Review: The Wych Elm

The Wych Elm by Tana French
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tana French is an author I’ve been meaning to read for a while now. I have In the Woods, the first book in the Dublin Murder Squad series sitting on my bookshelf, but it wasn’t until I stumbled upon The Wych Elm in the library that I finally made the move to give Tana French a read. As eager as I am to start the Dublin Murder Squad series, I have a lot of series to catch up with – thus, this standalone seemed like a better place to start.

With The Wych Elm, I found my feelings were constantly changing. It was an interesting read that kept me turning the pages, but I was never completely invested in it. There were a lot of times when my attention was drifting, where I wanted to get into the mystery element instead of focusing on the family drama, and this meant I went from being really invested in the story to simply reading it to see what happened. When I was enjoying it, I was really enjoying it; when I was indifferent, I could easily put the book down.

There is no doubt in my mind that Tana French can craft an interesting story. It held my attention and I was happy to power through this one. However, I had been expecting a bit more considering the fanbase around the author’s work. There was nothing overly shocking when the truth of this one came out, and I had expected to be completely shocked. Sure, the ending wasn’t quite what I’d imagined, but the mystery itself failed to wow me.

I’ll certainly be diving into the Dublin Murder Squad, there is no doubt of that, but I’ve dropped my expectations a wee bit after The Wych Elm. I’m sure I’ll enjoy them, but I’m no longer holding out hope of a new favourite series.

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