As French has acknowledged in interviews, the title of her latest crime novel is a nod to the John Ford classic, "The Searchers." Like Ford's 1956 film, French's novel is essentially a Western, although the novel itself isn't self-conscious about its retro origins, unless that west of Ireland setting is a sly wink. By novel's end, any place - even the grimiest, meanest streets of hard-boiled crime fiction - seems preferable to the sinister, silent watchfulness of that lush Irish countryside. It lulls us readers into basking in French's radiant imagery and language, in particular its descriptions of the rough beauty of the west of Ireland, where the story takes place. MAUREEN CORRIGAN, BYLINE: "The Searcher" by Tana French is a slow burn of a suspense story. Book critic Maureen Corrigan has a review. Her latest novel, "The Searcher," is a straightforward and atmospheric tribute to a genre that's fallen out of favor - the Western, which also helped shape modern detective fiction. Tana French has gained acclaim as the creator of the "Dublin Murder Squad" crime series, but lately she's branched out into standalone suspense.
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