If I'd read The Searcher without knowing the author's identity, I'd never have guessed that it was a novel by Tana French.
Because the narrative in The Searcher is told in the third-person, it felt far less intimate and intricate than the Dublin Murder Squad series (which, with the exception of The Secret Place, have a first-person pov) so it took me awhile to warm up to French's prose. While I understand that 'sticking' to the same writing style book after book must get tiring, I can't say that I particularly liked French's 'new' style (in fact, while reading I found myself longing for her 'usual' prose). And even if The Searcher was by no means incompetently written, the language French uses wasn't quite as literary or complex as the one in her previous novels.

Onto the actual story: after becoming increasingly disillusioned with the police force Cal, our main character, retires from Chicago's police force and decides to re-locate to the fictional Ardnakelty, a remote small village in the West of Ireland. Here he spends his time fixing up his decrepit new house and bantering with his neighbour.
The narrative moves at an incredibly slow pace...which would have been fine by me if pace had been sacrificed in favour of characterisation. But Cal isn't an incredibly compelling or complex protagonist. What we get instead are long and detailed descriptions about Cal painting his desk or doing up something in his new house. While he goes on about his day he starts to feel as if someone is watching him. After some more time passes he meets Trey, a kid from a poor and disreputable family. Trey's brother is missing so he enlists Cal to find out what happened to him. Cal, who wants to keep his head down, is initially reluctant to get involved, however, as he spends more time with Cal (fixing up his furniture, hunting) he decides to help Trey.

French brings to life the slightly claustrophobic atmosphere of a small village. In a community where everyone seems to know everybody's business, Cal quickly realises how difficult it is to escape the shadow of your family. Although Trey is only thirteen, Ardnakelty residents believe that because he comes from a 'rotten' family he's bad egg.
Cal makes slow progress in his 'investigation'. He has little authority in the village, so he has to play up his 'Yankee' persona in order to get some answers. Still, the people he questions are reticent to talk and soon enough Cal realises that he has ruffled some of the locals feathers.
French vividly renders Cal's environment, on the very first page we get this stunning description:
"The sky, dappled in subtle gradations of grey, goes on forever; so do the fields, coded in shades of green by their different uses, divided up by sprawling hedges, dry stone walls and the odd narrow back road."
The Irish countryside is by turns idyllic and menacing, just as the people who inhabit the land. Much of the banter Cal has with his neighbour or with other men at the local pub carries a not-so-friendly edge. Seemingly harmless exchanges carry the possibility of danger. Yet, even if Cal is aware of this, and of the possibility of upsetting or antagonising the entire village, he's unwilling to give up his search.

The mystery often took the backseat in favour of scenes detailing Cal's daily routing (fixing up the house, fishing, going to the local store, phoning his daughter). There were also quite a lot of conversations about topics I didn't particularly care for (look, I like dogs as much as the next person but my mind will start going blank if I have to read a few pages describing 'pups'). The dynamic between Cal and Trey was the most compelling aspect of this book. I did wish that some scenes of Trey interacting with his family could have been included as they would have given a fuller picture of his life.
Even if I wasn't as interested in Mart or Lena, their words always rang true and they could provide some amusing moments. Cal, on the other hand, sometimes said things that didn't entirely convince me. While he did question himself and his own behaviour, and I did appreciate that he struggled with the meaning of 'doing the right thing', his character was a bit of a blank at times. Although we are given his view on his job, on his feelings about police brutality, racial profiling, and corruption, as well as an impression of the kind of relationship that he has with his daughter and ex-wife, Cal's main characteristic is that he is 'American'. And sometimes what he said sounded a bit too American, even in those instances when he wasn't playing up this role. His motivations for picking Ireland as his new home were also left unexplored. And what did his daughter think of this relocation? We simply know that she's busy working but we don't learn of her reaction upon discovering that her father had chooses to retire and move across the ocean.
The mystery storyline takes a rather predictable direction and I never felt any real sense of suspense. There were quite a few scenes that were just boring and added little to the overall story.
At the end of the day, The Searcher doesn't offer a new spin on the Town with a Dark Secret™. The more I think about it the less I like this novel. It has a kind of Hot Fuzz sort of story (minus the laughs): we have a protagonist who 'can't switch off' who goes to a small village and learns the meaning of friendship and finds out that there is a reason why locals don't want him to investigate certain things.
An okay read but nothing like French's usual.
4 likes

A powerful story.

It is difficult to know who the searcher is in this story. Is it the retired American cop or the child trying to find the truth about her missing brother? The story gently draws the reader into the world of a sleepy Irish village, but goes deeper than the usual superficial treatment, and into deep waters and currents.

Cal Hooper has left the Chicago Police force to try to find peace in a rural setting, as his emotional moorings have come adrift. He is recruited to help a young teenager who needs his help. Initially reluctant to get involved, Cal finds himself compelled to do what he can.

Full of twists and turns, the book contains some deep insights and thoughtful interludes.

Anyone interested in human nature, procedural police dramas, measured thrillers and whodunnits will love this book. It will also appeal to those who are interested in the darker sides of human nature.

I just loved this book. The descriptive writing is superbly done.
It revolves around Cal, a retired cop from Chicago and how he deals with his crisis of not trusting himself to do his job anymore, the fallout of his divorce and his move to a remote Irish community.
The atmospheric descriptions of Cals new life in rural Ireland and his old cottage that he has to work on, really draw you in. Cal is a great character. He's trying hard to get a grip on his flaws, always wants to do the right thing but sometimes it doesn't work out that way and he doesn't know why. His flaws are beautifully portrayed and I loved this character, this mis-fit in the village.
Then along comes Trey, a very troubled young person who wants answers to the disappearance of older brother Brendan. Another great and believable character. Trey convinces Cal to help and Cal just can't help himself untangle the mystery.
The pace of this novel is slow but it needs to be to draw the reader into this backwater of a village where the pace is also slow. However, because it is written in the third person, present tense it has an immediacy that works, the author does a great job of transporting you to this village, with these characters, where you experience the life they live, you feel their raw emotions and the building tension, the threat of menace.
I can't express just how much I loved it. I didn't want it to end, I wanted to continue to shoot rabbits for supper, to mend a broken desk with a broken teenager, to fish along the deserted banks of the river and walk in the strange and haunting mountains.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

I have read a few Tana French books before but this is not typical of those. Featuring Cal, a retired Chicago cop who moves to Ireland to search for peace and who gets caught up in a search for a missing youth instead, it drips atmosphere and a sort of rural disquieting menace. If you have visited Ireland and travelled to the non-touristy spots, you will know that Tana French has captured perfectly the underlying currents and shared knowledge of small village life. There were a couple of unanswered questions for me, but overall a good read.

Tana French is one of the most underrated writers in my opinion.
Her books reel me in and mesmerise me. When you look back and reflect, you often think "not that much happened", yet her books are totally engaging, and never feel slow or like they are dragging. And this one I put very much in the same vein.
We have a retired Chicago cop, who has moved to rural Ireland. He's bought a fixer-upper house on land. A local teenager encourages him to look for a missing family member, An unusual friendship between the two develops, and Cal decides to undertake the search for Brendan Reddy. He ruffles a few feathers within the small community, and the warnings he receives only make him more determined to resolve his quest.

The Searcher’ by Tana French is a story of imperfect people searching for what really matters to them. Recently retired from the Chicago PD, Cal Hooper must be going through a mid-life crisis according to his former wife and daughter and the puzzled locals in the Irish farming community where he’s building a new life. He’s allowing himself the luxury of not thinking, just taking life one day at a time as he makes good the ramshackle house he’s bought and passes the time with nearest neighbour Mart.
And then along comes Trey, a troubled teenager convinced that older brother Brendan has been kidnapped. Nothing else can explain his disappearance. Gradually, Cal is drawn into the mystery and begins to realise that there is much more to this sleepy place than he first figured.
Whilst this story can be described as a thriller or a mystery, the slow pace and the sensitive characterisation make it much more than just literary entertainment. French’s use of both literal and figurative imagery to depict the natural world, Cal’s feelings and Trey’s despair is really effective. Journeys up the mountain take on the feel of a trek into another, more sinister, world, reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm: the bogs encroach; the paths are myriad; the mist falls fast. And, on a more domestic level, the old desk that Cal and Trey begin to renovate together is symbolic of their fragile relationship – can it be transformed into something worthwhile?
Tana French has taken a risk in her latest novel. Her cast is small, her focus is tight and her narrative explores violence, greed, selfishness and prejudice. This is not an easy read. Nevertheless, by the final pages, even unpalatable truths have the power to heal, alongside love. Cal’s journey to Ireland teaches him that redemption comes in many guises.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

This is only the second Tana French I have read, I was disappointed by Witch Elm, which given all the love I see for this author, I found underwelming. After having read The Searcher I now get what all the fuss is about. I loved this book and romped through it in a couple of sittings. Tana perfectly captures the eerie, claustrophobic feel of rural, small village life where everyone knows everyone else’s secrets. The plot built up perfectly, with tension gradually building as Cal hunts for the missing teenager. Characters were well drawn and the conclusion was satisfying. I have no hesitation in giving this five stars.

When it comes to mystery and suspense, you can’t beat Tana French.
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Let’s start at the beginning. My initial reaction after the first few pages was “this is going to be a very atmospheric book”. I said this out loud - to no one 😂 It’s one of those books that develops the plot and characters very slowly, as in you need to read a good 50 pages to get into it. I don’t mind that but just saying. 💁🏼‍♀️The setting is what grabbed me. This isolated rural Irish landscape had raw, dark...kind of gothic vibes about it. Perfect for a mystery! As well as the characters who were all quite rough round the edges, complex and flawed. What secrets are they all hiding?! 🤔 The writing is VERY descriptive so you can picture walking around the fields and woodland. I love it when you feel fully immersed in a story. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow it may be; you just feel present. THEN I hit the halfway point and BAM 💥 ...it’s like French knows when to start cranking up the suspense and it’s at this point that I couldn’t put down the book. Seriously! And it’s not a short book at 400 pages. That’s big for me folks. 😆 I really wanted to find out what had happened to Brendan. I was with Cal on this and wanted to find out the truth. Ahhh...I get so invested in this sort of thriller you know?! 🧐 They are so unpredictable! It’s such a slow burner but that’s what makes this such an intense book. Every look, every conversation between characters means something. I’m not going to say anymore because of spoilers. Ahhh and I’m terrible at giving stuff away. Lol! 🤣

If you have read her books before and loved them, you will enjoy THE SEARCHER I’m sure. If you haven’t read her books before, maybe give this a go, particularly if you like books full of mystery and suspense. I found it enthralling. ✨

American Cal, divorced, retired from the police and disenchanted with his former life, has retreated to rural Ireland to a run-down farm, where he keeps himself busy repairing the house and coming to terms with his failed marriage. His cop’s instincts remain however, and his conviction that he is being watched is justified when Trey arrives, demanding help to find a missing person. Locals insist that Brendan has taken off for reasons of his own, like so many youngsters, but thirteen year old Trey is convinced that he has been kidnapped, and Cal’s empathy for the taciturn and seemingly neglected child draws him to investigate.
Told from Cal’s perspective, the stark physical beauty of the landscape and the potentially claustrophobic reality of small-town life are vividly depicted, creating a powerful setting for a compelling mystery. Cal is a sympathetic protagonist, his strong moral code and sense of duty towards Trey driving his actions and propelling the plot as his own background and experiences are revealed.
I was totally absorbed by this superbly written novel and will recommend it wholeheartedly to fellow bookworms.
The only reason I cannot buy it for our library is that our oldest readers are only 11, but I will be promoting it strongly at my book club and cannot wait to read more of Tana French's work.

Tana French is an author I have read and enjoyed before.
This is a stand alone novel featuring Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago cop who has, somewhat arbitrarily, moved to a small Irish farming community. He becomes involved in the search for a missing teenager - drawn into it by their 13 year old sibling.
The book was well written and descriptions of the landscape were evocative. However, I found most of the characters quite one dimensional and stereotypical. There were a few twists and turns but for me it was a slow read and somewhat drawn out.
I would read other books by the author but this one just didn’t do it for me.

Excellent slow burn thriller from Tana French, based around an American ex-cop who has sought peace in rural Ireland. It’s not a spoiler to say that peace eludes him... really interesting dynamic between Cal, his neighbours, the local gossip, and a troubled youth determined to get to the truth about their brother. Slow, drip fed information hods the attention, there’s a powerful sense of place and a mystery to resolve. Thoroughly entertaining read.

Counting myself one of the lucky early readers of Tana French’s new standalone crime novel, “The Searcher” publishing in November , I can attest that she deserves her reputation as a masterful story builder.

“The Searcher” is set in Ireland's remote countryside where Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago cop, has bought himself a fixer-upper of a crumbling cottage which he is trying to fix up gradually while getting to grips with his divorce. There is also the question whether his decision to follow his own moral code, filing for early retirement and moving to Ireland leaving family and friends behind was a smart one.

The first 40% of the book are a slow build up to the eventual crime element in the story: the description of Cal’s new life, the beauty of the Irish countryside, the sudden appearance of a local kid, Trey, who believes Cal might be persuaded to investigate the disappearance of his older brother Brendan and him trying to figure out the dynamics of village life with some truly fascinating local characters, chiefly his neighbor Mart. I was about to get restless and then wham, French picks up the pace, the story takes a new spin never letting up until the very end which I thought was an unusual one I liked, a trade mark to the quality of this crime novel . Really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed the searcher, which charts the story of Cal as he moves into a small Irish community after retiring from the Chicago Police Force after a painful divorce.

In parallel to rebuilding his life, he spends his days rebuilding a derelict house, all the while interacting with the locals.

The book is a mystery at heart, as we follow Cal take on a missing person project for a lonely local teenager whose elder brother has disappeared. Although seemingly straightforward, nothing in the village is as it appears.

I just knew I would like this book, having already read the Wych elm. And it didn't disappoint. Love the writing style, and was hooked from the beginning

A new French novel is always cause for celebration. <i>The Searcher</i> (out in November) continues her move away from the traditional cop protagonists that characterized her first six books, although it’s kind of a lateral move: here, our investigator is an ex-policeman and an American ex-policeman at that, Cal Hooper, formerly of the Chicago PD. Chicago is fairly notorious for police violence, and Hooper’s experience reflects both the truth and the nuance of that: he has never killed an unarmed young black man, but an incident where his partner nearly does so is ultimately what pushes him into early retirement. A divorce and a move to rural Ireland later, he hopes to find peace and quiet in the country, but is instead recruited by a young kid, Trey, whose brother Brendan has gone missing, and who demands that Cal find out where Brendan is.

<i>The Searcher</i> is as beautifully written as all of French’s books, but what it lacks, for want of a better word, is a sense of intoxication. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The professional detectives in her early books love their job, they live and breathe it, and that sense of drive, passion, righteousness, infuses their appreciation of the world around them and of human relationships within it. As French’s career has matured, her characters’ perceptions have too. Cal isn’t quite the hard-bitten cynic he considers himself, but his understanding of social dynamics, of how we fit in with each other, has less flash and snap than, say, Cassie Maddox’s or even Scorcher Kennedy’s; more resignation and determination. It’s a mystery novel for grownups, this–which isn’t to say that it’s excessively violent or disturbing, but rather that both French and her characters are increasingly interested in how to behave when the right thing and the correct thing are not the same. (Cal and Trey have a fantastic conversation about the difference between etiquette, manners and morals that sums up what I think French is getting at throughout the entire book.) A really promising turn for her. I can’t wait to read more.

This was heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measures. The reluctant relationship which Cal developed with Trey was dealt with sensitively. Cal's determination to keep to himself in the close knit community was gradually eroded with some surprising twists and turns and he also seemed to gain a better insight into how to improve the long distance connection with his daughter. The Searcher was well written and intriguing and I didn't want it to end.

Cal is an ex-cop from Chicago who buys an old house in rural Ireland. Everything is new to him, people are interesting, he even has an unexpected visits from time to time, and all are not very pleasant.
Local child has a brother missing and nobody cares, so Cal starts to investigate.
People are not what they seem, hidden secrets, twists and turns.

Great psychological thriller!

When Cal retires as a cop to the rural setting of Ireland his investigative days are not over. We like Cal are dropped Into a village which on the face of it seems like an idyllic quiet backwater but as Cal fixes up his dilapidated house he meets the locals and is drawn into the mystery of a missing boy.

Cal is rough at the edges but has a heart of courage and resilience as be uncovers all sorts of secrets. I loved the way the story unfolded with a kind of inevitable conclusion but that’s not what kept me reading. It was Cal and the people he meets along the way and his interaction with them as we stay privy to his thoughts and detective insights.

Another fabulous book from Tana French. I almost pulled an all-nighter with this one! If you want a book that transports you to another land, then this is it. Beautiful descriptions of rural Ireland, the brogue and deep characterisation that drops you there.

Seen through the eyes of a former Chicago police officer, Cal Hooper buys an old shack and attempts to rebuild his life. Peace does not come easily and a young visitor makes it near impossible for Cal to enjoy his retirement in ways he’d hoped. A missing sibling must be found and the mystery takes time to solve. He must tackle getting the information he needs both sensitively and skillfully, and tiptoe around the nuances and eccentricities of local customs. Some readers may find the lack of ‘getting to the point’ onerous. But secrets are a tough nut to crack.

There is much meandering around conversation, getting to know the villagers and their customs. In essence the book is a slow burn with undercurrents of graver things and threats that would keep a normal person at home. Not so with Cal. He is detailed oriented with patience that would put a nun to shame. He needs to get the lie of the land before making decisions and he’s remarkably adept at winning most of the locals around. He also has a life in the US, whether or not he’s trying to forge a new one in a foreign land. He has worries. His daughter for one and an ex-wife who is on his mind and on his nerves.

The locals, equipped with their secrets and foibles are handled realistically and you can’t help liking and disliking a few. Cal might have appeared to have missed a few tricks, but he is persistent in a somewhat leisurely way. Trey is an enigma and the more we learn the more chilling the story becomes. The book is not terrifying, nor is it challenging. I would put it at the comfortable and evocative end of the spectrum. But that’s me. For those who have issues with animal cruelty, there are scenes that may be hard to read.

The writing style, as with all French novels, is impeccable with an easy poetic flow I’ve come to enjoy. The only issue I had with this one is it was a little slow getting off the ground. But what I find a tad tedious — champing to get to the action — others will find fascinating. I don’t take off stars for this. Authors have their own way of drawing out the plot of which French is an absolute master.

Cal Hooper has retired to a cottage in Ireland, after a nasty divorce and having spent 25 years as an police officer in Chicago. He’s looking for a quiet life, but finds himself drawn back to his previous life when he is asked to find a missing person.

This started nicely, drew me in and I enjoyed the scene setting, but it seems a strange thing for Cal to arbitrarily pick this particular small village in Ireland after living in Chicago. That said the descriptions of the area are good, and you can image his run down cottage and the area it’s in. I didn’t immediately empathise with the characters, some of which felt like parodies, Noreen, the gossipy match making shop keeper, Mart the simple local farmer and the lazy local Garda officer. However, it’s a good read and well written but not my favourite of this authors books.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.