THE SEARCHER by Tana French

 THE SEARCHER

by

Tana French

    Tana French's latest novel is The Searcher. Like her last novel, The Witch Elm, and unlike her Dublin Murder Squad series, it is a standalone novel. And, it is another blockbuster. 

    In The Searcher, we meet Cal Hooper, a retired police officer from Chicago. As Cal wanted a change, he bought a place to fix up in a remote Irish village. Although he finds the beauty and relative simplicity he is seeking, an unsolved mystery nonetheless finds him.

    Tana French is a master of character development. Not only does she create and beautifully describe complex characters, but she demonstrates an understanding of the seamy underside of humanity. And, The Searcher further epitomizes French's ability. Although The Searcher is considered a mystery, it seems to me that the mystery that finds and occupies Cal is incidental to French's magnificent character study.

    The Searcher is a fabulous read, and I highly recommend it.

THE WEIGHT OF A PIANO by Chris Cander

 THE WEIGHT OF A PIANO

by

Chris Cander

       The Weight of A Piano is the story of a Bluthner piano, beginning in the Soviet Union and ending in California, and some of the people whose lives it touched. The book is well written. The characters are well developed, although I am not sure that any are particularly likable or that I felt connected to any of them. Except perhaps the piano. It does raise the interesting question whether the piano has its own separate existence, whether it is more than the sum of its parts. Nonetheless, it feels like the story has been done before; it reminds me a bit of Annie Proulx, Disappearing Earth, and The Red Violin. Although it is novel in its application to a piano, I am not sure that it adds anything to what has been done before.

HEAVEN, MY HOME by Attica Locke

HEAVEN, MY HOME

by

Attica Locke

    Heaven, My Home is Attica Locke's second Highway 59 novel. In this book, a nine year old boy from a small town along Highway 59 has gone missing. Darren Mathews, an African American Texas Ranger, is assigned to the search for the boy, who is the son of a white supremacist.

    As with the first Highway 59 novel, Bluebird, Bluebird, I feel conflicted about Heaven, My Home. I did not really care for either book, yet I am drawn to read them. I am taken by the mythos of the Texas Rangers. I love the idea of the main character, I love the locality of the books, and I love the rich history that Locke includes. 

    Nonetheless, I do not like how the character is drawn. I find it difficult to believe that someone who had been capable enough to complete a portion of law school and to become a Texas Ranger could be so stupid as Mathews appears to be in this book. I also am not fond of the writing style. In my opinion, Locke overuses simile, and the similes that she uses are often not apt.

    Overall, I was disappointed with Heaven, My Home. I think Darren Mathews and Highway 59, as glimpsed through Locke's eyes, has such rich potential. But, Heaven, My Home falls short of actualizing that potential.