Witch Elm February 2020

WITCH ELM by Tana French

February 13, 2020

Irish mystery writer Tana French garnered uncommonly good reviews and widespread critical praise with her debut, and has continued to impress critics and popular readers with each new book about the fictitious Dublin Murder Squad. In her finely plotted police procedurals, grim realities of social class, police politics, and human violence give the stories a dark tone, while the vividly drawn character portraits of the protagonists add emotional depth. Start with: In the Woods. 

Her books have won awards including the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards, the Los Angeles Times Award for Best Mystery/Thriller, and the Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Dublin with her family.

Witch Elm (2018), also published as Wych Elm (2019), is a stand alone title:

One night changes everything for Toby. He's always led a charmed life - until a brutal attack leaves him damaged and traumatised, unsure even of the person he used to be. He seeks refuge at his family's ancestral home, the Ivy House, filled with memories of wild-strawberry summers and teenage parties with his cousins. But not long after Toby's arrival, a discovery is made- a skull, tucked neatly inside the old wych elm in the garden. As detectives begin to close in, Toby is forced to examine everything he thought he knew about his family, his past, and himself.

Dublin Murder Squad series:

• In the woods (2007),     #1
  
• The likeness (2008),      #2
  
• Faithful place (2010),     #3
  
• Broken harbor ( 2012),   #4
  
• The secret place (2014), #5
   
• The trespasser (2016),   #6 
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Read-alikes 

1. Stieg Larsson,  Reason: Stieg Larsson and Tana French both write exceedingly dark crime stories which feature a compelling investigative team. Their work is set in bleak landscapes with intricately plotted suspenseful story lines that are marked by violence. -- Becky Spratford 

2. Elizabeth  George, Reason: Elizabeth George and Tana French both use an elegant literary style to write mystery novels featuring unforgettable characters whose professional lives and personal lives are inextricably mingled. A dark tone and realistic violence set the moody atmosphere for their stories. -- Jessica Zellers

 3. S. J. (Sharon J.) Bolton, Reason: Tana French and S.J. Bolton write dark, disturbing psychological suspense stories that will draw in readers with intricate plotting and in-depth characterization, keeping them captivated until the last page. -- Rebecca Sigmon

4. Liane Moriarty,  Reason: Tana French writes mysteries that are darker and grittier than Liane Moriarty's more humorous domestic dramas, but they both create suspenseful, character-driven stories in which complex interpersonal dynamics and emotional consequences from past incidents are as important to the plot as the central mystery. -- Halle Eisenman

5. Karin Slaughter,  Reason: Tana French and Karin Slaughter pen similarly fast-paced dark thrillers that focus on bizarre, brutal crimes (often vividly described). Their works combine police procedural action plus memorable, well-crafted protagonists facing their own inner demons. The result? Razor-sharp psychological tension and nail-biting plot twists. -- Kim Burton

 6. Gillian Flynn, Reason: Both Tana French and Gillian Flynn write dark, literary suspense stories in which extremely flawed narrators draw readers into emotionally charged stories. They create unsettling and disturbing tales filled with psychological twists and turns, and their protagonists tend to be intimately involved with the crimes they are investigating. -- Becky Spratford

 7. Kate Atkinson, Reason: Tana French and Kate Atkinson both dispense with rigid notions of literary fiction or mystery, and instead focus on crafting uncommonly good stories. Both women deliver unforgettable characters, violent crimes, twisting plots, and superb prose. -- Jessica Zellers 

8. Jane  Harper, Reason: Though the locations are different (Ireland for Tana French, Australia for Jane Harper), both authors write gripping, atmospheric mysteries that are deeply rooted in a strong sense of place and feature authentic characters grappling with personal issues while investigating crimes. -- Halle Eisenman 

9. Ausma Zehanat Khan,  Reason: Tana French and Ausma Zehanat Khan write intriguingly complex police procedurals where the setting informs the story just as much as the characters or plots. Past events from the investigators' personal lives surface and shape the  way they view the cases they are assigned, often with complicated results. -- Halle Eisenman