Tana French's The Searcher (2020) appeared on a lot of best books lists at the end of last year, and as I was not familiar with French as an author and this is a standalone novel, I thought I had best check it out.
His peace and tranquility is disrupted when a local kid, Trey, asks for Cal's help to find a missing sibling. Reluctant at first, Cal realises that Trey won't give up on finding out what happened to Brendan. So Cal puts his detective skills to work and begins asking questions.
The locals in town are close and everyone knows each other's business. Cal is quickly warned off pursuing these enquiries in subtle and then overt ways. But Cal knows that Trey will not give up the search, and he can't let this one go.
The pacing in The Searcher is fascinating. Cal is working on improving his home - sanding, painting, peeling wallpaper - and these labours are slow and repetitive. Likewise, his detecting involves a lot of slow gumshoe work, navigating the bogs and hilly terrain of the rugged western landscape. Indeed we are almost a hundred pages in when we learn what Trey is searching for, making this novel a departure from others in the genre which start with a bang. I really enjoyed the pacing as it forced me to slow down my reading and savour the novel.
French has described The Searcher to an Irish Western. The title itself gives rise to thoughts of John Wayne, as does the notion of a retired lawman combing the frontier for a missing boy. Both Cal and the lawmen in westerns abide by a strict moral code, and Cal, as a stranger in this place, has to critically evaluate all he has learned on the job and adjust to his new surrounds.
Tana French is the author of seven other novels, including the six-part Dublin Murder Squad series.