Tana French is widely considered one of the best murder mystery writers working today.

A skillful wordsmith, many of her novels are slow burn.

Too slow for me, at times.

But this one works.

“The Hunter” is sequel to “The Searcher” (2020).

Cal Hooper is a retired Chicago police detective who bought a derelict cottage in the west of Ireland precisely so he would never again have to chase down criminals or use his service weapon. 

And things are quiet until the return of Johnny Reddy, the absentee father of Trey, Cal’s now-15-year-old protégée and de facto child.

Johnny is a grifter. Gift of the gab but it’s all bullshit.

This time Johnny proposes a con to fleece a rich British nob named Cillian Rushborough.

He convinces his former neighbours to salt their river with gold — in order to convince the Brit to buy mining rights in their rural properties.

If interested, definitely get the audio book to enjoy the Irish lilt and local slang.