The Keeper

We have been fooled. In Tana French’s previous two books following former Chicago PD detective Cal Hooper’s new life in rural Ireland, The Searcher and The Hunter, Cal seemed to be settling down in small-town Ardnakelty. He found love in steadfast local woman Lena, took unruly teenager Trey under his wing and is fast making a skilled woodworker out of her, and even managed to figure out the local pub etiquette rules. But it’s all upended in this latest entry in the series when a local young woman is found dead in the river. She was in a long-term relationship with the son of Tommy Moynihan, a sly man who unofficially runs Ardnakelty, and whose pitting of locals against one another after the tragedy makes Cal wonder if he will ever understand this town and his place in it. Though the novel could have been pared down, readers will find this often darkly funny visit with Cal and his neighbors a satisfying look at the undercurrents of rural life as observed by an astute outsider. A piercing death scene near the book’s end is a highlight of the series. A must for French’s fans and all who enjoy a simmering rural mystery.