The Hunter
A Novel
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4.3 • 1.3K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Bestseller • A New York Times Notable Book of 2024 • A New York Times Best Crime and Best Thriller Novel of 2024 • A Washington Post Best Thriller of 2024 • An NPR, New York Post, Chicago Sun-Times, and Globe and Mail Best Book of 2024 • A Wall Street Journal, Parade, and AirMail Best Mystery Book of 2024 • An Elle Best Mystery and Thriller Book of 2024
“Extraordinary.”—Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
“Hailed as the queen of Irish crime fiction, French spins a taut tale of retribution, sacrifice, and family.” —TIME
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Searcher and “one of the greatest crime novelists writing today” (Vox), a spellbinding new novel set in the Irish countryside.
It’s a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.
Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He’s found it, more or less: he’s built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he’s gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey’s long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn’t want protecting. What she wants is revenge.
From the writer who is “in a class by herself,” (The New York Times), a nuanced, atmospheric tale that explores what we’ll do for our loved ones, what we’ll do for revenge, and what we sacrifice when the two collide.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Rumors of treasure send a small Irish town into a frenzy in this gripping crime thriller. Retired Chicago police detective Cal Hooper is living a peaceful life as a carpenter in the west Irish village of Ardnakelty alongside his 15-year-old apprentice and surrogate daughter, Trey—at least until Trey’s absentee father, Johnny, shows up with a scheme to make everyone in town rich. When Johnny’s plan puts Trey in harm’s way, Cal must decide just how far he will go to protect someone he loves. As a follow-up to 2020’s The Searcher, Tana French has created a masterful slow-burn thriller, layering on the tension until an explosive finale we never saw coming. We were absolutely taken in by the atmosphere and colorful characters of Ardnakelty, whose complicated history and past rivalries amp up the drama. If you’re looking for gritty small-town crime fiction, your hunt is over.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Edgar winner French's slow-burn sequel to 2015's The Searcher underlines her knack for setting and character development. Teenager Trey Reddy is less than pleased by her ne'er-do-well father Johnny's unexpected return to the small Irish village of Ardnakelty to execute a get-rich-quick scheme he believes will finally enable him to provide for his family. On a recent visit to a London pub, Johnny claims to have spoken up when a stranger asked whether anyone present was from Ardnakelty; the man, Cillian Rushborough, then revealed to him that the village was home to a hidden trove of gold. Johnny's account is met with skepticism from Cal Hooper, the ex-Chicago cop who retired to the village and became a surrogate father to Trey after the events of The Searcher. Cal's suspicion proves warranted, and Rushborough's subsequent arrival in Ardnakelty sets in motion a series of crimes, including a murder, that upend Cal's and Trey's once peaceful existence. 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.
Customer Reviews
The Hunter
I have read all her books, I tell everyone if your looking for a look mystery interesting characters read her books. I like the story and the characters. I’m giving it only 4 stars, the reason for this, her other stories had great twist, the twist on this one was no big surprise.
Beautiful Description and a compelling story
Tana French’s The Hunter is a slow-burning, atmospheric sequel to The Searcher, set in the fictional Irish village of Ardnakelty. The novel follows retired Chicago cop Cal Hooper, his young protégé Trey Reddy, and his partner Lena as they navigate a tense situation sparked by the return of Trey’s estranged father, Johnny, and a dubious gold-mining scheme. The story delves into themes of revenge, loyalty, and the murky morality of small-town justice.
French’s writing features lyrical prose, rich character development, and vivid depiction of the Irish countryside. The novel focuses more on relationships and the rhythms of rural life than on traditional mystery elements, with Trey emerging as the emotional core of the story. I appreciated the layered storytelling and careful character development as well as how this story seamlessly picks up from where The Seeker left off.
Overall, The Hunter offers a contemplative exploration of human nature and community dynamics and is a wonderful depiction of how the population of a small agrarian Irish town ebbs and flows together.
I loved this book!
Fairly good read
This is a nice follow up book to the Searcher and fairly entertaining but didn’t pull my interest in completely. Some sections of the book weren’t realistic and I found myself skipping paragraphs. I’m glad I read this book but wanted to be entertained more.