A review by eastofthesunwestofthemoon
The Witch Elm by Tana French

4.0

This book is very well crafted. And the story really draws you in, right from the beginning. It's well written, well paced, full of interesting characters, and for the majority of the book it's just a wonderful read. But,

Spoiler

I cannot give it 5 stars, because I detest the ending. I'm so sick of characters that have to be bad. I really liked Toby. I had mentally given the author kudos for telling the story of this great bond and relationship he and Melissa built, despite all the troubles. And then, bam. You know, there really isn't anything wrong with books that have optimistic endings and basically decent protagonists who don't kill people. What's worse is, it felt contrived to me. I cannot wait for this 'but bad people are so much more interesting' trend to be over and done. I like a protagonist to be someone I would like, or at least not mind, knowing.

On that basis, despite all the other strengths of this novel, I am giving it 4 stars. I'll also be checking into other books by this author.