The Witch Elm

A Novel

By: Tana French

Narrated by: Paul Nugent

Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

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

An “extraordinary” (Stephen King) and “mesmerizing” (LA Times) new stand-alone novel from the master of crime and suspense and author of the forthcoming novel The Searcher. 

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.

©2018 Tana French (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Anti climactic

I love the writing, however the storyline was drawn out till I lost interest at points.
The interconnected relationships were interesting, but took too long to develop.
The feeling of suspense was lost in the feeling of slogging through the never ending conversations amongst the siblings that were supposed to reveal something.
Found myself walking out of the room and not hitting the pause button and finding that I hadn’t really missed anything because they were still going on about Leon’s this or Suzanna’s whatever hang up ... enough! I got it! I wanted to move on!

plot hole theater

The real-life story of the body found in that Witch Elm with a severed hand nearby that Tana French borrowed from is riveting. Google "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?" to read about it. This book, however, is a head-scratcher. There isn't one believable character in it--no one acts or reacts like anyone would in real life. The plot (is there a plot?) is slow and disjointed, featuring bizarre unrealistic event heaped upon bizarre unrealistic event duct-taped together with shoddy continuity. Characters drop out and/or show up with little or no explanation or reason. The scenes intended to be most dramatic made me laugh because of the giant plot conveniences driven by the author; the characters' motivations for doing most of what they do are unimaginable. Toby, Melissa, Susannah, Leon, Shawn, Hugo, and just about every character in this book are chess pieces being moved around artlessly to bring their fragmented, preposterous, mean-spirited, lazy plotlines to a close. I have read her other books and enjoyed them. They're not exactly high-brow literary fiction, but they're not pretending to be--and they're fun and entertaining and clever on several fronts. But The Witch Elm just leaves me wondering, why? What's the point?

I gave it my best try

I painfully listened to 12 hours of this story and then I thought my ears where going to bleed. I never quite understood where the story was leading to, I suffered with Toby after his attack and rehab which took like 8 hours of him just talking about his anxieties, and then the story moved on to his Uncle Hugo and then the cousins and then it just went on and on without actually going anywhere... So I'll never find out what actually happened in tree, but I am over it.

Yes, the Main Character Comes Off Poorly, But...

I still really enjoyed this book. I think the best part was it didn't end when I expected it too. Typical thrillers end when the "case" is solved and the story explained, I loved that this kept going to the true end. The detective characters were pretty hokey, which is pretty much Tana French's usual style, but it was a nice departure that they weren't the main focus of the story. I thought the narrator did a great job of pulling the listener into the story and the mood. I definitely found my emotions being affected by parts of the story, whether it be a sense of nervousness or my heart beating faster, which I always think is the mark of a good narrator. Tana was able to keep things fairly believable (I didn't find myself rolling my eyes too much) and created a great story line with interesting characters with the right amount of back story to create depth without drowning us in useless detail. Overall I thought it was a worthwhile listen with a compelling story. No regrets here!

is it just me?

is it just me or were the chapters out of order? my book ended on chapter 9 and started on chapter 10. WTF. I kept thinking that the book was wrapping up but there were an awful lot of chapters left, now I know why!
check to make sure your chapters are in order before you start listening!
if your copy starts with police talking to Toby, stop and go to chapter 10!!!

Wow!

Wow, Tana French couldn’t have timed this book any better. I don’t want to give anything up...but what happens when a privileged frat boy type starts to lose some of the privilege he has enjoyed?

I have hundreds of books in my audible library— I probably listen to 3-4 a week. This is in the top 5. Fabulous narration too.

Atmospheric

What I love most about Tana French's style is the immersion into the mind of the person telling the story. No matter how flawed their thinking, how irrational their fears, the interpretations of their observations, whether you like them or not, agree with them or not - you are along for their ride. This book is no exception. In addition, the layering of intrigue and the expertly woven tendrils of the story created a very lush, moody and original story.

I will add, as much as the immersion into French's written character, I felt that Paul Nugent did an exceptional job. He has a mesmerizing and clear tone. He simply sounded the part of a young, privileged, slightly arrogant yet affable, "guy" - with a tremendous amount on his mind (and that seems rather unfamiliar and uncomfortable for him). Rather than acting the other characters, it felt as though his character, Toby, was doing his personal interpretation of them. It always felt skewed to how his own character perceived the others. I appreciated his pace - which was often slow and lilting - but so was the stream of consciousness, so it really accentuated that for me. It helped to stretch the real time of events and breathed life into the scenes.

It is not your standard whodunit and those looking for a tidy ending may be wanting. I enjoyed the departure from French's professional detective to one who seldom questioned anything and is now seeking ultimate answers.

Skip this one by French

Not sure what else to say except the main character in this book is unbearable. It took every fiber of my being to finish this listen. Honestly, I have loved all of her previous books but this is a very big disappointment. I wanted the main character to die or get arrested within the first hour just to make it end. If you're looking for 20 hours of audible torture, I recommend buying this title.

Liked But Not Loved

I have really liked but have not fallen in love with this book because it is a bit of a strange bird.

Some folks who started in on this tome expecting the normal fare provided by Tana French were a bit shocked. Obviously by the reviews I’ve seen, a number have been disappointed. In my view, Tana French writes mysteries, but the mysteries are only the come-on, the hook. What French actually writes are to superbly crafted character studies using wonderful language and carefully constructed scenes.

Like her other books which I have read, this story contains a profound character study. I’ll even go so far as to say this book is a meditation on the intersection of character and the eroding anchor points that hold society together. Although, at the end of this meditation there are no answers or comforting final insight. The author just leaves us with the reality of the world she observes.

As always, this book contains French’s masterful creation of dialogue and superb sense of place. Her characters are complex and vivid. Their interplay is what I liked most about this story and that is consistent with my reading of French’s other novels.

I should add that the narrator was excellent and I am mystified that others feel differently.

Just be warned: This is not a story in service of a mystery. It is a story that uses a multitude of mysteries toward other ends.

Eagerly awaited this book coming out. But...

...it really wasn't that good. It's punishingly long. Could easily have had been a third shorter (if not cut in half).

The narrator is ok, no more and the way he voices the girlfriend makes her sound like a complete idiot, which she patently isn't, simply a pleasant human in a book with few of them.

The overall arch of the story is not one of French's best. Having recently read The Secret Place and been disappointed with that as well, I think I'm done with French for a long time. A shame as I loved her early crime novels. Perhaps she's switched editors, as her books now seem to ramble on interminably. A sense of place is good, chapters and chapters were nothing much happens, not so much.

Avoid unless you're an superfan is my suggestions.