Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Witch Elm

The audiobook narrator for this book is fantastic! Such a nuanced performance.
This book was sometimes hard to read because the main character struggles so much with internalized ableism after his brain injury, only he’s kind of a jerk so that’s not how he’s framing it. It’s totally realistic that someone like him would react with anger and frustration about the way he’s being perceived so it’s not bad writing, just kind of tiring to be around.
But it is interesting being inside the head of a guy who is kinda oblivious and privileged and a little douchey as he starts to realize it and wonder what he’s really capable of.
I liked this enough that I want to read more Tana French.

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zalouis's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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maekay's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Loved this! Tana French did a wonderful just of easing me into the main character/narrator and then slowly peeling away the false narrative through the murder mystery to reveal

the real villain of the story is the protagonist and his shitty fate is the direct result of his shitty actions

. I was left unsettled by the end of the story, but in a very good way.

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rileyreadsagain's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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yo_tdo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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madzsmiled's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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babayagaofficial's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

caidyn's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This review can also be found on my blog!

Thanks to Viking for a copy in exchange for an honest review! Publishing October 9th!

CW: bullying, attempted sexual assault, homophobia, burglary, graphic beating, and cancer

I’m really conflicted about this book. Really, really conflicted. Because, on one hand, it wasn’t at all what I expected and was something new from French, who is an author I love from her Dublin Murder Squad series, yet it also wasn’t as exciting as I wanted it to be. It waffled between three and four stars for me, but I landed on four.

At first, I thought this was a retelling of Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm, a famous unsolved mystery from England. But it’s just inspired by it. Which works because there are so many weird theories and thoughts about that case, so she was able to take the idea of a body found in a tree without dealing with anything else.

But, what is this book really about?

It’s about Toby, a man who has the whole world going for him… until a brutal home invasion leaves him scarred, both physically and mentally. His uncle, Hugo, is dying of cancer and, for a break, he moves in with him as a caretaker. One day, his cousin Susanna’s kids are playing and finds a skull in the witch elm in the lawn.

From there, the secrets pour out.

It’s a slow read. Like, it took nearly 40% of the book to get to actually finding the skull — which is why I think the synopsis gives too much away, but also the title immediately calls the unsolved mystery to mind so it’s hard to get away from spoilers. Then the hunt took forever. The reveal came at 80%. Then there was still 20% to build-up.

That’s a huge con for me, honestly, yet it oddly worked at the same time?

It’s a family drama. Okay? It’s not a crime procedural like she’s done in all her other books. It focuses on the family Toby has. His dying uncle Hugo, his own memory loss, his stay-at-home-mom cousin Susanna, and his gay, wandering cousin Leon. And everyone’s important to the book in some way. The story revolves around this family drama and the unsaid things and secrets kept.

I can’t say too much more than that, honestly. It’s one of those weird books where everything happens but nothing happens. If you want something thrilling, this isn’t the book for you. If you want something that meanders the path to get to the conclusion, you’ll like it.

6/29/18

I.
GOT.
AN.
ARC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to Viking for an e-copy of this in exchange for an honest review!

Original review (6/28/18):

IS THIS A TELLING OF THE WHO PUT BELLA IN THE WYCH ELM CASE?????????????????????????

i need it

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