Search This Blog









2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (2)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (18)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (5)
- Maryland (3)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (4)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (2)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (16)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (4)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (2)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (4)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (6)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (2)
- (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Barbados (1)
- Canada (9)
- Chile (1)
- England (26)
- France (2)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Nigeria (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (3)
- South Korea (1)
- Sweden (1)
- The Netherlands (2)
- Ukraine (1)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Friday, November 16, 2018
French's Newest Slower, More Meditative, But Compelling Nonetheless
6:48 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
A charmer with an uncanny knack for lucking his way out of every scrape, 28-year-old Toby Hennessy is celebrating his latest near-miss when his luck finally runs out. When he surprises a pair of thieves in the act of robbing his flat, Toby is beaten and left for dead. Although he survives, he suffers a traumatic brain injury that results in debilitating anxiety and panic attacks. Needing a change of scenery, Toby flees Dublin for the Ivy House, his ancestral home in the country.
Toby's idyllic country retreat is shattered when a skull is discovered inside a witch elm on the property. When the remains are identified and motives are ascertained, Toby is left with a mystery to solve. With the help of two cousins with whom he grew up, he tries to make sense of his past, a prospect that is suddenly much grimmer and perplexing than he ever thought. His closest friends and relatives are keeping damning secrets—can Toby uncover the truth they're hiding? Does he even want to?
As much as I love the Dublin Murder Squad series by Irish crime writer Tana French, I admit I was intrigued when I heard she would be publishing her first standalone novel. While The Witch Elm shares similarities with French's previous books, it's also quite different. Slower moving and more meditative. Which doesn't mean it's not compelling. It is. It's just engrossing in a different way. Although the story revolves around a mysterious death and involves a police investigation, The Witch Elm is not a crime novel per se. That is, it's not so much about solving a case as it is about looking inside the heads and hearts of some very intriguing characters. While the action does ramp up toward the end, the book's finale is depressing and pointless, but also thought-provoking. Overall, I liked The Witch Elm, although it's definitely not my favorite from French.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of other books by Tana French)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language, violence, drug use, sexual content, and disturbing subject matter
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)




Reading
Tethered to Other Stars by Elisa Stone Leahy

Listening
Amelia Gray is Almost Okay by Jessica Brody



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
Lost in Time by A. G. Riddle1 hour ago
-
Stacking The Shelves8 hours ago
-
-
-
A Victorian Grimoire By Patricia Telesco13 hours ago
-
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!!!18 hours ago
-
-
Sunday Post #53423 hours ago
-
Favor: Parnell Hall23 hours ago
-
-
-
-
This Other Eden - Paul Harding1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
Lay Them to Rest by Laurah Norton3 days ago
-
-
The Mandeville Shadow by Callie Langridge4 days ago
-
Audiobook: Bookshops & Bonedust5 days ago
-
Spell the Month in Books ~ December5 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Books read in November1 week ago
-
-
-
Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?2 months ago
-
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra5 months ago
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears7 months ago
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ▼ 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)