I won't describe as it would be a plot spoiler, but a fight in the garden seemed pretty implausible to me (particularly the outcome). All in all, I got the end (which is a plus) but was relieved that it was over,.

Oh dear, I really wanted to love this - I had hoped it would be a modern retelling of the Bella in the Wych Elm myth, but other than a body in a tree with a missing hand it wasn't anywhere close to being that interesting.
I was so confused by this book - the first half and second half didn't seem to match or be relevant to each other at all, if it was a murder mystery then the overly long and detailed first half wasn't needed. (Especially as we discovered in the end the two parts weren't linked at all).
Being with Toby, Hugo and his cousins was like being stuck in a waiting room with a really boring family keen to discuss the minutiae of their lives with you.- detailed descriptions of lunches, rooms and past events just felt too much and I had to skim a lot.
The endless interior dialogue and irrational reactions of Toby was frustrating and pages and pages of monologues from Susanna and Leon explaining in depth every little permutation of their teenage lives the same.
The murderer reveal monologue by Susanna and Leon could have been a book by itself! And also completely unexpected and a bit of an anti-climax.
I liked that past actions from Toby had set the murder up - not that he admitted to it - and the author is very good and describing emotions and senses.
But quite unlikeable characters, a murder that I didn't really care about, an unsatisfactory ending and far too long all in all. I was relieved to finish the book. .
Sorry! Just not for me.

A great sweeping embrace of a novel that holds you tight and plays with your preconceptions of self and identity and good and bad people. One to be savoured.
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin books for an advance copy

Although I am aware that this author has a very successful series, I haven’t read anything by Tana French before. As such, when this stand alone novel came along, I thought it would be interesting to give it a try and I am so glad that I did.

This very much falls into the category of literary fiction, building the storyline and characters slowly and setting the scene with layers of detail. We have Toby, a young man who feels he lives a gifted life. Great job, wonderful girlfriend, close friends, his own flat. However, when something terrible happens, it takes away all of his feelings of certainty and security.

Toby moves into the Ivy House, home of his Uncle Hugo, who always provided a refuge for him when he was younger, along with his cousins, Susanna and Leon. The house has always felt safe and warm, full of family and good memories. Then a skull is found in the garden, and suddenly the rug is again pulled from his feet. Now, Toby is not only questioning his luck, but his family and the memories of his past…

Obviously, I have nothing by Tana French to compare this too and, judging by reviews I have read, this is a much slower read than her series. I have to say that I loved every page of it and became utterly absorbed in Toby, his life, his family and the compelling crime that shadows the Ivy House. Tana French has written a cast of characters that you care about and sets the scene beautifully. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

I enjoyed this book very much, although I was a little daunted to see that it was over 14 hours long. NO doubt a huge book. However the story was very absorbing.
The tale of family and intrigue, relationships and where they lead.
A seemingly mindless attack leads to a story that unfolds in subtle ways to keep you interested.
It reminded me of The Secret History by Donna Tartt in some ways.
The Which Elm itself plays a large part in the plot and I am sure that many readers will find themselves lost in the story.

The best thing about reading a Tana French book is being transported to another place and the Wych Elm is no exception. I don’t know how she does it, but from the very first page she drew me in and held me captive.

Toby is a wealthy, happy go lucky chap who is living the highlife. One night he is attacked in his own home and from here on in Toby’s life spirals out of control and by the end of it he has become a completely different person.

The story moves to Ivy House, where Toby goes to look after his Uncle who has a brain tumour and where he and his cousins spent most of their idyllic childhood. One day a skull is found in the Wych Elm at Ivy House and each inhabitant becomes a suspect, not only to the detectives but also to each other.

This is what Tana French, does best, sets a scene so vivid that I, as a reader, could sense the atmosphere and actually see the drama unfolding in front of me - and believe me you are watching and not reading, such is the tone of the book).

The Wych Elm is a is a dark physiological thriller with chilling overtones that Tana French has honed to perfection.

Absolutely brilliant!

When a sudden and brutal attack leaves Toby damaged and traumatised, he struggles to recover and his happy go lucky character is changed forever. He goes to a family home to recover and to care for his terminally ill Uncle, while he is there he finds a skull in the truck of an old elm tree, following this discovery it become clear that his life and his past is not what he believed it to be.

This is my first Tana French book and I believe there are many, this started off really well, exciting from the beginning and kept a good pace throughout. I’ll definitely look out for more.

I have really liked the books I have previously read from Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series so I was excited to hear about this new stand-alone novel. As with all of French’s books, it is quite lengthy but I absolutely flew through it. I just love the way French writes. She brings an evocative atmosphere to her stories but they still feel completely grounded in reality and her dialogue always flows beautifully.

The Which Elm starts off introducing the reader to the character of Toby. He comes across as just a little arrogant but French still manages to keep him rather likeable. The real story starts after Toby suffers a horrific attack leaving him with severe injuries, both mental and physical. The scenes of the aftermath of the attack are some of the most effective I have read about trauma. They felt so brutally honest in the way Toby reacts to his situation. The book then moves on to Ivy House, a large home belonging to Toby’s uncle where he and his cousins spent a great deal of their youth. Toby moves into the house to help his unwell uncle and that is where the mystery begins.

What I love about Tana French books is that I very rarely have any idea where the story will end up and The Wych Elm was no different. I felt like the plot moved slowly enough for the reader to really appreciate the way Toby reconsiders his whole life but also throws in enough twists and shocking moments that the book feels urgent and unpredictable. A lot of The Wych Elm is about the subjective nature of memory. Two people can remember the exact same event in two completely different ways, and this is what forces Toby to reevaluate the relationships with his closest friends and family. I loved the way these relationships were portrayed and picked apart throughout the novel.

I would absolutely recommend The Which Elm and it would be a great introduction to Tana French’s work if you haven’t read her books before. The characters felt so real to me and I was completely immersed in their lives from beginning to end. Things did not end up quite the way I wanted or expected them to, but then real life rarely does and this didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this complex mystery.

This is the first time I have read this author and I was really looking forward to reading this book. What a disappointment, I tried so hard to get into this book. A Slow Burner that never got started. It was unconvincing and predictable. Not a book for me saying that I am sure that there will be readers who will rave about.

What makes this book enjoyable is that it reads like a mystery wrapped in a mystery that is then hidden in a secret place. The characters are both likeable and unlikeable and it is difficult to work out their loyalties to each other. There's some going forwards and backwards in time which is enjoyable.