by Tana French ★★★★☆
When I was reading Tana French's previous novel, The Searcher, I got about 80 pages in and went back to read the description, because there was still no discernible conflict, and other than a retired American cop trying to find his place in a small Irish town, I wasn't sure where it was going. It was unlike any of French's previous novels -- as I said at the time, "by the end of chapter 1, there’s usually a body and you know what you’re in for". This distinct shift in style -- one that focused more on building tension than unraveling a mystery -- differed from expectations, but it's an approach I came to appreciate more as time went by.
It should come as no surprise that The Hunter, French's follow-up to The Searcher, employs a similar approach. Once again, there is a lot of setup, perhaps even more than what we had in The Searcher. The general premise of the novel revolves around Johnny Reddy, the father of Trey, the high schooler that main character Cal Hooper (the retired cop) befriends in The Searcher. Johnny never made an appearance in The Searcher -- he'd "done a runner", as they say, years prior, and left his wife Sheila to care for their five kids in a small home up on the mountain. Johnny comes rolling back into town, after having been gone for almost three years. He's a talker and a charmer, and before long he has half the town spun up about a potential get-rich-quick scheme. Johnny's also a scammer, something a lifelong cop like Cal can smell a mile away.
It's a slow burn-in, but an important one that is key to establishing what is truly the main character of the novel: the town of Ardnakelty. It's a novel more about the intricate relationships and dynamics in a small Irish town than it is about solving a murder. But fear not: there is (eventually) a murder, and given the dynamics of the town, literally anyone could be responsible. The town, as a composite character, has its own motivations, quirks, and unpredictabilities. It very much has a pack mentality, and survival of the whole trumps the survival of any one individual. Group think is on display, and a few tastemakers in town have the ability to manipulate a narrative that, seemingly overnight, the entire town comes to know and adopt. The truth is what the town decides is the truth.
In a world that feels like it becomes a little more individualistic every day, it's an interesting look into a very different social dynamic. Cal, as an outsider (despite being there for more than two years, he will always be an outsider), is our conduit in, and as he learns how the town works, so does the reader. Witnessing the town's controlled spread of information and manipulation of what is accepted to be true is a fascinating and thought-provoking look at a different approach to controlling the narrative. It's not a stretch to draw comparisons between the town tastemakers and the role of the mainstream media and social media in doing the same thing on a far broader scale.
If you're looking for a by-the-book whodunit, this is not it. The pace is deliberate, but the tension gradually starts building in the middle of the novel and doesn't let up until the final page. It's one that will make you think, and like The Searcher, one I am finding myself appreciating more as time passes. It's a borderline 5-star book for me, and I may bump up the ranking in the future, but regardless, it's another really strong effort from French.