Breakaway Books

Authored by Tana French; Published March 2024; Mystery/Thriller

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️

I’ll admit, I wasn’t completely sold on Tana French’s first book in the Cal Hooper series, The Searcher. The Hunter more than made up for any doubts I had, reminding me of French’s penchant for building suspense in her novels. It was like a constant itch running up and down my spine, never knowing when it would turn into a hand clamped around my neck.

French’s series revolves around a small Irish town where a retired American cop, Cal Hooper, has chosen to make his home. He’s begun apprenticing a young girl, Trey, in carpentry when her father, who has a reputation of a con man of sorts, comes home after a years-long disappearance. To me, small towns are the perfect setting to give slightly creepy vibes: You’re not quite sure how, but everyone seems to know everyone else’s business.

French crafted an excellent villain for this novel—vicious, but in a subtle enough way that I was always wondering just how far he would go. It set the tension high early on and had me racing through the novel. 

But the main themes of the novel were inclusion and exclusion, manifested by the view of the town of who’s an insider and who’s an outsider. The town of Ardnakelty protects their own, but their definition of who belongs seemed to be flexible, shifting the ground under our heroes’ feet day by day. It only served to magnify the tension. Against this backdrop, Cal does his best to protect his own life and Trey’s even as murder rocks the small town.

I was shocked by the twist ending. It was brilliant, and it brought these two books to an emotionally satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend picking this one up!