Any Tana French lovers?

[Frequentflier]

I am a massive fan of hers and have been whiling away the lockdown by rereading all her books. Unfortunately, I haven't enjoyed her latest, The Searcher, which did not feature the Dublin Murder Squad and was super dull and slow. Also think Tana is one of those rare authors whose earlier books ( In The Woods, The Likeness) are better than her newer ones. But I still love her to bits.

I absolutely love her.

Agree about the Searcher, however I thought the Wynch Elm was fabulous.

I found the motive for the murder in The Wych Elm a bit contrived and the whole thing rather over the top. Though even a bad Tana is better than anyone else!

Another fan. Have so far read The Likeness, The Trespasser, and Wych Elm. Though the ending of Wych Elm was a bit far fetched , I still thought it was really good.
Took me a while to discover her as I was mixing her up with Nikki French who I am not a fan of.

Lalalette, you might like Faithful Place as well, though it is very depressing, so maybe after we come out of this lockdown. It is so beautifully written, though, and really brings Dublin alive.

I actually really like Nikki French too! Some of her books are airport reading, but have you read the Frieda Klein series? They are good.

Thanks for the recommendations, I also still have Into the Woods on my to be read pile on the bookshelf reading out of order.

Loved the Dublin Murder Squad series sooooo bloody much, by far one of my favourite ever series. Felt bereft when I'd finished them. Liked The Wych Elm but The Searcher was pretty slow.

Have you read The Dry by Jane Harper and her other novels? I found they had a sort of similar feel to Tana French, gripping but not too gory and based on people and relationships and events that link them. And the Jane Casey Maeve Kerrigan series as well. I really enjoyed those as well.

Love her writing. Wych Elm I found unconvincing though. I really liked The Searcher and didn’t find it slow at all. It’s a Western but set in the West of Ireland rather than Texas or Wyoming. I really enjoyed the fact that it’s about a guy who is basically good and trying to do the right thing, even if he doesn’t always get it right. Made a change from all those morally ambiguous heroes you tend to get nowadays.

I'm not sure about Tana F. I read Faithful Place some time ago and really liked it, but then read The Wych Elm and thought it was overly long and not that convincing.
Might give the rest of the murder squad ones a go.
Oddly, I just looked at her website and they spell it 'Witch Elm'. The cover image has that spelling too.

In the Woods is amazing - it made her name, and deservedly so. A masterpiece that you think about long after you finish.
Broken Harbour was excellent too - very, very creepy, though the ending was less masterful than that of In The Woods.
Others, sadly, rambled on a bit and left me cold, though I haven’t read them all.

I love tana french and find Gillian mcallister reasonably similar

I found The Wych Elm contrived and over-long, and The Searcher dull, but Broken Harbour was pretty gripping, I thought?

Yes! I read Wych Elm first and then started the Dublin Murder Squad series. The last one I read was 'Faithful Place' a couple of months ago. I really like the series and I'm trying not to rush through them. They are books that I would read again at some point.

I'm looking up Jane Harper. Thanks for the recommendation, Frouby. I'm reading the Maeve Kerrigan series too and they are good.