The Searcher
The mesmerising mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Keeper
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The Searcher
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Narrated by:
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Roger Clark
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By:
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Tana French
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
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.
Our greatest living mystery writer weaves a masterful tale of breath-taking beauty and suspense, asking what we sacrifice in our search for truth and justice, and the dangers of finding what we seek.
WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING ABOUT TANA FRENCH
'One of the most compulsive psychological mysteries since Donna Tartt's The Secret History' THE TIMES
'An engrossing, unpredictable, beautifully written mystery' SOPHIE HANNAH
'To say Tana French is one of the great thriller writers is really too limiting. Rather she's simply this: a truly great writer' GILLIAN FLYNN
'French offers a masterclass in unreliability' SUNDAY TIMES
'I'm a big fan of Tana French' IAN RANKIN
'The Wych Elm should cement French's place in the first rank of great literary novelists' OBSERVER
'This book confirms Tana French as [crime fiction's] biggest contemporary star' GUARDIAN
'Terrific - terrifying, amazing, and the prose is incandescent' STEPHEN KING
'Another one of her rich psychological thrillers that will work its way under your skin' LUCY MANGAN, STYLIST
'This mystery about family, memory and the cracks in both will haunt you for a long, long time' ERIN KELLY
© Tana French 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020
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Critic reviews
The story is told in the third person from Cal Hooper’s point of view. Having served 25 years in the Chicago police service and enduring a rough divorce, all Cal wants is a quiet life. A small village in rural Ireland offers him the tranquillity he desires and a run-down cottage gives him something to take his mind off what he’s left behind. In spite of being referred to as a “blow in” Cal is welcomed by a cast of characters including Mart, his nearest neighbour and Noreen the village shopkeeper, matchmaker and gossip. Befriended by a local teenager, Cal learns that life in rural Ireland isn’t quite as tranquil as he’d imagined. The kid’s older brother has gone missing under suspicious circumstances and while Cal doesn’t want to get involved, it intrigues him. Being careful not to ruffle any feathers, he makes discrete enquiries amongst the neighbours, villagers and pub-goers. It’s clear to Cal that he ought to leave it alone; easier said than done for someone who spent his career dealing with missing persons.
I love thrillers and I’ve penned a couple myself, although not to the same acclaim as Ms French. The ever helpful Audible suggested this book based on my search history and buying habits, so far so good. I subsequently note that it is listed on Amazon as number 4 in Gothic Romance, number 23 in Action and Adventure Literary Fiction and 26 in Historical Mystery, Thrillers and Suspense Fiction. Gothic Romance? I’m not sure what category it best fits into, but Thriller is stretching it a little. This book is slow to get going – very slow. It’s like a boot-sucking ramble across the Irish peat bogs that it depicts. The descriptions of the environment, flora and fauna are very very rich and if you’ve never visited rural Ireland you certainly get a great sense of the place in which the story is set. The characters arcs are more like flat lines. They don’t die but they don’t change much either. The kid’s journey is probably the better one. There’s something distinctly dodgy about Cal’s neighbour, Mart. I felt nothing for Cal himself. He seems like a nice guy but that’s about it.
I wouldn’t recommend this book, but that’s just my opinion. When it comes to social proof there are lots of readers who loved it – check out the reviews. I did wonder if it was just me, but having read some of the reviews after finishing the book, I found a couple who agreed that the book was slow to get going. From and audio perspective there is nothing wrong with the performance. Roger Clark does a great job, tackling the Irish accents with great skill. His performance as Cal is as gritty as I imagined the character to be. That said, a great performance can’t and doesn’t rescue a mediocre script.
Sorry, only three stars from me
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Enjoyed this
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Engaging, captivating and beautifully narrated
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The characters were brought to life by the Narator
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there's something in my eye
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