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A review by liannablakeman
The Searcher by Tana French
4.0
4.5/5 stars
This book follows an American, Cal, as he renovates a house in the Irish countryside. He thinks it's the perfect escape from 25 years as a Chicago cop, and his recent divorce. There he comes across a local kid who asks for his help tracking down his missing brother, which leads them on all sorts of twists and turns and uncovers some dark secrets in this picturesque countryside.
My favorite part of this book is truly the character arc that Cal goes through. He's not a perfect character, and he's not perfect in the end either, but he discovers so much throughout this story and becomes a better man because of it. The backstory to his daughter and the comparison between Cal's response to that and the events to this book come through so clearly and vividly, you cannot help but feel appreciation for the changes Cal has gone through.
I also really enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. You know something is not right in the town (secrets, hidden agendas) and this makes the rising action so much stronger. Some people may have figured out the surprise in the ending, but personally, it came as a shock to me.
The reason this book didn't get a full 5 stars from me, is because at points (particularly in the first half) the narrative was too slow or wordy to keep me focused on the words on the page. There were parts that jumped out and kept me reading the book, but it wasn't until the second half of the book where I really hit that point where I couldn't put the book down at all.
I don't quite know what the symoblism of the rooks is in the book, but I liked how it both started and ended with scenes of them in the trees.
Ultimately, I thought this book was wonderful and told an interesting and thought-provoking story. Would read this one again.
This book follows an American, Cal, as he renovates a house in the Irish countryside. He thinks it's the perfect escape from 25 years as a Chicago cop, and his recent divorce. There he comes across a local kid who asks for his help tracking down his missing brother, which leads them on all sorts of twists and turns and uncovers some dark secrets in this picturesque countryside.
My favorite part of this book is truly the character arc that Cal goes through. He's not a perfect character, and he's not perfect in the end either, but he discovers so much throughout this story and becomes a better man because of it. The backstory to his daughter and the comparison between Cal's response to that and the events to this book come through so clearly and vividly, you cannot help but feel appreciation for the changes Cal has gone through.
I also really enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. You know something is not right in the town (secrets, hidden agendas) and this makes the rising action so much stronger. Some people may have figured out the surprise in the ending, but personally, it came as a shock to me.
The reason this book didn't get a full 5 stars from me, is because at points (particularly in the first half) the narrative was too slow or wordy to keep me focused on the words on the page. There were parts that jumped out and kept me reading the book, but it wasn't until the second half of the book where I really hit that point where I couldn't put the book down at all.
I don't quite know what the symoblism of the rooks is in the book, but I liked how it both started and ended with scenes of them in the trees.
Ultimately, I thought this book was wonderful and told an interesting and thought-provoking story. Would read this one again.