Toby had always thought of himself as a lucky person. He came from a good family, he got along with his aunts, uncles, and cousins, and he had a good job, excellent health, a very nice apartment, and a lovely girlfriend.However, somewhere during his 29th year, he entered into his personal time of Job, where he was tested on every front and since part of that was a burglary of his apartment where he suffered serious injury, he could no longer rely on his wits to carry him through. He was forced t...

Edited, spoilers hidden 2/23/22The setting is an important part of this story: an old family house* outside of Dublin, nicknamed Ivy House, where two generations ago a whole crowd of brothers and sisters grew up and then their children came for summers, weekends and holidays. It’s now occupied only by the oldest unmarried uncle, slowing dying of a brain tumor. The real mystery begins halfway through the book when a skull is found in a tree cavity by one of the grandkids. But perhaps the mystery ...

DNF at 50% I spent a long time struggling over this review. I hate insulting my favorite authors. They feel like my friends and I’m betraying them. I ADORE Tana French. In the Woods is one of my all-time favorite mysteries. However, it pains me to say that The Witch Elm, just didn’t do it for me.The Witch Elm deviates from the Dublin Murder Squad construct. In it, Toby, a 20-something art gallery worker, is the victim of a brutal burglary in which he’s left for dead. A severe head injury leaves...

4.25 Stars* (rounded down)There is something about the feeling I get before reading another Tana French novel that calms me and makes me want to sit in a big old comfy chair, with a cushy pillow and a lush blankie surrounding me. I just know that I’m going to be settling in for an in-depth read with highly intelligent, well thought out, interesting characters and I immediately prepare myself. I grab a nice warm cuppa and before I know it, hours have gone by and I am in the thick of it. Such was ...

The Witch Elm by Tana French is a 2018 Viking Books publication. Luck. Toby has never really considered his, until now. He’s always had an easy go of things, able to talk himself out of any potential trouble or situation with his easy charm. But, Toby’s luck has changed overnight. First, he gets into serious trouble with his boss, then his home is broken into, and he is beaten within an inch of his life. While his parents and faithful, adoring girlfriend are rock solid support systems, Toby is i...

NO SPOILERS... .... safe to read....It’s a sin to spoil a Tana French novel.I’ve been reading Tana French since 2007. My memory is clear...I walked into “Borders” looking around...“Into the Woods” was a new release. I had never heard of the author - but liked what the inside flap said, took a blind chance, bought it... came home and inhaled it instantly. I became an ‘annoying’ book pusher. I was telling strangers off the street about the new mystery-thriller author Tana French and her amazing ch...

2 and 4 stars. If I could give this a dual rating, I would! Explanation of rating: I had 5-star expectations for The Witch Elm--Tana French is one of my favorite authors and while I haven’t loved all of her books, I really enjoyed the most recent installments of the Murder Squad series. Unfortunately, my expectations were not met. There were parts of the Witch Elm that I loved, but others not so much. It’s hard to describe The Witch Elm--it’s part mystery, part thriller, part family drama. Prim...

Lucky and genial Toby meets the guys for a night out to celebrate his circumvention of a potentially career-wrecking incident at work. Afterwards, he is nearly beaten to death by intruders and his life changes dramatically. He lands at Ivy House to care for his terminally ill uncle and to recover from his own serious injuries. A skull is found in the Wych Elm which takes this finely crafted novel into the events of the past as experienced by the participants looking back from the present day. Im...

I actually didn't love a Tana French book... the world is broken. I just knew I jinxed it by writing that first paragraph in my review of The Secret Place.I keep trying to convince myself to bump this up a star because it's hard to believe Tana French can write anything that isn't amazing. It's definitely not a bad book, but The Witch Elm - French's first standalone outside of her Dublin Murder Squad series - just didn't contain a lot of the stuff I've loved from this author.To start with, I fee...

after languishing for months who-knows-where, my review is finally up at LARB! https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/t...#!if you celebrate christmas, read it in line as you last-minute shop. if you do not, enjoy it with all the free time not having to worry about mulberries and double-sided tape and trees going up in flames affords you. ***********************************************oooh, goodreads choice awards semifinalist for best mystery & thriller 2018! what will happen?oh, it will lose ...