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Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life: he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, he takes refuge at his family's ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden. As detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.
User reviews
LibraryThing member rosalita
Tana French steps away from her acclaimed Dublin Murder Squad series with a stand-alone literary mystery that is less a conventional whodunit than an extended riff on the vagaries of memory and the mutability of character and personality.
Toby is a 20-something social media manager for a Dublin art
Toby comes across as a classic unreliable narrator — but is he really? Is he hiding things from the reader, or are things hidden from both the reader and himself by his own mind? If you don't remember something, did it really happen? And who do you believe when you're presented with alternate versions of events that you were involved in but cannot remember for yourself? It's a fascinating puzzle, and French explores all the pieces of it as the answer to the murder mystery is slowly uncovered.
In the end, I found the resolution both satisfying and unsatisfying for a variety of reasons that I won't spoil here, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, which seems like a pretty good effect for a book to deliver.
Toby is a 20-something social media manager for a Dublin art
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gallery when he suffers a traumatic brain injury during a robbery. Even after his physical injuries have healed, he struggles with anxiety and his lack of memory of the attack. In an attempt to re-focus his attention outward, he and his girlfriend Melissa move into Ivy House as companions to his favorite uncle, Hugo, who has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. When a dead man is discovered on the property, the family has to cope with police intrusion and the veil of suspicion that falls on all of them.Toby comes across as a classic unreliable narrator — but is he really? Is he hiding things from the reader, or are things hidden from both the reader and himself by his own mind? If you don't remember something, did it really happen? And who do you believe when you're presented with alternate versions of events that you were involved in but cannot remember for yourself? It's a fascinating puzzle, and French explores all the pieces of it as the answer to the murder mystery is slowly uncovered.
In the end, I found the resolution both satisfying and unsatisfying for a variety of reasons that I won't spoil here, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, which seems like a pretty good effect for a book to deliver.
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LibraryThing member TheYodamom
How can I like a book when I disliked all the characters ? This book was so boring for 3/4 filed with mundane life experiences, moments of reflection and meh. A lot of words about a bunch of people who I cared not one speck for. The last 1/4 finally started to get some life, but i was already in
I listened on audio the narrator was really good.
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the "I could care less about any of these people" stage. I will admit there was a twisted twist that I never saw coming that was creative. Yeh, but I was not into it because who cares what happens to these crappy characters. This was a shelf surfing failure for me.I listened on audio the narrator was really good.
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LibraryThing member jnmegan
Self-involved, narcissistic and oblivious Toby Hennessy receives a harsh come-uppance in Tana French’s newest novel, The Witch Elm. This first-person narrative allows the reader to witness Toby’s transformation from an entitled jokester to a man shaken by events that cause him to question his
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morality and potential for cruelty. Toby works in PR at an art gallery when he is not out drinking with his friends or cuddled up with his wonderfully perfect and adoring girlfriend. After a typical night at the pub, Toby is awakened to the sound of strangers in his flat. When he surprises the burglars, Toby gets beaten so badly that he sustains a traumatic head injury that leaves him severely impaired. His recovery leaves him ashamed of his new limitations, and he soon sinks into a drug-hazed depression. His cousin suggests that Toby could use his medical leave to help their uncle, who is dying of cancer. Toby accedes to the plan when his girlfriend agrees to accompany him to his Uncle Hugh’s house, a long-time family estate and the location of many childhood memories. Toby struggles to manage his physical and mental difficulties but finds comfort in a new routine in the familiar surroundings. Their peace doesn’t last long, however. A skull is discovered in a tree on the grounds during a family meeting, leading to a disruptive and extensive police investigation. The evidence points to a potential murder that must have occurred during Toby’s adolescence, and he and other family members become the main suspects. Toby tries to do a bit of sleuthing, but his inquiries reveal some disturbing things about himself that he may have never realized or just can’t remember. Toby begins to distrust his family and his version of past events, leading him to question motives and suspect shared secrets. Tana French has an amazing ability to construct complete characters, making them so familiar with all their flaws and foibles. It is a testament to her talent that she can portray such an unlikeable character that believably evolves through her storytelling to become sympathetic. Much more than just an imaginative and well-plotted mystery, The Witch Elm is a study in the delusions brought about by privilege and entitlement. The author explores the theme of luck-by birth or circumstance-and whether experiences and/or nature allow certain people to avoid difficulties that would plague others. She addresses how small choices and purposeful ignorance can lead to a crisis of self. Fans of Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series will be delighted to see her talents sustained and expanded in this exceptional standalone addition to her work. Show Less
LibraryThing member librarian1204
A departure from the Dublin Murder Squad series has Tana French telling a very troubling story of the young up and coming publicist, Toby Hennessy.
Toby has the advantages, education, family background, girl friend and luck.
Until his luck runs out or does it?
Intense and unsettling, the plot follows
Beautifully written , atmospheric, a book that gives the reader much to ponder.
Toby has the advantages, education, family background, girl friend and luck.
Until his luck runs out or does it?
Intense and unsettling, the plot follows
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Toby as he experiences an assault that nearly kills him, through the months following as he recuperates at the family’s ancestral home, Ivy House, where the Wych elm dominates the back yard.Beautifully written , atmospheric, a book that gives the reader much to ponder.
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
This is the first book from French outside of her Dublin Murder Squad series. The pacing is slow, but the characters are captivating. The story is told from the POV of a suspect, Toby, rather than a detective. His Uncle Hal and his old Ivy house are wonderful. Once the novel settles into life there
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it really pulled me in. The story sometimes gets bogged down with its own twists but the writing makes it worth it. Not my favorite of her novels, but you can’t beat her atmospheric writing. Show Less
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
The witch elm sits at the bottom of the garden of the Dublin house once inhabited by Toby's grandparents. Now and during his teenage years, it has been lived in by Uncle Hugo, a gentle, easy-going man who allowed the teenage cousins, Toby, Susanna and Leon, to live there during the summer holidays
Toby is a young man with a job he loves, being in charge of PR for a prominent art gallery. He has an airy, modern flat, drives a BMW and has a girlfriend he adores. He's a charming guy who has always sailed through life until suddenly his luck changes, when he wakes one night to the sounds of intruders in his home.
Tana French takes her time setting the scene, developing the characters and their relationships with one another before she dives into the central mystery. She's less concerned with the crime than with how crime impacts the members of the Hennessy family, and especially Toby. While The Witch Elm lacks some of the heart and easy familiarity of her Dublin Murder Squad series, this is French's most skilled and complex novel to date and one well worth reading.
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and to hold parties. It's the place where the entire extended family gathers.Toby is a young man with a job he loves, being in charge of PR for a prominent art gallery. He has an airy, modern flat, drives a BMW and has a girlfriend he adores. He's a charming guy who has always sailed through life until suddenly his luck changes, when he wakes one night to the sounds of intruders in his home.
Tana French takes her time setting the scene, developing the characters and their relationships with one another before she dives into the central mystery. She's less concerned with the crime than with how crime impacts the members of the Hennessy family, and especially Toby. While The Witch Elm lacks some of the heart and easy familiarity of her Dublin Murder Squad series, this is French's most skilled and complex novel to date and one well worth reading.
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LibraryThing member Beamis12
3.5 In this rather lengthy stand alone, French again explores the sense of identity, as well as the question, How well do we really know another person? Three cousins, children of four brothers, who have all spent their summers, vacations from school at the house where their unmarried Uncle Hugh
So who is he now? He no longer feels like himself, far from the capable man he had thought he was. When a body is found in the old witch tree in his Uncle Hugh's garden, the Garda is notified. When it turns out t be someone they know, all come in suspicion, especially it seems Toby. The one Garda, reminded me so much of Peter Falk, playing Colombo. Dating myself I know. So the story goes,the very slow unraveling of a history of the characters. Intriguing story, well written as all of her novels are, the pace is very slow, and the pages long. One needs patience here, need to be in the mood for a slow burner. There are plenty of surprises, the characters interesting, myself I had a soft spot for Uncle Hugh, and the questions posed within, important ones.
More a character study than a thriller I believe, though there are a few action scenes. I enjoyed this, but not as much as some of her previous works. Have a soft spot for her Dublin murder squad.
ARC from Netgalley.
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lives. Grown up now, not as close as they once were, they all come together after Toby is attacked in his apartment and left for dead. Although he makes it, he has lingering effects from the attack, one being his memory which has huge holes, blank spaces. So who is he now? He no longer feels like himself, far from the capable man he had thought he was. When a body is found in the old witch tree in his Uncle Hugh's garden, the Garda is notified. When it turns out t be someone they know, all come in suspicion, especially it seems Toby. The one Garda, reminded me so much of Peter Falk, playing Colombo. Dating myself I know. So the story goes,the very slow unraveling of a history of the characters. Intriguing story, well written as all of her novels are, the pace is very slow, and the pages long. One needs patience here, need to be in the mood for a slow burner. There are plenty of surprises, the characters interesting, myself I had a soft spot for Uncle Hugh, and the questions posed within, important ones.
More a character study than a thriller I believe, though there are a few action scenes. I enjoyed this, but not as much as some of her previous works. Have a soft spot for her Dublin murder squad.
ARC from Netgalley.
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LibraryThing member ehines
Well-written as you'd expect from French. Interesting and complex characters. Different from many of her previous novels though. Not told from the perspective of the Murder Squad. And also constructed as a sort of parable about privilege. More-or-less, French is trying to do some work explaining
Neither novel is *just* a parable and neither is singularly fixated on the one issue, but the parable element is fairly strong in both.
For all its faults, Harper Lee's novel was a huge success in dramatizing the ugliness of racism and driving home to readers the injustice of a justice system and a social system built to ensure white dominance over blacks.
Behind Lee's parable were naked injustices. Long-running atrocities, really, which every reader should have been aware of without the novel.
Privilege, though, isn't just about recognizing injustice. It's about a specific way of figuring how injustice works. And frankly it's pretty thin as a explanatory mechanism even within a scenario built to illustrate it. From go we are told that the lead character is "lucky" and a lot of the novel is spend trying to illustrate that his luck is somehow associated with his being a white, middle-class, heterosexual male. But neither his luck nor his complete obliviousness nor his forgetfulness of the long-ago past ring true. The majority of the incidents meant to illustrate these characteristics seem imposed, and the characteristics themselves seem parodically exaggerated.
If privilege is a good way of figuring the way injustice gets perpetuated French faces a dilemma in trying to illustrate it: either she constructs a scenario as subtle as the reality of it would be, and thus risk most of her readers completely missing the point, or she creates an exaggerated scenario which causes people like me to question the veracity of the parable if it requires so much amplification to be effective.
I don't think the solution here is terribly good.
What is good is pretty much everything about the novel aside from the parable elements, so this is still a worthy read which I happily read to the last page.
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this concept within a mystery/thriller in much the same way as To Kill a Mockingbird sought to make us understand racism better within a courtroom drama.Neither novel is *just* a parable and neither is singularly fixated on the one issue, but the parable element is fairly strong in both.
For all its faults, Harper Lee's novel was a huge success in dramatizing the ugliness of racism and driving home to readers the injustice of a justice system and a social system built to ensure white dominance over blacks.
Behind Lee's parable were naked injustices. Long-running atrocities, really, which every reader should have been aware of without the novel.
Privilege, though, isn't just about recognizing injustice. It's about a specific way of figuring how injustice works. And frankly it's pretty thin as a explanatory mechanism even within a scenario built to illustrate it. From go we are told that the lead character is "lucky" and a lot of the novel is spend trying to illustrate that his luck is somehow associated with his being a white, middle-class, heterosexual male. But neither his luck nor his complete obliviousness nor his forgetfulness of the long-ago past ring true. The majority of the incidents meant to illustrate these characteristics seem imposed, and the characteristics themselves seem parodically exaggerated.
If privilege is a good way of figuring the way injustice gets perpetuated French faces a dilemma in trying to illustrate it: either she constructs a scenario as subtle as the reality of it would be, and thus risk most of her readers completely missing the point, or she creates an exaggerated scenario which causes people like me to question the veracity of the parable if it requires so much amplification to be effective.
I don't think the solution here is terribly good.
What is good is pretty much everything about the novel aside from the parable elements, so this is still a worthy read which I happily read to the last page.
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LibraryThing member pgmcc
The Wych Elm by Tana French 513 pages
I found this a well written murder mystery with realistic characters and an almost Gothic-in-a-modern-setting feel to it. There was an old family house; a family secret; an evil villain; a murder; and the threat of dungeons, well, prison cells.
The characters
Tana French does an excellent job of portraying the lives and attitudes of the families who have lived in the big old houses in the rich leafy suburbs that are now some of the most expensive real-estate in the country, and whose children are the fodder of the modern Millenial business world, people who believe they are indestructible and that rules and laws are for others.
I came to this book having just read two other murder mysteries, [47 Seconds] and [The Hunting Party]. As soon as I started reading [The Wych Elm] I knew I was dealing with an author whose writing skill was infinitely better than that of the authors of my earlier two reads.
I am giving this book 3.5 stars out of 5. For me a 3 represents a good book. 3.5 is praise indeed. I reserve 4 and above for books that teach me something and that I find to have interesting wordplay, or novel ideas and insights. [The Wych Elm] is a good read; it is an interesting murder mystery. I will read more books by Tana French, but I did not find myself making notes in the margin, putting comments in the back cover to remind me to go back to certain pages and reread wonderful ideas and phrases. This is the type of book I would read for a relaxing read. It is well written and entertaining and I will approach further Tana French books with that in mind. I would recommend it as a summer read.
I found this a well written murder mystery with realistic characters and an almost Gothic-in-a-modern-setting feel to it. There was an old family house; a family secret; an evil villain; a murder; and the threat of dungeons, well, prison cells.
The characters
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include professional, Dublin millennials, totally focused on having fun; their parents, who are well-to-do meaning the millennials are of the more privileged members of society; members (both uniformed and detectives) of An Garda Síochána (the Irish police force); a handful of less privileged members of society who would be, and are, looked down upon by the main characters; the Ivy House. The Ivy House is the family home that has been in the family for four generations. It has to be considered as a character in this tale as it is the hub of the story and is instrumental in defining the socio-economic status of the characters and their position in the privileged class.Tana French does an excellent job of portraying the lives and attitudes of the families who have lived in the big old houses in the rich leafy suburbs that are now some of the most expensive real-estate in the country, and whose children are the fodder of the modern Millenial business world, people who believe they are indestructible and that rules and laws are for others.
I came to this book having just read two other murder mysteries, [47 Seconds] and [The Hunting Party]. As soon as I started reading [The Wych Elm] I knew I was dealing with an author whose writing skill was infinitely better than that of the authors of my earlier two reads.
I am giving this book 3.5 stars out of 5. For me a 3 represents a good book. 3.5 is praise indeed. I reserve 4 and above for books that teach me something and that I find to have interesting wordplay, or novel ideas and insights. [The Wych Elm] is a good read; it is an interesting murder mystery. I will read more books by Tana French, but I did not find myself making notes in the margin, putting comments in the back cover to remind me to go back to certain pages and reread wonderful ideas and phrases. This is the type of book I would read for a relaxing read. It is well written and entertaining and I will approach further Tana French books with that in mind. I would recommend it as a summer read.
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LibraryThing member PatsyMurray
While Toby, the protagonist, and everyone around him are not pleasant to encounter, this book plunges you into a dark psyche that is only too familiar: the smart, confident young man who has had everything handed to him and is so certain he can control everything and everyone around him. It
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demonstrates what someone can do once they get the chain of events started, and yet how little they understand the potential outcomes. Life is not really a chess game. It's a depressing book, but one that rings horribly true, even if the events are over the top. If anything, that lack of realism is what allows you to keep reading and recognize the value of what French is trying to do here. Show Less
LibraryThing member PhilipJHunt
Perhaps it’s just me and my preferences, but this one didn’t grab me. There’s a LOT of character development combined with a plot that evolves glacially. It’s a big book: over 900 pages in my ebook reader. The plot is neatly tied up, but by page 916 I was just wanting it to be all over.
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
Tana French has been lauded for her writing and her "ingenious plotting" by people who know a lot more about those subjects than I do (like Stephen King) but I concur with that assessment. I've only read one other book by her but I intend to read more.
Toby has lived a charmed life--he's good
Remarkably good.
Toby has lived a charmed life--he's good
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looking, intelligent, charming and, above all, lucky. At the age of twenty-eight he has a great job as the public relations person for a Dublin art gallery, he has a girlfriend who he adores and who adores him, he's got good mates and a close family. He has no siblings but his two cousins, Leon and Susanna, are his age and because they spent each summer with their uncle Hugo in his huge old house while their parents vacationed together they are closer perhaps than siblings would have been. Then his life is torn asunder one night when Toby's flat is broken into and he is badly beaten by the robbers. He has continuing neurological problems which may or may not resolve over time. He is not fit for work and he is terrified of being alone in his apartment. So, when his cousin Susanna tells him that Uncle Hugo is dying of brain cancer and he could use someone to move in with him, Toby decides to give it a go. He convinces his girlfriend Melissa to move in with him and it all seems to be working well for everyone. One Sunday when the whole clan has gathered at Hugo's house for lunch Susanna's two youngsters make a terrifying discovery. They find a skull in a hollow in a big wych elm at the end of Hugo's garden. Soon the police are crawling all over the garden where they discover a complete skeleton which turns out to be a classmate of Toby and Leon's who went missing the summer after they graduated from school. Everyone assumed he had committed suicide because he got such bad marks he couldn't get into any post-secondary schools. Of course the police soon determine he was killed and put into the tree to hide him. Did Toby kill him? Some evidence seems to point to him. When you finally learn who the guilty party was you can see how deftly French set this up. And then there is a final little twist that will leave your head spinning.Remarkably good.
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LibraryThing member lauralkeet
After being violently attacked during a burglary in his apartment, the normally unflappable Toby is no longer able to spend nights alone. At his cousin Susanna’s request, he agrees to stay at his family’s ancestral home to look after his uncle Hugo, recently diagnosed with terminal brain
The victim turns out to be someone known to Toby and his cousins, but it’s hard to imagine how the skull ended up in the tree. Was it in any way related to the burglary and attack? The police investigation has so many twists that almost any character in the novel could have committed the crimes. Tana French kept the suspense on high from start to finish, bringing forward more than one plausible suspect with only the number of pages remaining as a clue to whether they were really “the one.”
I found Toby rather obnoxious and self-centered, but that made for the most interesting aspect of this novel. While the attack damaged Toby’s memory and made him an unreliable narrator, in a painfully emotional scene with cousins Susanna & Leon, they revealed how Toby’s white male privilege caused him to minimize, discard, or “forget” key events in their lives. This behavior turned out to be a significant contributing factor in the victim’s untimely death. While it took Tana French a long time (508 pages!) to wrap up all the loose ends in this book, there is much to admire and think about.
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cancer. And perhaps the time off from work and the peaceful setting will speed Toby’s recovery. But one afternoon during a family gathering a skull is discovered in the trunk of a wych elm tree in the garden, and the subsequent investigation throws the family into chaos.The victim turns out to be someone known to Toby and his cousins, but it’s hard to imagine how the skull ended up in the tree. Was it in any way related to the burglary and attack? The police investigation has so many twists that almost any character in the novel could have committed the crimes. Tana French kept the suspense on high from start to finish, bringing forward more than one plausible suspect with only the number of pages remaining as a clue to whether they were really “the one.”
I found Toby rather obnoxious and self-centered, but that made for the most interesting aspect of this novel. While the attack damaged Toby’s memory and made him an unreliable narrator, in a painfully emotional scene with cousins Susanna & Leon, they revealed how Toby’s white male privilege caused him to minimize, discard, or “forget” key events in their lives. This behavior turned out to be a significant contributing factor in the victim’s untimely death. While it took Tana French a long time (508 pages!) to wrap up all the loose ends in this book, there is much to admire and think about.
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LibraryThing member froxgirl
When a series writer switches up to a standalone novel, devoted readers get the willies: uh oh, what about [insert beloved characters here], and they tend to be wary and suspicious of the new. But since I worship at the altar of Tana French, she of the six exquisite Dublin Murder Squad mysteries, I
Quotes: “That spike of terror went through me again. He was like a raptor, not cruel, not good or evil, only and utterly what he was. The purity of it, unbreakable, was beyond anything I could imagine."
"If I had been some tracksuited skanger from a family of dole rats, the whole thing would have played out differently."
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put myself on the endless wait list at our library for The Witch Elm and was not disappointed. Sure, I missed the camaraderie of the detectives, but this one's got two of her standard smart-but-awful ones on the periphery. At the center is Toby, the epitome of a white privileged urban Dublin dudebro until he suffers both a work setback and a horrendous, seemingly random break-in and assault. His family sends him off to care for Uncle Hugo, a genealogist dying of cancer at Ivy House, the genteelly decaying family mansion. Even before Toby has even begun to recover, and as Hugo gets sicker, a skull is found in the garden, and we're off to the races. French is known for her many red herrings and her insertion of odd events that go nowhere, and both are strongly in evidence (ha!) here. And she hasn't lost a step. Some readers won't like the lack of likable characters, but that's also a French hallmark; they are always few and far between. But the gradual ratcheting up of the tension - you feel like a wet rag being twisted in strong hands throughout – glues the reader to the pages until the cascading series of denouements results in a rocky but satisfying ending.Quotes: “That spike of terror went through me again. He was like a raptor, not cruel, not good or evil, only and utterly what he was. The purity of it, unbreakable, was beyond anything I could imagine."
"If I had been some tracksuited skanger from a family of dole rats, the whole thing would have played out differently."
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LibraryThing member MM_Jones
Loved the book, but it easily could have been trimmed. The opening third was too long, too full of apparently unnecessary details, I almost gave up. It could well have started in the hospital with flashbacks. Great character study, who could do what & their motivation. Refreshing use of the
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unreliable narrator. But I wonder, do the better Dublin hospitals really have "flyspecked" mirrors and "sticky green" floors? Show Less
LibraryThing member diana.hauser
THE WITCH ELM by Tana French.
I eagerly awaited its publication. I was not so much disappointed as a bit confused.
Smooth-talker, happy-go-lucky, privileged Toby Hennessey is left for dead at the hands of two (seemingly random) burglars. As he tries to recover from near-fatal injuries, Toby
As the story progresses, Toby emerges as a bit of a selfish, mean-spirited, immature young man, who believes he is very lucky, charismatic and very deserving of all his privilege. Toby offers us a study in misguided, false perceptions of oneself.
The story is spooky and disarming and very clever. It is perplexing, chaotic and extremely devious. It centers on identity, on memory, on self-deception - with a very intimate look inside Toby’s mind.
The story (for me) was very unrealistic - all the conversations between Toby and the detectives; the inactivity of all the supposedly caring, over-protective parents; Uncle Hugo’s fragile grip on reality. I don’t really know these detectives - how they work, how they operate. I would not call this a police procedural at all. But the inconsistencies kept gnawing at me and diminishing the overall story. What ‘station’ do these detectives come from? No one seems to know (or care). Their banter, their discussions, their late-night visits to the Ivy House; their lack of supervision; their lack of search warrants; their bullying tactics; Uncle Hugo in a cell. Does any superior officer take note of this? Where are the privileged, educated parents? Hugo’s brothers?
The cousins make me cringe. And their circle of young school friends is deplorable.
This title is hard to pigeon-hole. Is it a mystery? Is it crime fiction? Is it suspense? Is it a psychological drama?
Yes to all of the above.
I eagerly awaited its publication. I was not so much disappointed as a bit confused.
Smooth-talker, happy-go-lucky, privileged Toby Hennessey is left for dead at the hands of two (seemingly random) burglars. As he tries to recover from near-fatal injuries, Toby
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doesn’t really know who he is anymore, who he was in the past and what he is now capable of.As the story progresses, Toby emerges as a bit of a selfish, mean-spirited, immature young man, who believes he is very lucky, charismatic and very deserving of all his privilege. Toby offers us a study in misguided, false perceptions of oneself.
The story is spooky and disarming and very clever. It is perplexing, chaotic and extremely devious. It centers on identity, on memory, on self-deception - with a very intimate look inside Toby’s mind.
The story (for me) was very unrealistic - all the conversations between Toby and the detectives; the inactivity of all the supposedly caring, over-protective parents; Uncle Hugo’s fragile grip on reality. I don’t really know these detectives - how they work, how they operate. I would not call this a police procedural at all. But the inconsistencies kept gnawing at me and diminishing the overall story. What ‘station’ do these detectives come from? No one seems to know (or care). Their banter, their discussions, their late-night visits to the Ivy House; their lack of supervision; their lack of search warrants; their bullying tactics; Uncle Hugo in a cell. Does any superior officer take note of this? Where are the privileged, educated parents? Hugo’s brothers?
The cousins make me cringe. And their circle of young school friends is deplorable.
This title is hard to pigeon-hole. Is it a mystery? Is it crime fiction? Is it suspense? Is it a psychological drama?
Yes to all of the above.
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LibraryThing member she_climber
My least favorite Tana French. It wasn't really a thriller, it really wasn't a psychological thriller, it really wasn't suspense, it wasn't really anything. It had such potential to be all these things but it was just a story that kept spinning and spinning around itself and never really came out
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anywhere. I kept waiting for a big Ah-ha! moment and it just really never came. She's got way too much good will built up with me though and I'll be right at the head of the line to buy her next book as soon as it comes out...hopefully back to the Dublin Murder Squad. Show Less
LibraryThing member maryreinert
Not my normal read, but heard the author interviewed and got interested enough to check it out. It's big and probably a bit too long. However, except for a few points where I found the characters totally disgusting, it was a good read.
Toby Hennesey was born into a loving and prosperous family, had
Unable to work, he moved into Ivy House, a family home, and lived with his beloved unmarried uncle Hugh. Ivy House was a place of great memories as Toby and his cousins Leon and Susanne had spent much time there. At a family gathering, Toby's six year old nephew climbs up a huge elm tree and discovers a human skull hidden in the hollow tree. Police later find an entire body which had probably been there at least ten years. The body was soon identified as Dominic, a teenage acquaintance.
The story gets very convoluted as police question the family; Toby, due to his brain injury, isn't sure what to believe about himself, his memories, or his cousins. Eventually, confessions are made to each other, Hugo passes away from brain cancer, and Toby is a mess totally unsure what to believe.
The writing in the book is excellent; the characters for the most part are believable but not likeable, especially Leon and Susanne. The ending however, is believable and many of the lose ends are tied up, but not so neatly as they are unbelievable. No one lives happily ever after, but no one is totally lost. Might actually seek out more by this author.
Toby Hennesey was born into a loving and prosperous family, had
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great childhood memories, had a good job, lovely girlfriend, and considered himself lucky. Until one night when his apartment was invaded and he was severely beaten up which caused a brain injury. Life went downhill and got very complicated after that. Unable to work, he moved into Ivy House, a family home, and lived with his beloved unmarried uncle Hugh. Ivy House was a place of great memories as Toby and his cousins Leon and Susanne had spent much time there. At a family gathering, Toby's six year old nephew climbs up a huge elm tree and discovers a human skull hidden in the hollow tree. Police later find an entire body which had probably been there at least ten years. The body was soon identified as Dominic, a teenage acquaintance.
The story gets very convoluted as police question the family; Toby, due to his brain injury, isn't sure what to believe about himself, his memories, or his cousins. Eventually, confessions are made to each other, Hugo passes away from brain cancer, and Toby is a mess totally unsure what to believe.
The writing in the book is excellent; the characters for the most part are believable but not likeable, especially Leon and Susanne. The ending however, is believable and many of the lose ends are tied up, but not so neatly as they are unbelievable. No one lives happily ever after, but no one is totally lost. Might actually seek out more by this author.
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LibraryThing member Doondeck
Very well written but it took a long time to get resolution to the plot. I thought the ending was more of an add-on than was necessary to finish the story. I hope she goes back to the Dublin Murder Squad.
LibraryThing member dcoward
I couldn't get into this suspense novel with it's unlikable main character.
LibraryThing member nivramkoorb
This is my 4th Tana French novel and the first outside her Dublin Detective Squad books. I do not read a lot of crime/mystery books but French has excellent prose and does a good job on character development. Her plots are good but not always that twisted. This book is over 500 pages and has way
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too many dead spots and could have done with a good editing. You really don't want to give away too much when reviewing a plot driven book. The main character Toby is the sole narrator and French uses that to make the reader question how accurate his description of events are . The book starts out with Toby, a 28 year old upper middle class PR guy living in Dublin. He has a good job, friends, family, and girl friend. It is all shattered when he confronts burglars in his apartment and suffers severe injuries. This diminishes his memory so we question more his narrative. Eventually he and his girl friend Melissa go their families estate occupied by life long bachelor Uncle Hugo who has terminal brain cancer. A skeleton is discovered in an elm in the garden and the plot goes on from there. The beginning of the book was slow but I raced through the last half and found it a good read. It was interesting to see the detectives approach to the crime and also the class distinctions in terms of how criminals get treated. If you have never read French then this is not the book I would start with. Anything from her Dublin Squad series is a better place to begin. If you like crime novelists with a literary bent, then try Tana French. Show Less
LibraryThing member sberson
One of the best she has written. Not a Dublin police story- a stand-alone novel. Great depth in character description and plot.
LibraryThing member Amysuzannej
Toby, the main character, was tough because he kept saying how nice he was but he just told this one lie or he just said this one awful thing, He reminded me of the main character of a book I was forced to read in college: The Stranger by Albert Camus. The book would have been great if only the
This book is a great mystery with some interesting turns and some perceptions about how we think we protect people. I loved it. And Toby is a twerp.
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main character had been a decent guy ;-)This book is a great mystery with some interesting turns and some perceptions about how we think we protect people. I loved it. And Toby is a twerp.
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LibraryThing member auntmarge64
What a disappointment after all of French's previous titles. I read to the end, expecting some reward, but even the final dramatic moments were dulled by that time by the book's unnecessary length (by at least a third) and the main character's endless musings. Where or where was her editor? - or is
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she such a big name now no one will correct her? Very average. Show Less
LibraryThing member mojomomma
Toby survives an attack by burglars only to become embroiled in another mystery when he goes to stay with his failing uncle. His brain injury from the buglery doesn’t permit him to remember his last summer at his uncle’s house before he left for college. How did the skeleton of his school
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friend end up in the trunk of his uncle’s hollow elm tree? Show Less
Awards
Irish Book Award (Nominee — Crime Fiction — 2019)
NPR: Books We Love (2018)
Boston Globe Best Book (2018)