Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Searcher

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

emilye's review

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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seadeepy's review

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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mirandap442's review

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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jenniferpalmblad's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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katiekaiser's review

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked this book enough. It was slower than I prefer and not as suspenseful as I expected. It seemed like a lot of build up for a somewhat anti-climactic ending. The writing is very good. This is definitely not a fast-paced thriller. It’s almost more fiction than it is mystery. I don’t mind it, I was just expecting more suspense.

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linesiunderline's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I hadn’t expected to like this one very much - in fact, quite a few meh / disappointed reviews almost had me passing it on to another reader. But it was a birthday gift, and so I felt I should give it a try. I’m so glad I did.

This is a quiet, character driven, literary style of mystery (otherwise known as my favourite kind of mystery). Yes, it’s slow paced. Yes, not a lot “happens,” and what does happen doesn’t come in any kind of rush. But somehow French creates a foreboding sense that kept me turning the pages, curious to know where things were going, and fine with the slow and steady telling.

A strong sense of place is one of the winning qualities of this read, and the relationship between Cal and Trey is quite wonderful. I was surprised to find this one really quite moving by the end. And the audiobook was excellent. Well worth the time - my review lands on the “read it” side of things.

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mephala's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I've only read one other book by Tana French - In the Woods - so I'm not sure how the rest of that particular series compares, but it's clear The Searcher is a whole different type of story.

It's a slow burn, almost solely a character study not only of the main protagonist, Cal Hooper, but also the tightknit community of Ardnakelty, a small village in rural Ireland. This is not a fast paced thriller full of twist and turns that keeps one on one's toes, but a slow dive into dense and treacherous inner workings of a small community, that on surface might appear quite and almost innocent, but hides a dark and harsh underbelly.

The Searcher (a very apt title) is a story of a stranger in strange land, Cal, looking for his place in a new country - among people seemingly not that different that himself, but foreign all the same - all while trying to solve a disappearance of one of Ardnakelty's more troubled denizen.

Yes, the first couple of chapter of this one were a little difficult to read through. The plot unfolds slowly, there are many lengthy inner monologues and dense dialogs of characters just talking, "shooting the breeze". It was a good way to establish main characters and most important players in the story, yet it felt too much at times.

After the plot unfolds a little there's still no groundbreaking developments - the mystery culminates in pretty much expected way - although, there is one pretty amazing plot twist that made me like main characters all that much.

This in not really a murder mystery, a whodunit, but uses that particular plot to tell a slow paced but fascinating story about... people. About a small community, its members, and how all those people work and live together. How many secrets they share.

What's more, the book's atmosphere is wonderful; Tana French masterfully described the gloomy, silent landscapes, and the always present slightly threatening quietness. Because Ardnakelty might be quite, but it's definitely not a peaceful place.

It took a while for this book to drew me in, but it the end it was well crafted story.

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