By Steve Westfahl
Checked Out
The Mystery Mavens book club recently read and discussed “The Searcher: A Novel,” by Tana French.
Cal Hooper began his day watching the rooks watch him. Rooks are smart birds and when they become accustomed to you have a tendency to bring you presents. Both Cal and the Rooks have a long way to go.
Cal, recently of the Chicago P.D., divorced with one adult child, has moved to a fixer-upper outside the village of Ardnakelty, Ireland, to get away from it all. Plagued by signs that he is being watched, he sets about to discover his observer, ultimately leading to a reluctant search for a brother that disappeared.
Tana French brings a large cast of characters to her story. One’s a wanker, one’s a bit thick, one’s a matchmaker, and all are way too nosey and a few are not what they seem to be. French brings these characters to life against a background of Irish culture, both good and bad. You have the local pub and village store, music, family, storytelling, blight, drunkenness, drugs, abuse, occasional dead sheep, and possibly an extraterrestrial alien.
The Mystery Mavens felt the book started off slow and required some patience as French introduces each of the main characters to the plot and extensive descriptions of the environment and cultural idiosyncrasies. While it picks up speed at the end, there is some repetition leading to a let’s get on with it feel. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and some members were considering reading the next in the series.
This is the first book in the Cal Hooper trilogy set in Ardnakelty Ireland. Next up is “The Hunter” and the newly released “The Keeper.”
The Mystery Mavens book club meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Hutchinson Public Library. Initiated in 2002, the book club reads a variety of mysteries from police procedurals to historial and cozy mysteries. The mystery club is open to all. Contact the Hutchinson Public Library for more information.