The Hunter is the second book in the Cal Hooper series by award-winning Irish author, Tana French. After some two years fixing up his dilapidated house near Ardnakelty in the west of Ireland, ex-Chicago cop, Cal Hooper is settling in, happy with the contrast to city life: “being boring is among Cal’s main goals. For most of his life, one or more elements always insisted on being interesting, to the point where dullness took on an unattainable end-of-the-rainbow glow. Ever since he finally got his hands on it, he’s savoured every second.”

His renovation is coming along, the villagers seem to tolerate him, Lena Dunne regularly shares his bed, and Trey, now fifteen, is building her furniture-restoring skills under his watch. His discreet, low-key care has a positive effect on her academic performance and her social acuity. For Trey, Cal’s place has peace, while at home “Their mam is silent, but it’s not a silence with peace in it. It takes up space, like some heavy thing made of rusted iron built around her”

Then her four-year-absent father, Johnny Reddy turns up. Cal sizes him up: “a type he’s encountered before: the guy who operates by sauntering into a new place, announcing himself as whatever seems likely to come in handy, and seeing how much he can get out of that costume before it wears too thin to cover him up any longer.”

Johnny invites a select few farmers to hear about a scheme guaranteed to put money in their pockets: a wealthy Londoner they are soon referring to as a Plastic Paddy, who claims a connection to the village, has a tale from his granny of gold in the ground. The Reddy family’s poor reputation ensures that many start out sceptical, but meeting the very posh Cillian Rushborough convinces them they can pull it off.

The likelihood of actual gold being low, Cal is quickly convinced there’s more to it all than what Reddy is saying: just who is scamming whom?

“The main talent Cal has discovered in himself, since coming to Ardnakelty, is a broad and restful capacity for letting things be. At first this sat uneasily alongside his ingrained instinct to fix things, but over time they’ve fallen into a balance: he keeps the fixing instinct mainly turned towards solid objects, like his house and people’s furniture, and leaves other things the room to fix themselves.”

Against his usual instincts, Cal gets involved, if just to keep an eye on where things are going, to make sure there’s no backlash on Trey when things go pear-shaped, as they inevitably will.

Each processing events in their own way, Trey and Cal and Lena aren’t sharing all they know, out of misguided concern or uncertainty, each trying to protect or not worry the other. Each acts according to their own agenda, sometimes at crossed purposes. Trey sees the opportunity for a kind of justice she’s longed for to be served. And then, one of the new arrivals is murdered…

Once again, French provides a slow burn tale in which readers can immerse themselves in gorgeous descriptive prose such as: “the fields sprawl out, a mosaic of varying greens in oddangled shapes that Trey knows as well as the cracks on her bedroom ceiling” and “Summer air wanders in and out of the window, bringing the smells of silage and clover, picking up sawdust motes and twirling them idly in the wide bars of sunlight” and “This barely even feels like a conversation, just a series of stone walls and briar patches.”

Also: “The house got a fresh coat of butter-coloured paint and some patches to the roof a couple of years back, but nothing can paper over its air of exhaustion. Its spine sags, and the lines of the window frames splay off-kilter. The yard is weeds and dust, blurring into the mountainside at the edges”

The dialogue as written easily evokes the Irish brogue, while the banter is often blackly funny: at one stage, Cal is surprised to find himself engaged, and the pub scene is very entertaining. The quirky cast from the first book, including those smart and amusing rooks, still appeal, and the reader’s investment in the main protagonists is amply rewarded.

This instalment is cleverly plotted with enough turns in the story to keep the reader thoroughly intrigued. While this sequel can be read as a stand-alone, there are some spoilers for the first book, and why would one deny themselves the pleasure of reading that one first? Brilliant Irish crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Penguin UK.

The Searcher, Tana French’s previous “Irish Western” following ex-Chicago cop Cal Hooper and his arrival in a small Irish village was written as a standalone novel - but the best-selling author sensed the characters weren’t quite done, and we’re all the luckier for it. Don’t miss this chance to spend another chunk of time in rural Ireland in the company of retired Cal, his not-quite-girlfriend Lena, and heartbreakingly-real local teenager Trey Reddy. The trio have reached a sort of easy equilibrium since the tumultuous events surrounding ‘blow-in’ Cal’s arrival (the subject of the previous book in the series, which you don’t need to have read to enjoy this book) and have formed an unconventional family unit. Cal is begrudgingly adjusting to small village life, where everything and everyone is connected in ways he cannot hope to understand. Cal and Trey spend their days restoring old furniture together, smoothing and sanding old wood back to life, while Lena and Cal are getting comfortable, loping between houses in an unspoken arrangement that suits them both fine. The trio are most often to be found enjoying the balmy summer evenings sat on Cal’s porch, eating homemade pizza and laughing at their dogs’ antics. But this season, the heat dials up a notch to scorch the village with an unexpected heatwave – and as all good Westerns have taught us, high noon brings trouble. Trey’s long-absent, no-good-father suddenly rolls back into town with a rich English friend in tow and a crazy scheme to rinse that Englishman for all he’s worth. The villagers – desperate for change, both from their lives and the relentless heat – are all ears. Even law-abiding Cal gets involved, determined not to let the scheme upset Trey’s hard-won peace. Yet Trey has other ideas: beneath the teenager’s cool exterior lies plans for revenge. As they say, still waters run deep. The characters are compelling enough, but the book’s setting is another huge draw. Returning to the rugged, ferocious, unrelentingly beautiful landscape of West Ireland is clearly a delight for French: her prose captures the magic of the imperious mountains, sparkling golden fields and babbling brooks – which may or may not have pots of gold concealed within their waters, depending on who you listen to.

Review in March issue of Cambridge Edition magazine

I received an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin General, and the author Tana French.
I'm afraid this one felt like a long slog. Although it had some interesting elements, it was frustratingly slow and simply not engaging enough to warrant so many pages. Well written, but I was desperate for it to end so I could move onto something else. A generous 3 stars.

The Hunter is set on the West Coast of Ireland ,beautifully written and atmospheric I almost felt I was there .Cal is a retired Chicago PD finding the peace he craves when Johnny breezes back after 4 years away and threatens to create chaos and disturb his well earned peace .This is a slow burner with a surprising ending .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

4.5★
“Johnny Reddy has always struck Cal as a type he’s encountered before: the guy who operates by sauntering into a new place, announcing himself as whatever seems likely to come in handy, and seeing how much he can get out of that costume before it wears too thin to cover him up any longer.”

Retired Chicago cop Cal Hooper has been living near the tiny Irish village of Ardnakelty for a couple of years now, restoring old furniture, growing veggies, and trying to strike a balance between keeping to himself and mixing with the locals enough not to seem too foreign.

In Cal’s previous story, The Searcher, he ended up with a misfit young teen, Trey, as an offsider. For a long time Cal assumed she was a boy. Her clothes, her unkempt hair and her silent manner were all boyish, the product of an unhappy, poor home up on the mountain.

“Two years ago, when she first showed up in his back yard, she was a scrawny, silent kid with a self-inflicted buzz cut and a half-grown bobcat’s urge towards both flight and fight. Now she’s up to his shoulder, the buzz cut has relaxed into a rough crop, her features are getting a new clarity, and she rummages and sprawls around his house like she lives there.”

Trey (Teresa) is now 15, still boyish, but becoming a sometimes cynical, know-it-all teen. After promising not to seek revenge, Cal told Trey what had happened to her older brother, Brendan, who had disappeared, but Trey didn’t tell her family. Mum and the kids all behave as if he has run off to London and will come home one day, the same as their daddy did.

Instead, it’s her father, Johnny Reddy who turns up, bringing another man from London, who says he is following up his long-lost local heritage and has something of a treasure map he wants help with. GOLD?! Music to a poor Irish farmer’s ears.

As the opening quotation shows. Cal’s got Johnny’s number. Trey seems to be torn between hating her father for having deserted them and wanting his approval. Johnny plays his part beautifully – the head of the family, whose return has been so long awaited - and he expects their respect and help.

“ Johnny tells a story well, with the air of a man with a pint in his hand and a night of good company ahead.
. . .
He beckons with his head to Trey and arranges himself comfortably, leaning his arms on the barred metal gate. Trey’s dad likes being comfortable, and he’s good at it; he can make anywhere look like he belongs there.”

In spite of her promise to Cal, Trey is determined to get revenge for Brendan, even using her father’s scheme if necessary.

“It seems laden with too many things that a kid Trey’s age is incapable of knowing, even if he could explain them to her: the full weight and reach of choices, how unthinkingly and how permanently things can be forfeited. She’s much too young to have something the size of her future in her hands.”

I can see French’s characters, imagine gossipy Noreen, standing on the stool in her shop, trading secrets as she dusts, while Tom Pat sits and watches and Trey shops for smokes for her dad and eggs for her mum.

Cal and widow Lena are now an item, almost defacto parents to Trey, although Lena remains very independent and lives in her own home.

When confronted, Lena tells Cal’s neighbour Mart to stop calling Cal a blow-in. Cal is her man and she’s a local and that’s that. He is one of them now. French describes Mart’s response perfectly.

“Mart’s eyes flick over her, not in the mindless way a man assesses a woman, but with thought behind them. It’s the way he might assess a sheepdog, trying to prise out its capabilities and its temperament, whether it might turn vicious and how well it would come to heel. “

The atmosphere is unusual for Ireland – a very hot, dry summer with nary a drop of rain, and it’s a constant topic of conversation. They aren’t used to the heat, which is such a central character in so many stories from other countries.

The Emerald Isle is a little dusty, but the language and the place and the story are totally Irish - the twisty paths through the woods around treacherous hidden bogs where you can bury anything.

There was a point in the middle where it felt to me as if it dragged, and I was beginning to wonder where it was going, then, suddenly, action! I was taken by surprise, and after that, the story barrelled along.

It’s a great read. It’s been a fair while since I read The Searcher, but French fills in enough background that we know who the characters belong to, and this story is otherwise separate from the previous book.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Viking for the copy for review of #TheHunter.

An exceptionally crafted story that unfolds gradually with subtle intricacies, delving into themes of betrayal and revenge while exploring the profound dynamics of loyalty and friendship. The characters authentically capture the essence of a tight-knit rural community's dynamics while French’s writing submerges readers to the Irish countryside. Great read.

ARC provided for honest review. #The Hunter by Tana French. #NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another well-written by Tana French, I didn't like this one as much as some of her earlier books, but a good read nonetheless.

For those who read The Searcher, you’ll be pleased to know that Cal Hooper is back with a motley crew of neighbours and friends. Now in a relationship with local woman Lena – certainly someone who isn’t afraid to live life as she wishes – Cal has settled in to life in the west of Ireland village. He and teenage Trey restore furniture and while it’s not something every teen would be interested in, she enjoys the quiet time with her ally. That is until Trey’s father returns to town, with a new friend in town, and with even bigger ideas. Cal is willing to do whatever is necessary to protect Trey – but does she want to be protected? If you said the novel was set a century ago, I’d believe you. It has a timelessness that will appeal and the plot scurries along, taking pauses when it needs to. This is a very accomplished read and the skill lies in knowing when to have quieter moments in the story. I was absorbed by it.

The Hunter by Tana French is a direct sequel to her 2015 release , The Searcher and reunites the reader with former detective Cal Hooper and his unlikely teenage protegee Trey, a half wild teenager whose bond with Cal is the heart of the book. Three years have passed and Cal has settled into his new home in the West of Ireland, Trey has matured (a little) and is doing better at school and at home. When Trey's absent father returns unexpectedly to disrupt the lives of the family he left behind and play a fast one on several members of the local community Cal is determined not to let Trey get caught up in the fall out, no matter what it takes. Of course Trey is sure she can take care of herself, but soon finds herself out of her depth.
This is a slow burn character driven story, and I was delighted to spend more time with Cal and Trey having previously loved The Searcher. It was interesting to see the growth in both characters and to see how much more settled in Cal seemed in his new home. Once again I think the author did an exceptional job of capturing rural life and the eccentric characters that can be found in such areas the length and breadth of the country. While the pacing of the book may be slow, I enjoyed the way that that allowed the tension to build. So much of the story is hinted at through character conversations, a clever and engaging way of making sure the reader pays attention.
Tana French has once again crafted a captivating and compelling story, one that many readers will enjoy.
I read and ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I hadn't realised that this was a follow up to "The Searcher" and it took me a while to register that I recognised the characters! When I looked back at my review I'd been quite ambivalent about the first book, but I really loved this one.
Ms French has written a real slow-burner allowing the reader to get to know the characters, their relationships and the countryside they live in and love. The tension, and there is a lot, builds up gradually and therefore feels more believable and the actions of the characters more nuanced.
I would recommend reading "the searcher" first as it helps to understand the back story, particularly that of Brendan.
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Books for an advance copy of this book

Thugh it's a stand-alone story, this takes us back to the small Irish community of Ardnakelty where retired US cop has made his home, and befriended Trey, a near feral teenager with great potential. Now just as he;s getting somewhere with her, her worthless father returns with a no-good scheme to rook the townsfolk. Both Cal and Trey get caught up in his machinations - but each has their own agenda. It could all end in tragedy, as the folks of Ardnakelty once again prove they won't tolerate outsiders interfering with their business, nor their own folk trying to betray them.
This was another superb story from Tana French. The familiar characters continue to grow and develop, while new ones are introduced, all wholly authentic. The rich atmosphere of an Irish community shines through in the description and dialogue, without ever making the folk look like country bumpkins. They stay sharp, and dangerous, and there tension on every page, along with dry humour and an unfolding story plotted with depth and precision.
French doesn;t need murder and mystery to make her stories irrestistible, but their introduction adds to the suspense and drama of a book that is already rich in both. I loved it.

4.5🌟 The Hunter is beautifully written, dark and brooding & deeply atmospheric. It starts out at a seeming slow pace, and then you find its hurtling towards a conclusion that you don’t see coming. Which is totally the kind of story I like….

Ardnakelty & Ireland are experiencing a hot, dry summer is afflicting. People are struggling, everyone seems close to breaking point... Then Johnny Reddy (Trey’s father) comes strolling back into town. He has big plans and a business partner who’s going to make it all happen, and this gives the townsfolk glimpses of hope. Cal is protective of Trey and wary and distrusting of Johnny. He’s not sure what Johnny’s mixed up in or why he’s back in town, his cop instincts are strong and he smells a con in the air. Johnny’s reappearance causes a shift in Cal and Trey’s relationship. Cal wants to protect Trey from her father. Trey doesn’t want protection, what she wants is revenge. It’s clear from the moment Johnny Reddy sets foot in this town that the peace in Ardnakelty has been disturbed…

Cal Hooper has now been in the village for over two years and things seem to have settled down. He and Lena are rubbing along nicely and he and Trey's carpentry skills are in demand.
When Trey's father suddenly returns to the village with a moneymaking scheme, Cal's trouble antenna are at full twitch.
I enjoyed reading this, not just for the story, but also for the feeling that I was part of the plot, so engrossing is the tale.

Tana French is such a clever writer. This is an intricate, atmospheric, complex, slow-burn novel with a wonderful sense of place. Quietly compelling, it slowly draws you in and then rachets up the tension. As ever from Tana French, a hugely satisfying read.

I loved this book. The author revisits the village of Ardnakelty in rural western Ireland, during a prolonged and very unusual heatwave. We take up the story of ex- detective from USA, Cal, and the teenager Trey that he has befriended, some two years on. Trey is as prickly and unpredictable as ever, Cal is more settled and integrated into his life in the village. All is thrown into jeopardy by Johnny, Trey’s feckless father, who reappears into the lives of his family and villagers, accompanied by a ‘posh’ Englishman, who is far from what he seems.
Thus follows the very slow burn story of a mad money- making scheme, followed by a murder, and the arrival of the police from Dublin, headed by a very dogged, determined detective.
The characters are very nuanced, and typified by impenetrable conversations that Cal has with Mart, the leader of the male members of the village who frequent the pub. There are some very amusing exchanges amongst the villagers, but as the story goes on, the conversations become more dense, with a sinister underlying tone of menace. I feel that the exchanges between Cal and Mart are a tad overdone at times, and go on too long. So much is implied, but never spoken outright.
The tensions and conflicts that are bubbling away just below the surface of village life, feel ready to spill over at any moment, with who knows what result. The characterisation is impeccable, and the writing captivating.
The author is a great storyteller, and the descriptions of the countryside are so evocative. The unrest and heightened tension due to the oppressive heat are so well conveyed, and the last few chapters were unputdownable for this reader.
The tension builds deliciously. I really enjoyed this book,
I would advise reading The Searcher first, if possible, to get the maximum enjoyment from this novel, I recommend both books.
I will now look for her Dublin detective series, which is highly rated too. It’s great to find a new series by an excellent author.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

I loved The Searcher which first introduced us to Cal, Lena and Trey and though you don’t need to read it first, it is well worth doing so to give you a sense of the people of Ardnakelty, a small rural community in the West of Ireland.

Cal Hooper is a veteran cop, retired after 25 bruising years in the Chicago Police Department where he saw first-hand everything that was wrong with contemporary policing. He’s had his fill of brutality from his colleagues and of seeing kids on the streets who don’t believe him when he says Black Lives Matter. Cal’s been through a hard divorce and though he loves his daughter wholeheartedly, has taken himself out of the country and bought a tumbledown cottage in Ardnakelty, a small rural community in the West of Ireland. There he has made friends with a local urchin named Trey.

Cal and Trey are slowly ambling along; not just pals but co-workers. Cal has taught Trey the basics of carpentry and more and together they work on furniture restoration, earning Trey money her family desperately needs.

Trey likes Lena, Cal’s girlfriend and together the three like and trust each other, but respect that each needs their own space and privacy.

Trey still wants to find her brother, Brendan and she is certain that one day, she will. In the meantime, she is content. But all that changes when her father comes home. Johnny Reddy has been away from home for years and it’s safe to say that no-one but Trey’s younger siblings have missed him. A man who is always in the midst of some scam or other, he looks out for no-one but himself and his return to Ardnakelty brings nothing but trouble.

The beauty of Tana French’s narrative arc here lies not so much in the fine plotting, which is of course, excellent, but in the way she shows us through the characters what lies unspoken. Hints and nuance, speaking in parables, is how the men get their message across. It’s subtle, but it’s also ugly.

Under French’s wonderful descriptions of the Irish rural landscape and the mask of the laconic locals who seem to be all affability, lies a series of unpalatable truths which have their roots in the political and economic landscape of the harsh rural economy of Ireland.

There’s more going on below the surface and for every friendly gesture, there’s a delicate hint of something else as well. That sense of a small town atmosphere turning from quaint to something altogether more claustrophobic and unsettling is part of what makes this book so fascinating.

The sun is beating down and everyone is tired and hot, hoping rain will come and save their crops. Told in multiple voices this is a story about how Johnny Reddy brings exploitation to his village and seeks to work a scam on those he grew up with. Johnny’s return creates waves and gets some of the locals excited; it also creates an opportunity for Trey. An opportunity she takes, never really thinking through the consequences.

Verdict: Tana French’s novel is superbly written. You come for the slow burn, for the dialogue that is so well written that it brims with subtlety and nuance and the silences that speak volumes. This is a book about betrayal and revenge but also about loyalty and friendship. Don’t come just for the crime; come for the atmosphere, the characterisation, the immersive countryside and its characters and the beautiful portrayal of what it means to be an outsider in a small rural community.

A beautifully atmospheric book that portrays western Ireland so well that I feel as if I know the place. Following on from the previous novel, The Searcher, this story follows a retired American police officer, a local woman and romantic interest, and a teenaged girl who is mentored by the American.

Life is plodding along in the small rural Irish farming community and the eccentric characters are vividly portrayed. Then two men arrive and everything changes. One is an Englishman with claims of Irish heritage and the other is the teenger's previously absent father. They present the locals with a money making scheme in the form of digging up ancient gold. Some are suspicious of the plan, others trusting while others change their minds. The locals are full of conspiracy theories, too.

This book has a great sense of place and it makes an enjoyable read, although really it is a tad too long in terms of plot but I enjoy reading the brilliant writing of the author to make it an official complaint. The characters are intricate and wonderful and their relationships with their dogs is totally heartwarming. The melodious manner of the Irish dialect is portrayed well without spoiling the flow of the story or making it difficult to understand. A sign of a great writer.

A story about belonging and how vengeance can disrupt lives without being the resolution. A beautifully evocative tale, full of suspense and wonderfully intricate characters written by a brilliant author. Recommended.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin General UK for an advance copy of The Hunter, the second novel to feature retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper and teenager Trey Reddy set in the fictional village of Ardnakelty in the West of Ireland.

Trey’s father, Johnny, returns to the village with a rich Englishman, who is eager to find the gold his Irish grandmother told him about. This stirs up trouble and Cal, a surrogate father to Trey is determined to protect her at all costs.

I enjoyed The Hunter, which is a long, slow meander through the politics of village life with a murder thrown in for good measure. I don’t even know how to describe the novel as there is a lot going on beneath the surface and it can be a bit too elliptical at times, leaving the reader to guess at the nuances.

Events start with the talk of gold. Cal smells a con, especially when Johnny doesn’t want him involved, but it gets complicated for him Trey wants to get involved. It seems that everyone has their own agenda and nobody is talking, notably Trey. Then there is the murder, well after the half way mark, and that brings out lies, threats, agendas and the Guards.

This is mostly a novel about Trey and her agenda, complicated by Carl’s desire to protect her and a village ready to protect itself. For this reason it would be helpful for any reader to have read the previous novel, The Seeker, first as that contains the seeds of her agenda. There is no doubt that she is an odd character and is so determined on her course that it’s difficult to warm to her. Of course much of the misunderstanding could have been avoided if she and Cal had talked, but he is strangely diffident about that. Secondary to her agenda is the way life is managed in Ardnakelty. The main priority is protection of the long term residents, but how that is achieved changes constantly with how people go along with the current thinking. It is fascinating to read, but rather nebulous (or I’m just too thick to grasp it).

The Hunter is a good read that I can recommend.

I loved this just as much as The Searcher. This feels like the stripped back deeply observant and emotional prose of someone like Strout, only throw in a crime.

Cal, Trey and Lena are still the same wonderful characters we met before but two years on things have gotten more comfortable. Until a familiar face shows up in town and brings trouble for our favourites.

The intricacies of small town politics, of belonging to a place versus buying land, of gossip and revenge all show themselves large as life in this story that is well plotted and moving.

The prose is once again vibrant and the dialogue is second to none - if this were to be adapted a screenwriter would have an easier time of it than usual.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in the Cal Hooper series, and it was another fantastic read!

Life is good for Cal. He relocated to a small village in the west of Ireland two years ago, and the locals are beginning to accept him. He is in a stable relationship with Lena, and his friendship with the 15-year-old Trey has significantly helped her come out of her shell. Life is good, but then Trey's father, Johnny Reddy, who has been absent for four years, unexpectedly reappears—and with him, a great deal of trouble.

Johnny is a cunning individual who has always had a few schemes in mind.
He is accompanied by a sophisticated English gentleman seeking gold in their valley. However, what are their true intentions?

Suddenly, the peaceful existence Cal was enjoying is shattered. How will this impact Trey and her relationships with Cal and her parents?

Similar to the first book in the series, this is a gradual narrative, so do not anticipate a quick read. The writing is highly descriptive and evocative, and the characters are well-developed.

Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.