Tana French: The Searcher, Penguin, 9780241459416, C format Paperback, November 2020

Counting myself one of the lucky early readers of  Tana French’s new standalone crime novel,  “The Searcher”  publishing in November ,  I can attest  that she deserves her reputation as a  masterful  story builder.

 “The Searcher” is set in Ireland's remote countryside where Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago cop, has bought himself a fixer-upper of a crumbling cottage which he is trying to fix up gradually while getting to grips with his divorce.  There is also the question whether his decision to follow his own moral code, filing for early retirement and moving to Ireland leaving family and friends behind was a smart one. 

The first 40% of the book are a slow build up to the eventual crime element in the story: the description of Cal’s new life, the beauty of the Irish countryside, the sudden appearance of a local kid, Trey, who believes Cal might be persuaded to investigate the disappearance of his older brother Brendan and him trying to figure out the dynamics of village life with some truly fascinating local characters, chiefly his neighbor Mart.  I was about to get restless and then wham, French picks up the pace,  the story takes a new spin never letting up until the very end which I thought was an unusual one I liked, a trade mark to the quality of this crime novel . Really enjoyed it.