I get bored very quickly, and this book just didn't grab and hold. I'm new to this author, she's well known of course.

The basics were good, Chicago, Irish background, but just a bit formulaic.

Nothing happened for about a 100 pages. My preference is for the first incident or crime to be in the first or second chapters which wasn't the case.

Maybe I'll persevere as others seem to rate this book and author !

This was my first Tana French, and it did not disappoint! Of course she is a staple of the genre - this blew my expectations out of the water! If you're worried she is overhyped like I was, don't let that stop you from reading... she deserves the hype.

A retired detective, Cal, seeks respite from a failed marriage and a career as a police officer in America but has he found solace in the Irish countryside or stepped into something that could put his life at risk?

When Trey comes looking for help to find her missing brother Cal can’t help but try to uncover what happened and why. Faced with a stonewall of silence how deep does the secret lie, and who can be trusted?

The gorgeous scenery feels like another character in this book and you could feel yourself walking the lanes and mountain trails with Cal. The descriptive nature was quite intense at times and added to the drama but I do feel some of it was not necessary for the telling of the story. But who am I to judge, Tana French is a brilliant storyteller!

This was one of Tana French’s slower books but just as brilliant! Written in a beautiful setting of a small town in Ireland, definitely more of a slow burn but worth the read.

Great thriller which kept me turning the pages well into the night. Great characters and plot. Highly recommend to others!!

Tana French is reliably one of the best crime writers today. Her books are always exceptional but I think this one fell just slightly short of the mark. I loved her complicated characters and the twists and turns but I missed having one protagonist that I could truly root for.

A slow, beautiful and atmospheric novel. Less a thriller, more a character study and evocative of the Irish landscape. Loved it.

Despite really enjoying Tana French’s earlier works, I found this book a heavy slog. There was just too much time spent on the main character’s quirks and his achingly slow engagement with the central mystery, the disappearance of a young man. This book was for far less successful than her Dublin Murder Squad books. Still well crafted as one would expect but not a keeper.

Unfortunately I couldn’t finish this book - I found it really slow to get going and the descriptive writing unnecessarily long.

I love Tana French's Dublin Murder books and TV show so expected a lot from this. After a slow start, I couldn't put this book down. It was so strange and slow and yet I loved it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy.

The story sounded fab and i did enjoy it but a lot of unnecessary scene setting for me. which i felt dragged the story out a bit. First book ive ever read by tana french and not sure if i would again to be honest.

I've only ever started one other book by Tana French which I DNF'd so I didn't really have any expectations with this one. The reason I DNF'd her other was because I found it so slow and hard to get into a story that didn't feel like it was going anywhere. However, with The Searcher, I was captivated by the slow build-up, descriptive scene-setting and deep character building.

Looking for a quiet retirement, American ex-police officer, Cal, moves to a dilapidated cottage in a remote Irish village which he starts to fix up. Ever the police officer though, he soon realises he's being watched and catches the kid who reveals themselves as Trey. Trey's brother Brendan is missing and, having heard about Cal's past, Trey wants Cal to help find Brendan, as no one else seems to care. Before he knows it, Cal is caught in the web of small-town drama and is warned that looking for Brendan is a really bad idea.

The first thing I have to praise in this novel is the writing. I felt fully transported to the remote Irish village which is exactly what you want with a slow-burn thriller. I felt like I knew the characters much more thoroughly than in other novels that simply scratch the surface. The author actually takes the time to get to know the characters -their traits, morals, interests, backstories - to the point where we feel like we know them better than most. I appreciated that in the novel and felt that it was done brilliantly.

What let me down was the truth around Brendan's disappearance; it felt anti-climatic after all the build-up and tension so I was a little disappointed. But, having said that, I still thoroughly enjoyed the writing style that the plot twist didn't affect my rating as much as it would in another novel. I am definitely going to read Tana French in the future simply for her excellent and captivating wordsmithiness.

This is the first Tana French book I've read and thought it was very good.
The writing is very descriptive and it is a very well-written, slow burn thriller that I couldn't put down from start to finish.
I really loved the main character Cal and found him very relatable and likeable.

I struggled with this book. It started off well but I found the middle a bit boring with not a lot happening. The ending was ok, if not a little disturbing.

*Late Review" This book to me was slow paced. I did stick with it, even though I was tempted to put it down. I got maybe 50% of the way through and nothing had really happened, It only really started to pick up in the last 20% of the book. I would still recommend this book but it just wasn’t for me

You know what you’re going to get with Tana French. Class. And this doesn’t let you down. If you have never read anything by her get this then the rest. You’ll be delighted. Set in Ireland, a country I love. I may be biased but you do need to read these books.

Thank you for the advance copy of this book.
I have read a book by this author before but this is only my 2nd book and it won't be my last.
Although I found this a little slow I persevered and am really glad I did. This was really well written, an intense storyline, good characters and very atmospheric - I didn't want the book to finish. Definitely recommend. .

Such a simple start to a winding and haunting novel.

About half way through this book I realised how it was going to end and my reading speed increased hoping there would be a different outcome. I was heartbroken with the eventual reveal of what happened.

Although sad in parts this book had funny parts too, the reveal about Trey and Cal's reaction to it were hilarious and I loved the small town vibes.

I did wish we found out a little more about his daughter and if there was something going on with her rather than hints and shadows in Cal's minds.

Overall a brilliant book that really made me feel like I was in the Irish countryside.

This is the first book by this author that I have read. I was really impressed and will certainly read more books by this author.

It was a wonderful read. Really intense, especially the end. Great characters and atmospherics. I will certainly recommend this book.

Thankyou for sending me this ARC.

This book was an extremely slow burn. I enjoyed the set up of Cal's character and life...but then there was just too much time slowly building up the other players and the location.

The descriptions were brilliant...I could really picture the area and the house and Cal's life...but I really struggled with how slowly the storyline moved.

I did love the relationship between Cal and Trey..but needed more nuances to the story...more clues to unravel or just something to make it more of a thriller.

As it was, it's still a good enjoyable story but the mystery itself is not very thrilling and often frustrating.

It is a different type of mystery book and definitely unique.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.