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Feb 10, 2021gloryb rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable atmospheric mystery novel set in a small village in Ireland where a retired American detective has come to retire, but gets caught up in solving the case of a neighbor's missing teen son/brother. For me, the novel was like armchair travel as I got to know the village, the villagers' lifestyle, and the landscape through the skilled writing of the author. I loved the descriptions of the Irish countryside (not fillers for me). Certainly, the descriptions of poverty for some of the people in the village was disheartening as was the description of the villagers' current problems as they realized that their way of life was slowly changing. I liked the dialog, the banter, and the relationship between the characters. The characters are sympathetic, especially the 13 year old who trusts that the retired newbie/incomer, not the Garda, will find the missing brother. Although it takes a while to get the detective on the missing person case, the author, then, slowly flushes out the needed clues from his interviews with the teen's friends, his family members, and villagers in order to solve "the case." Based on this work, I would read more novels by Tana French.