bring back old tana french.

i wanted to give this a chance despite not having been particularly into its predecessor, <i>The Searcher</i>, but i just can't bring myself to feel invested in the story. it all feels so generic and is lacking the atmosphere and psychological depth of french's earlier works.

This second book in the Cal Hooper series outdoes the first. The plot is engaging, the characters are realistically drawn yet often quirky and eccentric, and the scene-setting (and natural scenery of rural Ireland) is beautifully described.

The book is set during a rare heat wave, which makes a change from the usual weather patterns of Ireland, and interwoven are the worries of farmers about crops and livestock, the dangers of brush fires and the effects of heat on human tempers. The story revolves around Trey (Theresa) once again - her wayward father has returned with an Englishman claiming roots in the small town of Ardnakelty with tales of gold in the local mountain. Is it a scam or is he genuine? Cal, a retired Chicago cop, wants to find out to protect Trey. Trey and Lena feature more in this story than the first which means we get to know them better. The ending of the book held quite a surprise - I really didn't see it coming.

Hopefully there will be more of this series as the first two books have been great - they are immersive, thoughtful and deserve to be experienced rather than rushed.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sharing the ARC on Netgalley in return for my honest opinion. Oh, what an absolute masterclass in tension this is! Tana French is a superb writer and this is one of her best - though it's a tough call, as I love and re-read a few of her books. I've tried to analyse how she makes us care so much: is it the split narrative, so we see the events through the eyes of Cal, the gruff-but-heart-of-gold retired cop, and his girlfriend, Lena, who tries to distance herself from her town but gets pulled in, and also the heart-tugging Trey, the brittle teenager seeking revenge for the death of her brother? When Trey's slippery charming dad turns up with a millionaire friend in tow, spreading rumours of gold in the hills, surely no one will be taken in? But it's a drought summer and the farmers are struggling - it's understandable they might be willing to gamble on this tall tale. French's writing is stunning, making you want to linger over every sentence, both the snappy dialogue with all that is unsaid swirling below the surface, and the vivid evocative descriptions of the sunbaked town and the tinder-dry mountain. From the first pages, Tana French conjures menace and dread so brilliantly, making you read faster and faster, so desperate for Trey to survive and not wreck her fresh start with Cal and Lena. I've already started recommending this to anyone who will listen - it's going to be one of my books of the year for sure.

I loved this book and really liked Cal, Lena and Trey. I didn't realise this book was part of a series but I dont think you necessarily have to have read the first book.
I found the book very believable with its descriptions of life in the small rural community of Ardnakelty which made me feel like I was actually there. Parts of the story were a little slow but I found it a gripping read and hope there will be more Cal and Trey centred stories in the future.

Wow I love Tana French! My favourite books of hers are the Dublin Murder Squad ones, they are genuinely top tier crime books that I recommend constantly to customers in my shop. In all honesty, I didn't love the previous Cal Hooper book - it was just a little slow for me. But I'm so glad I read this one because it's back to French's usual page turning brilliant writing, characterisation and pace. I really loved seeing a police detective (Nealon) from the other side - you could imagine French writing that character as a protagonist, and I would love to read that. Please keep writing Tana French!!

I loved this book and being back with Cal and Trey again. Having read The Searcher I fell in love with them both and Ardnakelry.
Tana French is one of my favourite autoread authors and I was so delighted to recieve this copy. I could not put it down, so wanting to find out more constantly but in the same breath I didn’t want it to end and I missed it when it did. It’s pure Tana being so character driven and every character has such a perfect part in the story, the rural setting and description of it and the heatwave making it all the more atmospheric. I loved everything about it and can see it being my favourite book of 2024. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this early copy.

A stellar follow up to the first in the Cal Hooper series, if anything The Hunter is even more compelling than the first. Tana French is especially strong at writing dialogue that lifts her characters off the page. I feel like I've been embedded in a small community for a week. An excellent crime novel.

This is a great read. We are back in the mountains of rural ireland, with Cal the rugged ex-cop from the USA. He's keeping a low profile still but enjoying his relationship (i forgot her name) and the parental role he's playing in Trey's life. Trey's dad, a good-for-nothing chancer returns and brings a stranger with him and rumours of gold in the hills. Really good plot and writing that is well paced. Quite dark in places but all the better for that.

This book, for me, had some nice elements.
I hadn't read the previous book (I didn't realise until coming to write the review that there had been an earlier instalment) and perhaps this was a little disadvantage.
The Irish setting is used to good effect, but perhaps the fact that there was a heat-wave going on throughout the book didn't give you the normal Irish experience (rain, clouds and more rain!).

Some of the scenes were really enjoyable like the group gathering in the local pub with the inevitable subsequent banter and Cal being regularly called on my his somewhat mischievous neighbour and the scenes involving the local shopkeeper gossip and her tactical conversations.
However, in between all the good stuff it was a little slow overall for me and not because it was character-building or scene-setting in a descriptive way just a little slow on action.

I enjoyed the book (4-stars overall from me) but it didn't keep me up at night... or get me up early in the morning either to get back to it.

What a great read! I enjoyed the return of Cal Hooper and the setting in terms of location, but also season. I enjoyed the themes this book raised and the twists as the story develoiped.

The Hunter by Tana French is the second book in the Cal hooper series. It continues the story of retired American detective Cal Hooper now living in the in a remote Irish village of Ardnakely in the West coast of Ireland. He is now settled in the community and has a relationship with Lena and got close to her son Trey and is teaching him some carpentry skills. When Trey’s father comes home after living in London for 4 years, with an Englishman in tow. Claiming that that is gold in the surrounding hills, and he has come back to the village with this businessman to claim it. Are they being serious or is it a scam?
I didn’t realise at first that this was the second book in the series and If I had known I would not have requested it. I found it hard to connect to this as the author did not relate anything that occurred in the first book to the second one. So, if you have this book, I advise you to read the first book first. This is not a bad book, but it is also awfully slow. Too slow for me even though I found the descriptions of the locations etc well written. For these reasons I could not finish it. Maybe I will go back and read it again when I have read the first book in the future. 3 stars from me.

Having read and enjoyed the previous novel I was delighted to receive an invitation to read this via Netgalley!

As with the precious novel in this series The Searcher, this is a very very slow burn as a novel. However I just didn’t find the storyline as compelling.

That being said this author has a wonderful way of creating a scene, and developing very complex character so would recommend for fans of this type of novel.

This is book 2 of the Cal Hooper series and having read the first book and really enjoyed it I was thrilled to receive the ARC of this one and it’s just as good as the first. It’s a slow burn of a read and I must admit it took time to get into the story but the character development in the read was fantastic and once the story got going then the pages started to fly. I love the fictional setting of Ardnakelty it feels so real and I just wish I could visit it’s so well described and the people are a dream !
It was good to see how Cal the retired Chicago cop has really settled in but the character of Trey is by far my favourite she is fabulously crafted by Tana French as is the whole book.
So a read that is much more than a thriller its one to savour and I’m looking forward to the next.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK, Viking for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Tana French is now firmly on my list of must read authors. Honestly, I opened this book and it was like the characters were just right there waiting for me to come back. It took no time at all to fall back in love with this remote part of Ireland and all the perfectly formed but flawed characters. This is one of those books you want to read fast as the story is so compelling but also don’t want to finish as you just don’t want to leave their World. All the characters are just so real, and compelling. Every character plays their part in this story to perfection. The story is just so cleverly told and never predictable. I’ve thought long and hard about what it is that makes this story so compelling and I think that it is because you get a real sense of love and hope underpinning the story despite so much trauma. This is definitely going to be one of my favourite books of 2024.

Just as thrilling as The Searcher, where we previously met Cal and Trey, The Hunter is a fast paced story set in rural Ireland.

Wild and lost teenager Trey's errant father returns home and disrupts everyone's lives with his get-rich scheme to entice the locals to search for gold. American ex-detective Cal is settled into the rural community and finds himself tangled up with the scheme.

As with all good thrillers, this is one of those stories you're going to struggle to put down.

I’m an avid fan of everything Ms. French writes and so I was thrilled to receive this ARC for review. And once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down.

As with all her novels, I quickly became invested in the lives of the people. Cal, Lena and Trey start to feel like family, and even the minor characters add to the tension in the pages. The characterization is insightful and emotional and the beautiful descriptions of the landscape creates an atmospheric element that almost adds to the cast.

The pace may be slow, but the clever dialogue keeps pushing it forward. The conversations in the pub and in Cal’s fields form a vital part of the flow of the story. They were created so intricately, yet effortlessly, that I felt like I was included.

It’s simply one of those novels you can’t stop reading, at the same time wishing it will never end.

Full of suspense which kept me turning the page. An intriguing read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

I thank the publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy in return for a fair review. I have acquired a number of Tana French's series books but, for no good reason, not got around the reading them yet. But having read this standalone novel and enjoyed the book and the writing style I will push them up the "to read" pile [which is very lengthy!]. This is set in very rural Ireland and conveys a great sense of place, especially the shop and the pub. The main characters are very well drawn, both those you are meant to empathise with and the "villains". The plot contains some very impressive twists and the writing carries it on nicely. Recommended

This kept me on the edge of my seat and was incredibly suspenseful. I didn’t want to put this book down once I got going - Tana French has done it again!

Another great read from Tana French. You can't help but get immersed in the Irish village setting. Being Irish I can fully relate to this mentality. Cal brings a touch of American to it which is also very relatable. A great yarn! I have to say though that the word crack has been spelled incorrectly (although crack is also acceptable) on a number of occasions, it's craic when referring to Irish fun times. Tana has the Irishisms down to a tee! Enjoy the book and thank you for the advanced reading copy