I was really looking forward to reading this as although I have never read anything by this author before I had seen many wonderful reviews.
However, I nearly have up on it as the first 100 to 125 pages were very slow and nothing seemed to be happening.
Im glad I didn't, as the story unfolded and the pace picked up.
I'm not sure I would recommend this book but I would read another by this author to see if it is faster paced.

Ex Chicago police officer Cal Hooper has relocated to Ireland for a more relaxing why of life.
He has bought a run down house and plans to fix her up in his retirement.
Cal is enjoying his peaceful life and local pub until one of the local children asks for his help to find his missing brother.
Cal is reluctant to get involved but the mystery of finding this young man has him hooked into finding what has happened.
Something is very wrong in this idealic rural community and Cal needs to uncover the secrets it holds.

The Searcher is a beautifully written but unusual book - it's quite a slow burner, and to my mind it excels with the description, dialogue and setting rather than the plot. I enjoyed every word, particularly the cracking dialogue and small village pub scenes, but it's a very long book where for much of the time not a lot happens. Very satisfying to read, and I'd describe it as a literary thriller that doesn't really shout about its literary credentials, but I could see it being a polarising read.

Cal is a former US police detective to moves to the wilds of the west coast of Ireland to restore a dilapidated house and walk the mountains, enjoy some fishing, but when a local boy asks him to help find out about his missing brother, his old instincts are roused.

The Searcher was a solid 4.5⭐️ read. It was a beautifully written, deeply atmospheric and compelling read.

Recently divorced and recently retired ex Chicago cop Cal Hooper retires to a remote village rural Ireland for a quiet life. He’s come looking for a small place in a small town in a small country, and he seems to have found that in Ardnakelty. He likes that there’s not much going on - he’s renovating the house he recently bought, there’s a pub and shop in the village. Really this place has everything he needs.

He forms an unlikely bond with a local kid, Trey, and finds out their older brother, Brendan Reddy, is missing. No one including the Garda seems concerned by his disappearance except his family. Cal promises Trey he’ll look into it and the more he he looks the more it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems in this quiet and sleepy little Irish village, this is not such a gentle place, and the old ways are at loggerheads with the new.

Tana French is one of my favorite mystery writers; there is no doubt about it. She put the 'procedural' in the police procedural interview-style novels. If I could describe her mysteries in one sentence: the protagonist who is either a cop (Dublin Murder Squad) or ex-cop (the Searcher) or an innocent (The Witch Elm) faces the case of their life that bring out buried traumas or alter their future paths irrevocably, with Ireland acting as an important component of the story.

I picked up French's novels in 2018 and I was absolutely in love. Before reading The Broken Harbor, I didn't know a thing about how an interview is conducted, which police officer stands where or which buttons of the suspect could be pushed to get the relevant information or what a good interviewer partnership looks like! I was a smitten kitten. These are novels that you savor over the course of a week, a rarity in the mystery genre.

If you have ever watched Broadchurch, Hinterland, Shetlands, The Fall, Happy Valley, Criminal UK, In the Woods (adapted from French's first two novels), Collateral, Top of the lake etc., you would know what I'm talking about. I'm a huge police procedural fan and I am used to waiting for my rewards over a lot of slow-burning episodes of TV or a large chunk of a novel, which leads me in for a rude shock and dull disappointment when I arrived at the climax of The Searcher. I'm usually very good at gushing about a novel but not very good at articulating my frustration when a much-awaited, much-anticipated novel falls flat for me.

The Searcher has all the right ingredients, holds so much promise. Cal Hooper is an ex-cop from Chicago, who after a nasty divorce, buys a house and land in rural Ireland, all set to live a peaceful, undisturbed life of retirement. A local kid barges into his life and asks for his help to find a missing brother. Cal reluctantly agrees and then the town starts closing in on him, revealing some dark secrets in the process. The vast, unforgiving, foreboding rural Ireland should be the perfect backdrop to all the sinister dealings that we were about to witness yet no amount of description properly captured the dread that I wanted to feel. There was a lack of taut tension that was present in French's previous novels. The slow burn wasn't a burn, as much as a tiny ember lacking in oxygen and reduced to a wisp of smoke halfway through the novel. I was hoping the ember would turn into a flame when a massive, unexpected twist arrived when I was 66% into the book. Unfortunately, the suspense didn't pick up and I guessed the ending long before I arrived at the climax.

I wonder if its my over-familiarity with this genre? Or my over-expectations out of this novel? This was Tana French's eighth novel that I was reading. Or was it that I am a couple years older now than when I read her previous novels?

Would I recommend this book to someone else? I would not. There are far more exciting mysteries out there.

Would I read anything written by Tana French in the future? Absolutely. Her Dublin Murder Squad series of six novels are still literary gems in my opinion. Even though she missed the mark with both her 7th (The Witch Elm) and 8th novels (The Searcher) (both standalone), I would go for the 9th.

I’m a fan of this author and will always look what’s coming next from her. I wasn’t struck on this book and wasn’t keen on the main character. I have to love or loathe them and if I’m in the middle I’m not invested. My husband read this book too and he enjoyed it more than me. We argues over the characters and the story. Would make a brilliant book club book as there’s plenty to discuss

I really enjoyed this book, and the slower pace of the narrative. Cal Hooper has come to a village in Ireland, having purchased a fixer-upper cottage. He is looking for an escape from his previous life as a detective in Chicago, having become entirely disenchanted with his work there, and looking for some peace of mind after his unexpected divorce. He encounters the very young Trey, who somehow persuades him to try to discover what happened to his missing elder brother Brendan. Trey is from a large, impoverished family, and is almost feral when Cal encounters him.
I loved the development of the uneasy relationship between these two, Cal seemed to make one step forward then two back with Trey’s complex character for much of the time.
Cal’s budding friendship with Marty gave the author the opportunity for some sparky and amusing banter, especially when Cal met up with Mart and other local characters in the pub.
I found that the author really captured the much slower almost sedentary pace of life in a small Irish village. Having visited and stayed in several such villages in Ireland, I can vouch for the authenticity of that slower pace, even if some might find it irritating to read. But even though the pace is much slower, still there are tensions and hidden conflicts bubbling away just below the surface, as the reader finds out in due course.
The action, such as it is, is slow to build, and I found for me the narrative dipped a little at around the 80% point, surprisingly. It seems to get bogged down in too much irrelevant detail during the long trek up the mountainside.
The characters are well rounded, even the missing Brendan, and my heart ached for Trey, whilst I wondered what would become of Cal.

A very different type of mystery, not the usual crime caper, but all the better for that, in my view.
I will look for more of this author’s work.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title. i recommend it.

This is my first Tana French novel - I loved the Dublin Murders series on TV last year so I kind of knew I’d like her writing. One thing I will say is I found Dublin Murders took an episode or so to be hooked and this was the same - it’s such a slow burn! But I am assuming that’s the style!

That being said this wasn’t the thriller I was expecting - I found it more of a suspense novel with thrilling elements. There were one or two twists and turns and plants of suspects. I did find myself using correctly towards the end so I didn’t get an ‘a-ha’ moment but I definitely enjoyed it. I liked the characters and found myself rooting for them from the beginning. There is definitely suspense from the very beginning and I didn’t know who to trust!

I’ve given this four stars because I really enjoyed the writing style and plot - I was in a reading slump before this and although it doesn’t sound like a good one to get you out of it it really helped me - I had to know what happens!

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for approving me to read ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴇᴀʀᴄʜᴇʀ by Tana French.
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I felt that this was a very atmospheric book, being set in a remote part of Ireland, surrounding by woodland, bog and hills.
French describes her settings beautifully.
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ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɪʀ ɪꜱ ʀɪᴄʜ ᴀꜱ ꜰʀᴜɪᴛᴄᴀᴋᴇ, ʟɪᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴅᴏ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɪᴛ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜᴇ ɪᴛ; ʙɪᴛᴇ ᴏꜰꜰ ᴀ ʙɪɢ ᴍᴏᴜᴛʜꜰᴜʟ, ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ, ᴏʀ ʀᴜʙ ʜᴀɴᴅꜰᴜʟꜱ ᴏꜰ ɪᴛ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜰᴀᴄᴇ.
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There are some very current and relevant topics mentioned within the story that do help the reader understand some of the setting/plot.
I think it is important for topics such as racism, classism and sexism to be highlighted and addressed within literature, even if sometimes the point is slightly missed.
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ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ɢᴏᴛ ᴍᴀᴅ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴘ. ʙᴀᴅ ᴄᴏᴘꜱ ɢᴏᴛ ᴍᴀᴅ ’ᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴄᴀʟʟᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ꜱʜɪᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ꜱᴜᴅᴅᴇɴ. ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴄᴏᴘꜱ ɢᴏᴛ ᴍᴀᴅ ’ᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴅ ɢᴜʏꜱ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇʏ ʜᴀᴅɴ’ᴛ ᴅᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ.
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This was not a fast-paced thriller, and was instead more of a slow burn reveal.
While I did enjoy the overall plot and the twists/details of what really happened, I felt that the movement of the story was a little too linear for me. I think the remote setting limited where the story could go as there were only so many characters and interactions that could be believable.
Obviously this is personal preference, and so I'm sure plenty of readers would enjoy this style more than I did.
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ɴᴏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ’ᴛ ᴅᴏ, ʜᴇ ᴄᴀɴ’ᴛ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴀ ᴡᴀʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ᴛᴜʀɴ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴡᴇʟʟ. ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱʜɪꜰᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɪʀ ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʀᴇʏ ʙᴏᴛʜ ꜰᴇʟᴛ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇʏ ꜱQᴜᴀᴛᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱɪᴅᴇʙᴏᴀʀᴅ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴅ ɪᴍᴘʟᴀᴄᴀʙʟᴇ ꜱʜɪꜰᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʀ ᴛᴏ ʜɪᴍ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴀ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅ ᴄᴀꜱᴇꜱ: ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱɴ’ᴛ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ.
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While this specific novel wasn't my favourite, there was still a lot about it that I did enjoy, and I would definitely consider reading more from Tana French.

The searcher isn't the fastest paced or most engaging novel I've ever read, but it was good, the characters were well written and you could easily imagine them all sitting in the local telling their tales and singing their songs but I felt it was missing something that would edge it up another star and I can't put my finger on what it was, annoyingly.

I enjoyed this book. The story is of an American cop who retires to rural Ireland to have a peaceful life but gets caught up in a missing person case and with a troubled kid. The story rolls along nicely although it is quite dark in places. A good read.

Tana French has been publishing Crime books for the last decade and she brings the skills she has honed on the earlier books to this new stand-alone novel. This makes it an enjoyable read as well as an enjoyable puzzle.
Cal, a Chicago police officer, divorced and partly estranged from his daughter, has retired and taken up residence in a decrepit cottage in a backwater village in the Republic of Ireland. Much of the early part of the book , and elsewhere, is taken up with delightful descriptions of the rural idyll and the eccentric and bucolic locals who inhabit it. The countryside, the craic in the pub, the authentic idiom, all contribute to the feeling that this is a grand place.
While working on renovations Cal becomes aware that he has a watcher, soon revealed to be a local kid, Trey, who is part of a large, deprived family. Cal invites the kid to help with some woodwork, cautiously because his police trained reactions make him aware that he could be suspected of child abuse. It becomes clear that Trey’s elder brother has disappeared and the kid is desperate to find out his fate – run away; in prison; emigrated; dead – it doesn’t matter which so long as it’s true and resolves the uncertainty. When Cal looks for some clues to his whereabouts, he sets in train a chain reaction which exposes the crimes and conflicts buried below the apparent normality of the village. Suddenly everyone becomes suspect, but who is guilty and of what might they be guilty? The puzzle evolves neatly.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I use to look forward to every Tana French book. The way she wrote the characters and the stories of the Dublin Murder Squad wove together deep character development, mystery, and forensic police procedure in way that made it more than the sum of its parts. Her last few stand alone have been missing part of those.

Cal is a well written character. There is a lot of development of characters in this book. There are a lot of characters of whom we learn a lot. There were times when I started to lose my thread and had to go back and reread pages I had just finished. The problem here came from being overwritten. The story itself was drawn out and meandered around for quite a while. Then it all came together and was explained at the end. I still love the way Tana French writes but I did not enjoy this one as much as her previous books.

Cal Hooper left the busy life of a Chicago Cop, for the scenery and solitude of Ireland. Minding his own business and fixing up his new home, Cal has become the topic of conversation in the village. Before he knows it, a thirteen year old boy starts asking him for help. Trey is looking for his brother and thinks Cal can help him. Cal knows better then to mess with detective work in a foreign country, but cant seem ignore his calling.

The Searcher is a solid story with country charm. The Irish village comes alive with French's words, the residents quickly become old friends. I quickly fell in love with the charm of small town life, and being in everyone's business. The way the elderly villagers are reluctant to accept Cal as a lifer, and test his faithfulness to a town he barely knows, is something I can see happening in Ireland. So many tourists want to live there ( I am among them), but cant hack the weather and the quiet.
The Searcher is not just about the gorgeous countryside, but about a man trying to change his life when he questions mistakes he's made. The task of helping Trey, as a former officer, is not something Cal wants to do. Police work is in his bones, and cant help but creep back out to help. He needs to clear his head of his past and find a new reason to love what he used to do. As a reader, I felt like anyone could relate to that.

Tana French can write an amazing book. She makes her characters slightly gritty but relatable, and sometimes immediately loveable. The Searcher is not a quick toss off read. The book is thick and intimidating but once you get into it, I found it hard to put down and finished in a day. I did not want the story to end, and would have been fine with another 100 pages! lol.

Cal thinks moving from Chicago to a quiet village in Ireland is the perfect escape from a messy divorce, a career as a cop and a chance to start a new life with no problems and put everything behind him, especially his job. But when Trey turns up at his house needing his help finding out what happened to the brother, he somehow isn't able to stop himself and he finds he is in a lot deeper than he thought.
Every village has secrets and lies and this one is no different and as Cal goes round asking questions he realises that there is a lot more at stake than easing the pain of a kid. I loved Cal's fatherly bond with Trey, always looking out and keeping them safe, and the twist at the end was a surprise to me even though I should have seen it coming.
A great thriller that gradually reveals more and more to keep you guessing and it will keep you up until you have read the last page.

Tana French is easily my favorite contemporary mystery author. The Searcher is set in the back woods mountains of Ireland where Cal Hooper, an American retired cop, has fled to escape his former life.

While in Ireland, Cal adjust to solitary existence in the wilderness and negotiates the quirky ways of the townsfolk. He soon finds himself in an unlikely friendship that will continue to surprise him as it evolves. Cal couldn’t be further away from his prior life as a police officer but finds himself needing to rely on those skills once again.

The Searcher has beautiful, complicated characters, one of which is Ireland herself. The writing in this book is both atmospheric and propulsive, a combination that is rarely as well done as this.

If you love mysteries and fiction, I highly recommend this book. You will not be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, author, and the UK and US publishers for providing a copy of this book so that I could write this honest review.

The Searcher
Cal Hooper has relocated to rural Ireland after 25 years in the Chicago police force. He took retirement and is now busy doing up, what the local villagers still call the ‘O’Shea place’, which had been abandoned for over 20 years. Cal has got to know some of the residents; his next door neighbour, Mart, the potential matchmaker, Noreen, who runs the village shop and is on speaking terms with others. Ardnakelty seems a quiet place where nothing much happens. Mart informs him that he doesn’t even lock his door at night. In fact, Ardnakelty seems a quiet place where nothing much happens which is what Cal is looking for after a career in a big city.
However, he senses that someone’s watching him before they make an appearance and it disturbs him. The old police instinct hasn’t completely been laid to rest yet. Then his watcher reveals herself. It’s a 13 year old girl called Trey who comes from a family known as ne’er do wells. She asks Cal to find her older brother aged 19, Brendan, who’s gone missing. Cal tries to reassure her but when he starts asking around he realises that no-one else seems particularly worried. Brendan’s just gone off to make a better life elsewhere is the common opinion amongst his friends and ex-girlfriend. There are rumours about him. due to his family’s reputation, and suggestions that he may have been involved in theft. Cal senses that they may have been intimidated into silence.
He also becomes aware of darker undercurrents beneath Ardnakelty’s apparently placid surface. Mart tells him that there have been sheep mutilations at a nearby farm and a young local boy has been found after hanging himself. But after a drinking session at the local pub Cal realises that he’s now been subtly warned off about Brendan’s whereabouts. Trey is given a severe beating to keep her quiet and Cal begins to wonder if his new friends are really friends at all and how much do they know? The search leads to a derelict house in the mountains and a young man’s ambitions to make some big money……..
This is a slow burner of a book and, as I’m used too much faster paced thrillers, it took a while for me to settle into The Searcher’s more leisurely narrative. The plot unfurls itself in its own way as Cal realises that he’s alone in Ardnakelty with his ex-wife and daughters faraway from him and unable to offer any support. The village’s young people don’t see much of a future for them there. They often end up leaving to find something better elsewhere, especially the girls, leaving behind a farming community of mostly bachelors. I really enjoyed the author’s lyrical writing as she described the Irish countryside, Cal’s ongoing feud with the rooks that visit his garden and his growing friendship with Trey. She feels abandoned by Brendan’s going and needs support. But will Cal stay in Ardnakelty was the question that I had after finishing the book.
My thanks to Netgalley and Viking for an advance reading copy of this book.

Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a remote Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force, and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens.

But then a local kid comes looking for his help. His brother has gone missing, and no one, least of all the police, seems to care. Cal wants nothing to do with any kind of investigation, but somehow he can't make himself walk away.

Soon Cal will discover that even in the most idyllic small town, secrets lie hidden, people aren't always what they seem, and trouble can come calling at his door.

Tana French is an absolutely incredible writer. I’ve never read anything by her that disappointed and this one did certainly not
I was hooked from the get go and if you do pick up a copy of this book, prepare to cancel plans until you’ve read it. Probably a good book to pick up in lockdown 2 🙈

The book is driven with a suspenseful crime story. The characters are in-depth and I felt like I knew them personally!

Cal was easily my favourite character and I was actually sad to end my journey with him on the last page!

I cannot recommend this book enough!

Thank you to the publisher for the copy!!

A very atmospheric book. Tana French is an expert at setting a scene. After reading the “Dublin Murder’s” books I was very keen to give this book a try. I found the start a little slow but was very glad I stuck with it as the story evolved into a rich but gloomy one with plenty of twists and turns to keep me occupied. The imagery captured by Tana’s words is amazing. I could really picture all of the settings in this book along with the characters, who’s personality’s were so easy to imagine. I’m very sure this will be another huge success

This was a very twisty book to read, I wasn’t sure at all but I persevered with it and was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to read it. The story started off differently than my usual crime/thriller books but, it really caught my interest after a few chapters in. I like slow burners and this one was no exception.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.