Title: The Witch Elm by Tana French
Publisher: Viking
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length:528 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
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.
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. 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. 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.
A 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.
Review:
Weighing in at a hefty 528 pages, The Witch Elm by Tana French is a character-driven mystery that is quite absorbing.
Toby Hennessy is the first to admit he is a lucky man. He has been blessed with a loving family, good looks, charm and a silver tongue. He has a wonderful girlfriend, Melissa and two best mates, Declan and Sean, who mean the world to him. After finessing his way out of a tricky situation at work, Toby is celebrating his success with Declan and Sean with a few pints. However, his world is turned upside down when two burglars beat him nearly to death later that night. Toby’s road to recovery is long, arduous and quite frustrating as speech problems, memory losses and physical issues continue to plague him long after his release from the hospital. He is even more distressed to learn his beloved Uncle Hugo is dying and prodded by his cousin Susanna, Toby decides to move into the family’s home to help care for Hugo. The shocking discovery of a skull in a tree in their garden puts Toby and the rest of the family into a bit of a tizzy. However it is not until the police identify the victim that Toby truly goes into a downward spiral that has long lasting repercussions on his life.
Written in first person from Toby’s perspective, the slow moving narrative provides a firsthand view of Toby’s heartrending struggles in the aftermath of the beating. He no longer knows who he is since the skills that he relied on for much of his life are now gone. His Swiss cheese memory leaves him doubting himself and he cannot help but be a bit suspicious of being taken advantage of by others. He is also embarrassed by the lingering physical defects that continue to plague him. Toby tries to hide the worst of his issues from his family but it is easy for everyone to see he is irrevocably changed by the attack.
The story arc and characters are multi-layered and the leisurely parceling of information sometimes bogs down the unfolding story. The discovery of the skull does not take place until fairly far into the novel and the subsequent investigation moves in dibs and drabs. Toby is plagued by suspicions as his cousins Susanna and Leon cause him to doubt his somewhat dubious memories of their shared past. He cannot trust what he believes to be true about himself and once he loses faith in the person he thought he was, Toby is rather desperate to uncover the truth.
The Witch Elm is an innovative mystery with an interesting but somewhat difficult cast of characters to like. The novel is quite atmospheric and somewhat gloomy with some intriguing foreshadowing that hint that something dire is going to occur. Readers will most likely figure out who killed the victim but Tana French throws in shocking twist that is definitely impossible to predict. Although rather lengthy and somewhat long-winded on occasion, fans of the genre will enjoy this fascinating mystery.
