2022 #34 The Searcher (French)

 

The Searcher by Tana French
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Honestly a near "4 stars" but there were several aspects that didn't sit well with me.

Cal Hooper, an ex-cop from Chicago tries to "escape" to a major fixer-upper in a remote Irish village. This is not a page-turner---the pace is very slow. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but you've got to be in it for the long haul. Roger Clark's slow drawl (most noticeable as the narrator and Cal Hooper) lulls one not to sleep, but you might need to adjust to the pace. There are some clichés -- he's divorced and has an awkward relationship with his adult daughter. That is actually important to the story, and I applaud French for not spelling it out at the end. The relationship changes and evolves and we understand why, but she doesn't hit us over the head with it.

There are various other characters who fill out the village, most importantly 13 year-old Trey, who approaches Cal (that's actually one of the slowest parts of the narrative) with a mystery to solve. Turns out that Trey too is a bit of a mystery. As is almost everyone in the village, including the effervescent neighbor Mart, who embodies the stereotypical happy-go-lucky-spend-every-night-at-the-pub Irishman. Beware false senses of security, however. French's gambit is very much "things are not what they seem" in this book.

The biggest negative for me was the actual "mystery." I found the outcome disappointing as well as the dispassionate treatment of the main event by those involved. Cal's behavior doesn't really make sense at the end, especially since there are many words given over to telling us about his "code" (including a particularly irritating bit when he talks about "morals vs. etiquette" in a way that's quite affirming of white privilege). That said, the relationship with Trey is what kept me in it. Cal does grow, and so does Trey...and French is careful never to get too maudlin. I could have used a bit more outrage on the part of Cal, however, when it comes to what befalls Trey. There's a subtext about poverty and manipulation here that didn't really resonate.

There are beautiful scenic descriptions in the book. This is my first Tana French work, and from what I've read, this is something she is known for. The book definitely does NOT disappoint on this front. From the fauna (rooks, rabbits, sheep) to the flora and everything in between, French paints with her words, and unlike some other recent reads, it never feels gratuitous. Perhaps there's a bit too much time spent in the pub (I'm just not that interested in hearing about people getting drunk), but French tucks in little details that are important, so stick with it.

The pace does make it seem more of a novel than a mystery. Not that they are mutually exclusive categories, but if you are hoping for a whodunnit-crime mystery, this book probably isn't what you want--that aspect almost recedes into the background. But definitely worth it for the scenery and character development

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