The Hunter: A Novel

by Tana French

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Tana French returns to Ardnakelty, where family ties are tested as secrets and revenge creep through the small town. Is there gold in the mountains — or something more sinister?

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593493434
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/05/2024
Series:	Cal Hooper Series , #2
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Tana French is the New York Times bestselling author of eight previous books, including In the Woods, The Likeness, and The Searcher. Her novels have sold over eight million copies and won numerous awards, including the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller, and the Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Dublin with her family.

Editorial Reviews

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 Elle Best Mystery and Thriller Book of 2024
Named a Best Book of 2024 by NPR, The Chicago Sun-Times, The New York Post, and Globe and Mail
Named a Best Mystery Book of 2024 by The Wall Street Journal, Parade, and Air Mail

“A singularly tense and moody thriller . . . Exceptional . . . By now, any reader who still thinks French should follow the rules doesn't deserve her remarkable novels.” —The Washington Post

“The secretive village is a trope as old as mysteries—as old as humanity itself. But French does more than show the banal evil behind a smiling face. She makes it particular as a kicked dog's limp and dying embers in a steel barrel—and reminds us that we underestimate such places at our peril.” —The New York Times

“French specializes in books full of psychological acuity, bone-deep empathy and authentic colloquial speech. All of these aspects are on full display in The Hunter, a roughhewn comedy that before long becomes a tale of rough justice.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Hailed as the queen of Irish crime fiction, French spins a taut tale of retribution, sacrifice, and family.” —Time

“Beautifully written . . . an absorbing, immersive read.” —The Guardian

“As ever, French writes like a dream, evoking the natural beauty and peril of the mountain rising between Cal and Trey’s houses, and consistently reminding readers how deft she is at dialogue.” —Boston Globe

“A book by a modern master . . . inimitable and thrilling.” —Chicago Tribune

“Impressive payoff awaits readers of this quietly deliberate crime novel. … One of Ireland’s most distinctive writers delivers her most cinematic set piece yet.” —Irish Times

“A dark and lyrical tale of revenge, friendship, and loyalty in collision... [A]s usual, in a Tana French novel, the characters are well-drawn, the dialogue is superb, the settings are vivid.” —Associated Press

“As French revisits the seemingly bucolic landscape where trouble roils just under the surface, her writing continues to shift from mystery to meditation. … Morally shaded and complex, [The Hunter] will leave you thinking about who’s right—and what’s wrong—long after you turn the last page.” —NPR

“A novel of psychological insight, complexity and the sort of tension that only arises when the characters you’re reading about feel real.” —Parade

“Tana French is one of those crime writers who gets it right every time, and her new novel doesn't miss.” —Cosmopolitan

“The gorgeous writing here is classic French, even as she leads her fans through a decidedly different sort of detective story.” —Elle

“[An] unforgettable new thriller.” —Esquire

“As with all of French's books, something is awry—and the fun is in the unraveling.” —Vogue

“Tana French stretches the tension—and the mystery genre—like taffy in her return to the ethically murky Irish village of Ardnakelty.” —The Christian Science Monitor

“The great Irish crime writer has penned a spellbinding revenge tale.” —The New York Post

“As ever, French is expert at finding the black heart beneath the wry twinkle and the banter.” —Lisa Henricksson, Air Mail

“May be French’s best novel yet. . . . The Hunter delivers a taut, intelligent examination of loyalty, instinct, and community. French masterfully excavates the secrets we keep for love or revenge and explores the lengths we go to protect our family, be it blood or chosen.” —CrimeReads

“Tana French's immersive, thought-provoking The Hunter revels in the quiet moments, but knows true peace is elusive.” —BookPage

“Wonderfully evocative, entertaining, and propulsive all the way through.”—Lit Hub

“The quirky characters, subtle snark, and propulsive plot make this an excellent contender for your spring break beach bag.” —Real Simple

Praise for Tana French

“French is in a class by herself.” —The New York Times

“Extraordinary.” —Stephen King

“A truly great writer.” —Gillian Flynn

“Like a poet. She writes beautifully. . . . If you haven’t read her yet, I really highly recommend that you do.” —Harlan Coben

“A high priestess of tense, twisty plots.” —O, Oprah Magazine

“By now, any reader who still thinks French should follow the rules doesn’t deserve her remarkable novels.” —The Washington Post

From the Publisher

2023-12-06
A divorced American detective tries to blend into rural Ireland in this sequel to The Searcher (2020).

In fictional Ardnakelty, on Ireland’s west coast, lives retired American cop Cal Hooper, who busies himself repairing furniture with 15-year-old Theresa “Trey” Reddy and fervently wishes to be boring. Then into town pops Trey’s long-gone, good-for-nothing dad, Johnny, all smiles and charm. Much to her distaste, he says he wants to reclaim his fatherly role. In fact, he’s on the run from a criminal for a debt he can’t repay, and he has a cockamamie scheme to persuade local townsfolk that there might be gold in the nearby mountain with a vein that might run through some of their properties. (What, no leprechauns?) “It’s not sheep shite you’ll be smelling in a few months’ time, man,” he tells a farmer. “It’s champagne and caviar.” Some people have fun fantasizing about sudden riches, but they know better. Johnny’s pursuer, Cillian Rushborough, comes to town, and Johnny tries to convince him he could get rich by purchasing people’s land. Alas, someone bashes Rushborough’s brains in, and now there’s a murder mystery. The plot is a bit of a stretch, but the characters and their relationships work well. Trey detests Johnny for not being in her life, and now that he’s back, she neither wants nor needs him. She gets on much better with Cal. Still, she’s a testy teenager when she thinks someone is not treating her like an adult. Cal is aware of this, and he’s careful how he talks to her. Johnny, not so much: “I swear to fuck, women are only put on this earth to wreck our fuckin’ heads,” he whines about Trey’s mother, briefly forgetting he’s talking to Trey. The book abounds in local color and lively dialogue.

An absorbing crime yarn.

Kirkus Reviews