Free Range Reading
Tana French is one of my favoured authors. Whenever she publishes something new, I put a hold on at the library as soon as they order it. Once again, I was well entertained.
Cal Hooper, retired Chicago cop, has settled into this small Irish community more or less. He still keeps a wary eye on some of his neighbours, who may be clandestine and Machivellian about their grudges and revenge. Despite these reservations, he has become a mentor to young and rather feral Trey Reddy. She is handy at woodwork which the two of them pursue as a team. And he has acquired a woman friend, Lena, who likes him fine, but vows she'll never marry again.
All's well until Trey's deadbeat dad shows back up in town after being gone for years, spinning a tale about a foolish Englishman and gold in them thar hills. There's plots a plenty, between Johnny Reddy, his Englishman Rushborough, Cal, Trey, and the community's menfolk. Who's conning who? Who is going to shoulder the blame? Will Cal and Trey have a relationship left when the dust settles? Is Trey more like her conman daddy than we gave her credit for?
Johnny Reddy is a charming con man and the whole community knows it, but they're willing to play along at least for a little while. But, as we learned in the first book, they can turn really nasty when they feel like they've been wronged. Cal has tried, with limited success, to remain neutral in his dealings with them. He spends a lot of this book uncomfortably trying to thread the needle of being part of the community but not complicit in a crime.
Trying to stay straight around twisty people, trying to stay neutral in a bad situation, trying to figure out a stroppy teenager—Cal has his work set up for him. French doesn't go easy on him. I find myself hoping that she will find another twisty problem for him solve in another book.
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