I love French's ability to create atmosphere and the one is this book is stifling. The intense heat, the building tension, it all feels like it's about to boil over. This sequel is best if you've read the first book. I loved returning to Cal's tiny Irish town. Trey is now 15 and she's figuring out who she is as she grows up. It feels a lot like The Dry, which I also love. It moves very slow, but for me, that worked and I always stayed interested, but don't expect a fast thriller pace.

“Being boring is among Cal’s main goals. For most of his life, one or more elements always insisted on being interesting, to the point where dullness took on an unattainable end-of-the-rainbow glow. Ever since he finally got his hands on it, he’s savored every second.”

“There’s nothing Lena can do about that; it’s a demand of the circumstances and the place, neither of which has any truck with mercy. All she can do is give Trey these few minutes to get her bearings amid her new landscape.” ( )

This second book in Tana French’s Cal Hooper series, THE HUNTER, is as good as, if not better than, the first book. Ms. French doubles down on the creepiness factor of Cal’s pub friends. I say that even though one of my favorite scenes in the entire book happened with those same friends in the pub. I was literally laughing out loud as those same creepy friends kept giving him shit for his relationship status. It was a much-needed bit of levity before the suspense ratcheted up another notch.

We get to see into Trey in this book, and it simply confirms what Cal suspected. She is a traumatized girl who doesn’t know how to handle her feelings. She reaches a key milestone in her maturity in THE HUNTER that is vital for her future.

If the first book made me want to move to Ireland like Cal did, THE HUNTER tempered those feelings a bit. Ms. French still describes the little town with delightful clarity and charm, but the town feels just a wee bit more ominous now that we know a little more about its inhabitants.

Tana French is such an amazing author, and her stories never disappoint. With this second book, I’ve fallen for Cal Hooper and Trey and the entire cast and can’t wait to see if there are any more of their antics in the future. ( )

Great story and great writing. French has the Irish give and take down perfectly. A good sequel. ( )

If this isn't a well-nigh perfectly plotted mystery, I will take the orange bucket hat from the scarecrow and eat it. French creates the perfect sequel to her 2020 novel The Searcher, featuring retired and transplanted Chicago cop Cal Hooper, sometimes with and sometimes against, his neighbors in rural Ardnakelty in the west of Ireland. When Johnny, the ne'er-do-well father of his teenage protege Trey shows up after years of absence, Cal smells a rat and a rat's scheme to unearth hidden gold. The supporting cast of Cal's pubmates, his girlfriend Lena, Trey's family, a Dublin policeman, and even three beagles and two rooks, and the mountain setting, during a fierce drought, are completely absorbing. This writer knows how to unwind a plot, how to go light on the red herrings, and how to check off every box for those who appreciate suspense, mystery, and domestic thrillers. ( )

Has relationship focus like Witch Elm, had me guessing until the end ( )