Cal Hooper

Best Book of 2020 by New York Times, NPR, and New York Post

"This hushed suspense tale about thwarted dreams of escape may be her best one yet.... Its own kind of masterpiece." (Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post)

"A new Tana French is always cause for celebration.... Read it once for the plot; read it again for the beauty and subtlety of French's writing." (Sarah Lyall, The New York Times)

Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. After 25 years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens. But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat, and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets.

"One of the greatest crime novelists writing today" (Vox) weaves a masterful, atmospheric tale of suspense, asking how to tell right from wrong in a world where neither is simple, and what we stake on that decision.