Illusions to the economic crash in Ireland are frequent and peppered with slight references to Brexit and the Troubles. French uses the ex-cop and the poor kid in town to probe the lengths people will go to close ranks around their own in order to maintain the status quo.

The Searcher does not provide the same violent and excruciating insight into the world of privilege, instead choosing to look at a man who attempts to give up his mantle of power. Her last novel, The Witch Elm, reviewed by Stephen King, was praised for its depiction of white male privilege. Privilege and protection are common themes. The Searcher is primarily concerned with morality. Cal comes to the conclusion justice is never in the hands of the state. French attempts to break down how outsider status and privilege connect to larger systems of punitive power. The use of an American to illustrate and cast doubt on Irish norms is an intriguing one. Small talk between our narrator, Cal, and his chatty neighbor often include detailed recipes for cooking rook. Rooks, bogs, farms, and menacing pubs populate The Searcher with a lush and brutal world. French continues that legacy, melding the tried and true hard-boiled cop narrative to the chilly atmosphere of rural Ireland. Foreign crime consistently tops the New York Times best-seller list. Each of these authors prevailed to their own niche noir. She delivers plot twists with a laugh and a smug smile.įrench’s work sits neatly alongside the work of many best-selling crime novelists: Agatha Christie, Stieg Larsson, Jo Nesbø. French is a vivid writer conjuring sunset and whiskey-soaked memories with equal beauty. Tana French’s writing is always a step above typical commercial crime fiction. NPR critic Maureen Corrigan even listed it as one of her top novels of 2020. Her novels consistently end up on year-end lists and top the charts on Goodreads. Cal is both a cowboy and a seeker, attempting to find both redemption and passion through fixing a house and solving crime.įrench has achieved cult classic status for her readability.

Trey’s brother has gone missing and Trey believes foul play is at work. At first, Trey helps Cal with his DIY projects but soon draws Cal into a missing person case that forms the core narrative of the book. Slowly, a teenager named Trey begins hanging around the house. He spends his time dropping hints about his old life in Chicago and trying to build cabinets. Cal is a typical man, listening to Johnny Cash, frying bacon, and building furniture. The reader is ushered into the Irish countryside through Cal, an ex-cop attempting to rebuild his life after leaving the Chicago Police Department. The Searcher is her newest crime novel that balances comfort, disease, and social isolation in equal and thrilling measure.

The searcher a novel