"Hailed as the queen of Irish crime fiction, French spins a taut tale of retribution, sacrifice, and family."—TIME
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Searcher and “one of the greatest crime novelists writing today” (Vox), a spellbinding new novel set in the Irish countryside.
It’s a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.
Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He’s found it, more or less: he’s built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he’s gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey’s long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn’t want protecting. What she wants is revenge.
From the writer who is “in a class by herself,” (The New York Times), a nuanced, atmospheric tale that explores what we’ll do for our loved ones, what we’ll do for revenge, and what we sacrifice when the two collide.
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"The perfect cold-weather escape…French’s writing style is so unhurried and pleasurable…and every page smells and sounds like Ireland. At a time when travel is impossible and we’re spending more time at home, staying safe, it’s thrilling to be transported to another place entirely, gripped by suspense and a sense of danger as I turn the pages in my cozy lair."
— Glamour
Tana French is… like a poet. She writes beautifully…If you haven’t read her yet, I really highly recommend that you do.
— Harlan CobenEvocative and lyrical, The Searcher is a mystery worth reading slowly to savor every perfectly rendered detail.
— BookpageHailed as the queen of Irish crime fiction, French spins a taut tale of retribution, sacrifice, and family.
— TIMETana French has become her own reliable industry of top-shelf crime thrillers.
— The Washington PostIt has everything you love–the suspense, the questions, the unraveling of lies…. obsessively fascinating.
— Marie ClaireThe queen of crime returns with a thriller about a retired Chicago police officer who discovers the sinister underbelly of a seemingly quaint Irish town.
— Entertainment WeeklyThe west of Ireland looked good to Cal Hooper on the internet. But now that he’s living there, the rugged beauty of the region overwhelms him, as it will anyone reading Tana French’s The Searcher, an audacious departure for this immensely talented author… Not to be missed.
— Janet Maslin, The New York TimesTaut, chiseled and propulsive.
— VogueFrench's writing here is on fire. Eerie and nuanced and spellbinding.
— Fresh AirFrench avoids the fireworks of conventional crime fiction, instead taking a classic setup—the lone outsider revealing the dark side of a small town—and imbuing it with simmering menace. There’s also an unexpectedly moving friendship and storytelling so atmospheric you can practically smell the peat bogs.
— PeopleNuanced and compelling.
— The New YorkerThriller mastermind Tana French's . . . work is as consistently thoughtful and thought-provoking as it is entertaining...[In The Searcher] French finds interesting angles and dynamics, and her cast is, as always, wonderfully drawn.
— The Los Angeles TimesVivid and poetic.
— Associated PressFrench takes this standalone novel at a measured pace, easing readers into Cal's quiet life before the thrills unravel.
— TIMECompelling.
— VoxThe Searcher feels different from French’s previous books—there’s a sparseness to the setting that contrasts with the bustle of the Dublin Murder Squad, or even the gathered family in The Witch Elm—but is no less addictive; the pages practically turn themselves.
— The Seattle TimesA creepy slow burn that focuses just as much on the central characters’ inner lives as on the mystery at the heart of the story . . .packed full of twists, turns, and shocking reveals.
— BuzzFeedAll things atmospheric and mysterious, this one may keep you up past your bedtime.
— CosmopolitanA moving new tale of friendship and healing, set in an Irish countryside populated with eccentrics, curmudgeons, and a hilariously weird British woman obsessed with fairies.
— CrimeReadsIn The Searcher, Tana French stakes out new territory: a rural Irish setting quite different from the urban and suburban Ireland of her previous works, and a central character who is an American . . . The Searcher blends qualities of French’s best novels, the first and third of her “Dublin Murder Squad” police procedurals . . .
— Los Angeles Review of BooksReaders who share her interest in exploring the lives of flawed and compelling characters will find much to love in the atmospheric story of a retired cop who moves to Ireland for relaxation, only to be asked to find a missing teen.
— St Louis Post-Dispatch.As always, French’s prose is spellbinding and lyrical . . . The beautiful imagery combined with the dialect of the earthly, witty characters creates an appealing atmosphere that engages the reader . . .
— The Austin American-StatesmanInsightful characterizations, even of minor figures, and a devastating reveal help make this a standout. Crime fiction fans won’t want to miss this one.
— Publishers Weekly, starred reviewA slow-burn stunner that will keep readers turning the pages late into the night. Recommend to the author’s legions of fans, as well as those who enjoy crime fiction set in small towns like Julia Keller’s or Jane Harper’s novels.
— Library Journal, starred reviewIn another stand-alone, French again displays impressive versatility…French skillfully builds suspense…a fine thriller, but also a moving story of an unlikely friendship that grows from refinishing a ramshackle desk to rebuilding two nearly broken lives.
— BooklistJust pre-order and call in sick for a couple days after October 6 when the book comes out.
— The MillionsDeliver[s] plenty of twists, shocking revelations, and truly chilling moments.
— KirkusBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Tana French is the award-winning author of several New York Times bestselling novels. She has won many awards for her fiction, including the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, Macavity, and IVCA Clarion awards, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller, and the Irish Book Award for Best Crime Fiction. She grew up in Ireland, Italy, the US, and Malawi, and trained as an actress at Trinity College Dublin before becoming a writer.
Neil Hellegers grew up in New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BA in theater arts and a minor in psychology before getting an MFA in acting from the Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. He moved to New York City in 2003 and, since then, has made a career of theatrical performance, percussion, theater education, and audiobook narration. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.