It is full of intelligent introspection, and it takes you places you don't expect. While all French's novels are very good, both in characterization and plot, THE WITCH ELM is one of her better ones. Toby deals with detectives and gradual revelations from his cousins as they insinuate that he might be guilty of murder.

While they are there, a skull is found inside the trunk of a tree in the garden, and later the police find more. So this is the Toby who goes with his girlfriend to live with his dying uncle. Plus the reader can see signs of PTSD all over the place. His thoughts are constantly going here, then there, then there. But Toby's messed-up brain is also controlling his memory and language skills.īecause of all this, Toby is having to deal with a new life. Some readers may not realize that his limp and other physical manifestations are results of his head injury. The worst of Toby’s injuries is to his head. Then two burglars break into his apartment, steal a few things, and beat the living daylights out of him. It really deserves five stars for its many layers and thoughtfulness. From the writer who inspires cultic devotion in readers ( The New Yorker) and has been called incandescent by Stephen King, absolutely mesmerizing by Gillian Flynn, and unputdownable ( People) comes a gripping new novel that turns a crime story inside out. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden-and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.Ī spellbinding standalone from one of the best suspense writers working today, The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we’re capable of, when we no longer know who we are.Don’t believe any fewer-than-four-star reviews of THE WITCH ELM by Tana French. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family’s ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo.

Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who’s dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life-he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. “Tana French’s best and most intricately nuanced novel yet.” - The New York TimesĪn “extraordinary” (Stephen King) and “mesmerizing” ( LA Times) new standalone novel from the master of crime and suspense and author of the forthcoming novel The Searcher.įrom the writer who “inspires cultic devotion in readers” ( The New Yorker) and has been called “incandescent” by Stephen King, “absolutely mesmerizing” by Gillian Flynn, and “unputdownable” ( People) comes a gripping new novel that turns a crime story inside out. Named a New York Times Notable Book of 2018 and a Best Book of 2018 by NPR, The New York Times Book Review, Amazon, The Boston Globe, LitHub, Vulture, Slate, Elle, Vox, and Electric Literature

The witch elm review new york times