The Witch Elm

A Novel

De: Tana French

Narrado por: Paul Nugent

A New York Times bestseller 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

“Tana French’s best and most intricately nuanced novel yet.” —The New York Times

An “extraordinary” (Stephen King) and “mesmerizing” (LA Times) standalone novel from the master of crime and suspense and author of the forthcoming novel The Hunter.

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.

Yawn

Such a promising premise.
But
It was pointless , meandering, and slow.
Narrator did a great job , though.

a good psyhocological thriller (not horror)

This year, I kicked off my Month of Horror (aka October) with The Witch Elm because the blurb made me think it was going to be a good way to start. The book wasn't really about horror. It's more of a murder mystery/psychological thriller with no supernatural or spooky creatures. However, my disappointment aside, it was a nice read and I enjoyed the twists and turns the plot took.

PTSD palpable

Excellent emotions of confusion. The reader is well lead with a confused closed head injury. You begin to see the world differently very suttle permiss.

Great Narration!

I think this narrator was spectacular. His performance really enhanced the story. Another great one from Tana French.

A slow, winding, whimsical, kind of boring not very mysterious mystery

So this book takes a long time to get anywhere, and when it finally does, it doesn’t feel like any of it pays off. The main character is unlikable, and the narrator doesn’t help- I listened to this on a faster speed just to get the pacing to a point where it didn’t feel like it just droned on and on. I usually like how French balances kind of twee, whimsical descriptions with the darker edges of the mysteries that she writes, but this one just felt too sing-song-y, meandering and sickly sweet at times, reading like a whiny teenagers diary. I’d be interested in one plot, then it would shift and a seemingly new plot would start, then it would shift again and another plot would start... by the time they wrapped them all up I was uninvested in any of it. Still, I finished it and didn’t hate it so mediocre stars all around. If you’re looking for background noise, this might fit the bill.