The Witch ELM

The item itself was very good, but the plot? A bit complex, as her plots often are, however this one was not quite so enjoyable and frankly? The ending was disappointing. Still a lot better than most, just not as great as some of her other books.

I found this novel to be a slow read. Early inciting incident and then a lot of exposition. A like a faster paced mystery; this one meandered with a lot of telling rather than showing. Not for me.

The story takes a bit to get off the ground, but French's writing is as engaging as ever, crisp, sometimes ruthless detail. The plot is a bit plodding, but believable and could happen to anyone, which is part of the appeal of her writing. One of the few books I had time to finish this year, so that's saying something!

A slog. Slow burner. Almost dumped it at 50% but I forced myself to get through it. I don’t think I got much out of this book. A break-in and beating. Very traumatic. A skull found in a huge elm tree. A murder. Three cousins. Lots of drama. Hugo, the uncle, was cool. Very convoluted with incessant introspection and speculation. A lot of the book dwells on luck. Toby’s luck being born in to a wealthy family. However, I thought a good bit dealt with bad luck. Bad luck with break-in and breaking. Bad luck for “two people” having to deal with Dominic the bully. One stroke of bad luck can change your life. It just happens. Tana French is obviously a brilliant writer, but this was just not my cup of tea.

Having read Tana French before, I expected this narrative to move faster. I held on waiting for the kick, began to feel like I was drinking a non-alcoholic beer. It tasted ok, but waiting, waiting, waiting for the buzz was getting old.Once it came, it was more interesting and insightful than expected.I like that the characters were not one dimensional, with well rounded descriptions and the narrow development found in most crime novels was only present in a minimal few characters.The end was a surprise, but not a pleasant one and I left this book depressed and with an overcast sense of dreary, nihilistic dread.