The Hunter
A Novel
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4.3 • 902 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Bestseller • A New York Times Best Thriller of the Year (So Far) • An NPR Favorite Fiction Read of 2024 • Named a Best Beach Read of 2024 by Entertainment Tonight and Harper’s Bazaar
“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
Fantastic
The writing was incredible, especially bringing in the Irish ways of speaking and vocabulary. The characters were exceptional and the plot held many surprises. Great book!
The Hunter
Dull as ditchwater.
Fast read
Love the characters. Unexpected story. Can’t wait for the next one to be written.