Scan barcode
mitchell_1's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Gaslighting and Abandonment
fkshg8465's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I give up on Tana French. The Searcher was mediocre, and so was this sequel. I liked the plot, but it took way too long to unfold. If a story is going to take its time, then I need to be hooked by something else - dialogue, what’s happening between characters, the psychological process of a character, etc. None of that was in either of these books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Alcohol, and Murder
tonimcl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Hunter is the second book in a series set in rural Ireland, viewed through a decidedly unromantic lens. I know people who love Dublin Murder Squad tend to not like this series, but I did. I also think the character arcs will be more satisfying for those who read The Searcher first (my one beef is that French could have spent any amount of time listening to how people from Chicago talk to inform Cal's dialogue).
The dialogue in The Hunter crackles in this book, and I laughed out loud many times. This story explores how good and evil can take many forms, how you can both love and despise the place you call home, what the hunger for revenge can do to someone's moral compass, what it means to love someone enough to let them find their own way--or to stop them from being a dumbass, what people without power will do when pushed too far, and one of my favorite charming, manipulative villains (and I'm not talking about Johnny Reddy) - are all explored with French's deft touch. I hope she revisits these characters again, though I'm not sure my heart can take some of them going through what they do in this story again.
The dialogue in The Hunter crackles in this book, and I laughed out loud many times. This story explores how good and evil can take many forms, how you can both love and despise the place you call home, what the hunger for revenge can do to someone's moral compass, what it means to love someone enough to let them find their own way--or to stop them from being a dumbass, what people without power will do when pushed too far, and one of my favorite charming, manipulative villains (and I'm not talking about Johnny Reddy) - are all explored with French's deft touch. I hope she revisits these characters again, though I'm not sure my heart can take some of them going through what they do in this story again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
katiemack's review against another edition
4.0
I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I'm woefully late to reviewing this, but I did enjoy it! I haven't read Tana French in years but liked her Dublin Murder Squad series well enough, so I requested this one not realizing it was a sequel. I've had friends tell me they didn't care much for Cal Hooper in the first book and that the pacing is too slow; this features Trey more than Cal and clips along toward the end (though it drags a touch at the beginning as French establishes a sense of place), so those who didn't enjoy the first one might like the second. Oof; what a village...
I'm woefully late to reviewing this, but I did enjoy it! I haven't read Tana French in years but liked her Dublin Murder Squad series well enough, so I requested this one not realizing it was a sequel. I've had friends tell me they didn't care much for Cal Hooper in the first book and that the pacing is too slow; this features Trey more than Cal and clips along toward the end (though it drags a touch at the beginning as French establishes a sense of place), so those who didn't enjoy the first one might like the second. Oof; what a village...
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Death
cdkm9's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Good writing held back by the extremely slow pace. She does a great job with character development and painting the picture of life in this small town, but it doesn’t suck you in the way the books in her Dublin Murder series did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
aileron's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Gore, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse
dizzymisslizzy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Physical abuse
Minor: Torture
aprilthelibrarian's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Child abuse
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Out March 5 - thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free copy!
Rating: 5/5 stars
The sequel to THE SEARCHER and continuation of Cal Hooper’s story.
I am boldly calling it: this book will be my favorite of March and easily in my top ten of 2024. I absolutely LOVED it, from the found family to the small town to the added POVs expanding on the perspectives of characters I already loved from THE SEARCHER. So many small moments left me teary, and I gasped, grinned, and laughed more than once.
THE HUNTER is one of those books I won’t accept any criticisms of because it instantly meant so much to me in a single read. These characters have my entire heart, and this is the kind of book that is so perfectly and intricately crafted that I know I will reread it and only ever find additional things to love.
Could not possibly recommend this one any more than I already do, and I apologize in advance if I never shut up about it!
CW: Violence/death/injury; mild animal cruelty
Rating: 5/5 stars
The sequel to THE SEARCHER and continuation of Cal Hooper’s story.
I am boldly calling it: this book will be my favorite of March and easily in my top ten of 2024. I absolutely LOVED it, from the found family to the small town to the added POVs expanding on the perspectives of characters I already loved from THE SEARCHER. So many small moments left me teary, and I gasped, grinned, and laughed more than once.
THE HUNTER is one of those books I won’t accept any criticisms of because it instantly meant so much to me in a single read. These characters have my entire heart, and this is the kind of book that is so perfectly and intricately crafted that I know I will reread it and only ever find additional things to love.
Could not possibly recommend this one any more than I already do, and I apologize in advance if I never shut up about it!
CW: Violence/death/injury; mild animal cruelty
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Murder, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
tamarant4's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Her dad and Rushborough are the only weapons she has, or is ever likely to get, against this townland. They're locked and loaded, ready to her hand. She didn't go looking for them; something laid them in front of her ... [loc. 2389]
Second in the Cal Hooper series, this is set about two years after The Searcher. It's a long hot summer, drought laying waste to the Irish countryside. Cal is now in a relationship with Lena, though she refuses to let him make her responsible for his moods. Trey is still mourning her lost brother Brendan -- and still determined to avenge him, regardless of not knowing who caused his death. She wanders the mountain looking for Brendan's unmarked grave. Then Trey's father Johnny returns unexpectedly from England, with a fellow in tow who claims Irish blood and may even be related to some of the folk of Ardnakelty. And this fellow, Rushborough, believes that there's gold in the mountains...
The Hunter is told from several different viewpoints, of whom I think I liked Trey the best. Cal has more or less been accepted by his neighbours, but he's still struggling to negotiate the unspoken rules and unbreakable laws of the place. "Lack of clarity is this place's go-to, a kind of allpurpose multitool comprising both offensive and defensive weapons as well as broad-spectrum precautionary measures." [loc. 4334]. Neither Trey nor Cal has much reason to welcome Johnny, even before it becomes clear that Johnny is not being wholly honest about the reasons for his return.
I liked this more than The Searcher (though still not as much as the Dublin murder mysteries) especially as there's an underlying note of mystery, of the inexplicable. The emotions, the motivations, the everyday conflicts and the underlying bonds of Ardnakelty are splendidly portrayed, and there's a strong sense of a community layered with epic tales, no matter how small the canvas. This book should be read by anyone contemplating relocation to a quiet rural village. It's made me wonder how much I never understood about the place where I grew up...
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full honest review. UK publication date is 7th March 2024.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Misogyny
More...