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A review by meopushkin
The Searcher by Tana French
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I love Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series and couldn’t wait to dive into this book, but it is so slow. I usually enjoy slow-burn narratives, but this one took it to another level. The pages are packed with Irish banter which was fun for the first hundred pages, but it soon became exhausting.
What confused me most was the lack of clear thematic direction. French often writes protagonists with morally ambiguous traits - something I usually love - but here, there isn’t enough backstory or emotional depth to support that ambiguity. Cal Hooper is just too bland. His inner monologues become monotonous, and I struggled to stay interested.
Also, the tone at times feels oddly dismissive of younger generations, as if it's critiquing their values without really attempting to understand them. It’s especially surprising given how Faithful Place and Broken Harbour showed such empathy toward working-class struggles and the post-2009 crisis. This book, in contrast, feels like it's veering into (for lack of a better word) boomer territory.
I’m unsure whether I’ll continue with this series, as neither the characters nor the setting held my interest.
What confused me most was the lack of clear thematic direction. French often writes protagonists with morally ambiguous traits - something I usually love - but here, there isn’t enough backstory or emotional depth to support that ambiguity. Cal Hooper is just too bland. His inner monologues become monotonous, and I struggled to stay interested.
Also, the tone at times feels oddly dismissive of younger generations, as if it's critiquing their values without really attempting to understand them. It’s especially surprising given how Faithful Place and Broken Harbour showed such empathy toward working-class struggles and the post-2009 crisis. This book, in contrast, feels like it's veering into (for lack of a better word) boomer territory.
I’m unsure whether I’ll continue with this series, as neither the characters nor the setting held my interest.