Tana French's most recent book, “The Searcher,” is a deep dive
into the soft and hard edges of ex-cop Cal Hooper—a blow in from Chicago—and the Irish village he moves to after retiring. His house is a ramshackle place in need of rescuing from the ravages of nature. In many ways Cal needs rescuing too. Putting his house and his life in order comes with strife and more company than he bargained for.
Not only is it a good read, if you want a master class in writing, Tana French is the best teacher. Many of her books are dense with characters and point of view. Like the forests that occupy several of her novels they are full of surprises and mysteries, familiarity and strangeness. “The Searcher” is different. There are characters and a location with its own personality, something French does so well, but it is also intimate and focused on Cal. How Cal sees the world is the world of “The Searcher.” It is a place I was drawn to visit by French’s master storytelling.
Thanks to Tana French and her book, I was able to love a book after over a year of unfocused fuzzy-brained pandemic addled non-reading. I feel as if I have my life back. If you want to spend time with a good read, you’ll hit the jackpot because “The Searcher” and Cal Hooper are good company.
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