I really liked The Wych Elm when I read it, but I still did not want to invest in the much more popular Dublin Murder Squad series. I have had too many poor experiences with detective series—even the best ones get predictable.
Instead, I thought I’d try The Searcher, which, for some reason, I thought was a standalone, but it now seems to be the first of the Cal Hooper series.
About The Searcher
Retired detective Cal Hooper moves to a remote village in rural Ireland. His plans are to fix up the dilapidated cottage he’s bought, to walk the mountains, to put his old police instincts to bed forever.
Then a local boy appeals to him for help. His brother is missing, and no one in the village, least of all the police, seems to care. And once again, Cal feels that restless itch.
Something is wrong in this community, and he must find out what, even if it brings trouble to his door.
~ Synopsis from GoodReads
My Review
This is a solid middle-of-the-road thriller. I liked it better than The Wych Elm, just because it’s not as downbeat. But I would say the mystery here is weaker. I pretty much guessed what had happened fairly early into the book, and so there weren’t too many surprises.
The Searcher takes place out in rural Ireland, an isolated place of farms and local folk who’ve known each other’s nasty business for decades. Hands get dirty, animals get killed, skinned, and eaten, not necessarily in that order. Into this wilderness comes an American ex-cop looking to settle down for a peaceful life.
He imagines life in rural Ireland would be more tranquil than Chicago.
One of the things that had caught his attention, when he first started looking into Ireland, was the lack of dangers: no handguns, no snakes, no bears or coyotes, no black widows, not even a mosquito. Cal feels like he’s spent most of his life dealing with feral creatures, one way or another, and he liked the thought of passing his retirement without having to take any of them into account.
Of course, predictably, he gets entangled with the local folks, there is a predictable love angle, and everything moves smoothly into a predictable climax.
My favorite character was 13-year-old Trey, a child wise beyond 13 years considering what Trey has had to live with. I loved the relationship between Cal and Trey and their dynamic was one of the best things about this book.
Not much happens until about 60% of the book is done. The first half is purely scene setting and character building, and while I normally don’t mind a slow burn, it was just a tad too slow for me.
That said, this book is well written, and I like the characters and setting well enough that I am willing to try the next book in the series, The Hunter. I hope that The Searcher has done most of the scene setting and character development, and the next one moves a little faster.
