Book Review: The Searcher by Tana French

June 16, 2024

—

I’m currently in the process of adding my old book reviews to my blog! Keep your eyes open for new book reviews every week. This book review was originally published on Instagram in 2022.

The Searcher by Tana French

I have a lot to say about this book, but I’d like to start by saying that I read it in a literal fever dream: a Friday evening in January, with a temperature of 37.8 degrees C, I lay listless on my couch under an electric blanket. I had nowhere to be, and couldn’t go anywhere, anyway. I couldn’t concentrate on homework, didn’t have the energy to do anything else.

And so, I read the entirety of The Searcher. Maybe this was why it had such an impact; everything that happened, happened in an unending, linear blitz, a movie played out in one go. Maybe it was my delirious state, hovering between awake and something else. Or maybe it was because it’s a well-written, engaging story. Regardless, where books often get filed away in my mind as soon as I’ve started the next one (ie. the same day), I’ve been thinking about The Searcher weeks after reading it.

If you know me in real life, then you know it’s no secret that I have a never-ending desire to find the next good mystery. It goes so far that, sometimes, I get in moods where, unless it’s a mystery, I don’t want to read it. I pick books up and put them down again until I find what I’m looking for. There are no two ways about it; when I want a mystery, I want a mystery. And so what I liked about The Searcher was that it fulfilled my need to be hooked in and wound along, peering around figurative corners trying to figure out what’s going on, while simultaneously introducing believable, likeable characters I would actually want to get to know.

Well, I’d like to get to know some of them, particularly Cal: he’s no-nonsense and down-to-earth, but also human. He’s not perfect, and this lack of perfection is what makes him someone I want to know; he makes mistakes, and he knows he makes mistakes, and he tries his best to do what he can about them. Beyond this, being someone who works with vulnerable adolescents, I feel a connection with him in how he feels toward Trey: protective, like he’d do anything to keep Trey safe from those who wish her harm.

French also masterfully weaves multiple narratives into one cohesive story: there’s the question mark of Cal’s past life as a cop in Chicago, entwined with mysterious Trey and her missing brother, twisted further together with the question of the murdered sheep. With multiple narratives comes multiple questions, but every question is answered subtly (or not) but always artfully; there’s never a point where I felt I was being dunked in the exposition tank.

I really don’t have anything bad to say about this book; I can’t say enough how thoroughly I enjoyed it. Every line served its purpose and every character was believable. Fever dream or not, it’s definitely a memorable read.

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to learn more about witchcraft, herbalism, and living an intentional life—while getting a glimpse into my own witchy, intentional practice—consider signing up for my patreon. I post a lot of behind the scenes content you won’t find anywhere else, as well as handy herb profile printables, spell sheets, book recommendations, and excerpts of my upcoming novel, Bramble Manor.