Suspense is in the details — small details — scattered throughout ... The extraordinary sequel to ... A singularly tense and moody thriller, but it’s also an exceptional novel because of its structure.
As a pair, the Cal Hooper novels paint a rich portrait of a time and place. But this is the rare Tana French novel where I do think it’s necessary to have read the predecessor, despite a fair amount of painstaking exposition. And while some of this pacing feels deliberate...at times it lags ... French’s dialogue is some of the best in the business, and it’s a delight to watch her move between American and Irish vernacular. In general, the novel’s greatest pleasures — genuine twists aside — reside in the specific intersection of outsider and native ... French does more than show the banal evil behind a smiling face. She makes it particular as a kicked dog’s limp and dying embers in a steel barrel — and reminds us that we underestimate such places at our peril.
Without a protagonist who is invested in bare-knuckling it through the unscrupulous world of policing, her stories’ brilliantly rough edges have been shaved right down. Her detectives were our Charons, guiding us through hell; her new plots are set in an annoyingly amoral limbo ... This time, French pushes her plot into an even lumpier shape ... A body doesn’t appear until almost 300 pages deep (in a 450-ish-page novel) ... She’s shaken off far too many of the vital elements that make her novels boil and steam. This sort of fiction needs characters with passion, curiosity, and doggedness—she’s dispensed with all three.
A suspenseful tale of revenge, justice, friendship and loyalty in collision, and of a young girl who must decide which conflicting values matter most. The mood is dark, the tension is thick, and the stakes are high. And as usual, in a Tana French novel, the characters are well-drawn, the dialogue is superb, the settings are vivid, and the tight prose is often lyrical.
As ever, French writes like a dream ... The only action in the often tedious first half of the novel is a fistfight and a night at the pub ... I wish that French had taken a page from early in her career and written The Hunter strictly from Trey’s point of view, as she is infinitely more interesting than Cal, who may have settled into Ardnakelty, but still hasn’t settled into his own skin. As a fan, I petulantly (and foolishly) fantasize that French will revisit the Dublin Murder Squad ... There is no real evidence that anything or anyone will change. And a Tana French novel without real evidence is almost criminal.
French has specialized in books full of psychological acuity, bone-deep empathy and authentic colloquial speech. All of these aspects are on full display in The Hunter, a roughhewn comedy that before long becomes a tale of rough justice.
French made her name writing literary police procedurals. These two recent novels, though there are murders and mysteries to be solved, are of a different nature: slower, darker and more interior, their world meticulously created through layer upon layer of subtle interaction ... Undeniably a slow burner, and this is one of its strengths (as long as the reader is forewarned not to expect a conventional crime novel). French ratchets up the tension in increments ... These characters have taken on such solidity that, long after finishing it, I often catch myself wondering how they’re doing – a testament to the author’s mastery of her craft.
Delivers the mystery, atmosphere, and feeling her fans have come to expect ... Perhaps her finest work—and leaves readers thirsty for more of Cal's story.
Surprising strengths and vulnerabilities make for an often amusing, yet ominous and somber tale. The atmosphere is rich as the reader is reminded that this is the 'real' Ireland and not the one idealized by the 'plastic Paddies.' Masterfully written
Suspenseful, slow-burning ... The Hunter’s finely crafted internal monologues and nerve-wracking dialogues ably convey the unique tensions of living in a remote small town, especially when one is uncertain which neighbor (or neighbors) might’ve committed a crime. It’s an immersive, thought-provoking tale that revels in the quiet moments—whether that of conversational gaps more revealing than spoken words, or a place of natural beauty that offers respite but never promises peace.
Slow burn ... Underlines her knack for setting and character development ... While this isn’t quite up to French’s best—the gears of the plot take too long to start turning—it’s a pleasure to spend time with her finely drawn characters, and the murder investigation, when it finally gets underway, has impressive scope. This may be a step down from its predecessor, but it’s still a cut above similar fare.
