The Searcher

A very slow and winding whodunit situated in rural Ireland. I enjoyed it and found the writing pleasant, but the plot was almost unbearably slow. I'd say the majority of the action happens ~75% of the way in. It also resolves rather quickly which was dissatisfying (though not enough to DNF it). The main plot ties itself into a nice bow at the end, but the sub plots are unresolved.

French is very good at leading the reader to water / showing-not-telling. That said there were several chunks where I had to push myself to keep reading despite massive confusion. French is in cahoots with the characters, and they're having a joke at your expense. The joke is that you don't know what the telltale signs of a meth lab are :)

The writing can also get repetitive, sometimes it feels intentional as our main character is a bit of a bumbling cop type who ~”analyses the world around him for threats”, “is always on high alert”, etc. except for when he's getting ambushed in his own driveway.

It wasn't so scary that I couldn't sleep after reading it before bed, but it does have an eeriness to it. French does an excellent job of giving the scenery its due. You can feel the mist.