Small towns are small towns, whether they are located in New Jersey or in Ireland. When Cal Hooper first moved to Ardnakelty, he sought a quiet life away from the spotlight and stress of fighting crime as a cop in Chicago. The locals, however, curious about this newly arrived Yank, won’t leave him alone and, whatever the issue, Cal finds himself dragged into their battles, which usually involve solving a murder.
In French’s first mystery, The Searcher, Cal helped a teenager, Trey, look for her missing brother. That case did not end well, but Trey has stuck around to help Cal in his growing woodworking business. Trey’s father had abandoned his family, but in the second mystery, The Hunter, he shows up, promoting a get-rich scheme that Cal knows is a scam. When another murder occurs, Cal once again finds himself at the center of the action.
In The Keeper, Cal meets his most formidable opponent yet. Lena once hoped to leave Ardnakelty, wanting to get as far away as possible from its poisonous, incestuous ways. Once she fell in love with Sean and they married, the die was cast. Now that she’s a widow, too much time has passed. She’s the polar opposite of her sister, Noreen, who runs the local store and is steeped in the village’s gossip. Lena keeps to herself, so perhaps even she was surprised when she found a second chance with Cal. Although the two are now engaged, Lena still keeps her own cottage, spending occasional nights at Cal’s for dinner and to sleep over. A wedding seems far away.
Cal’s been in Ardnakelty long enough to enjoy some camaraderie among the locals, although many are quick to point out that he will never fully understand how the village’s history, struggles and grudges, continue to divide families, often flaring up in violence. Cal’s skills are put to the test when he’s up against, Tommy Moynihan, a wealthy businessman and power broker who dominates the politics and people of Ardnakelty, and hopes to continue the family dynasty with his son, Eugene. But when Eugene’s fiancée, Rachel, is found floating in the river, rumors fly that might place Tommy’s plans for his company’s future, and his son’s, in jeopardy.
Rachel was well liked and her wake and funeral bring the whole village out to mourn her loss. Although Lena didn’t know Rachel well, she’s bothered by the young woman’s death. The accepted explanation is that Rachel died by suicide. But when the autopsy shows that she drank antifreeze before she drowned, the possibility of murder can’t be discounted. Cal isn’t surprised when Tommy and Eugene show up at his cabin, wanting to hire the ex-cop to investigate Rachel’s death. Cal knows when he’s being used and wants nothing to do with whatever Tommy has planned.
Lena, however, can’t leave Rachel’s death alone. For a long time she’s kept herself walled off from the other women in the village. So when she makes blackberry jam and begins making the rounds, ostensibly to deliver the jars, but also to ask some questions, she incurs Tommy’s wrath. Now that his fiancée is a target, Cal has no choice but to get involved.
Tommy has few friends in Ardnakelty, but what he does have are people who owe him, big time. When he employs some of his minions to start spreading dirt about Lena, the blowback is swift. Tommy also has the guards, the Dublin police officers, on his payroll. When a female officer shows up asking Lena if she needs help, Lena can read between the lines. Either she’s sent off to a mental ward, her wanderings around the village evidence of her mental instability, or to jail for having killed Rachel who, scuttlerbutt says, was having an affair with Cal.
To counter Tommy’s vicious campaign, Cal turns to his neighbor, Mart, who comes up with a plan and enlists men to help. Trey also is ready to pitch, since she and Lena have a close relationship. Turns out the eyes of teenagers who are often out late and know how to hide, make up a valuable army. Without any of the crime-fighting tools Cal once employed in Chicago, he will need all the help he can muster to win this very different and dangerous game.
French is a master at creating characters and an environment that are foreign, yet seem so familiar. While Ardnakelty has kept up with technology, the village struggles to hold onto old ways. Megafarms threaten to come in, while local farmers still tend their sheep and some hand down the land to the next generation. For Cal, the peace he hoped to find in Ardnakelty remains elusive. But what he’s created is more than enough to get him to stay.
Tana French
The Searcher
The Hunter
The Keeper
Top Bigstock photo by T. J. Kirk
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