The Witch Elm

A brilliant new work of suspense from "the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years." (Washington Post)

From the writer who "inspires cultic devotion in readers" (The New Yorker) and has been called "incandescent" by Stephen King, "absolutely mesmerizing" by Gillian Flynn, and "unputdownable" (People), comes a gripping new novel that turns a crime story inside out.

Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who's dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life - he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family's ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden - and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.

A spellbinding standalone from one of the best suspense writers working today, The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we're capable of, when we no longer know who we are.

**

ReviewPraise for The Witch Elm:

“Edgar-winner French is at her suspenseful best in this standalone, in which an Irishman, who’s always considered himself a lucky person, has to reassess his past in the light of a gruesome find on the grounds of his family’s ancestral home.” --Publishers Weekly

“. . . the story is compelling, and French is deft in unraveling this book's puzzles . . . Psychologically intense.” --Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Tana French:

"A tour de force . . . When you read Ms. French--and she has become required reading for anyone who appreciates tough, unflinching intelligence and ingenious plotting--make only one assumption: All of your initial assumptions are wrong." --Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"[Tana French] inspires cultic devotion in readers...most crime fiction is diverting; French's is consuming." --The New Yorker

"There's nothing standard about French's approach to crime fiction, which plays the form much like a jazz musician improvising on a standard. Even when the outlines of the mystery seem familiar...she finds a way to get at enriching themes and powerful emotional truths in fresh and surprising ways." --Chicago Tribune

"To say Tana French is one of the great thriller writers is really too limiting. Rather she's simply this: a truly great writer."­ --Gillian Flynn

"Terrific--terrifying, amazing, and the prose is incandescent." --Stephen King

"One of the most distinct and exciting new voices in crime writing." --The Wall Street Journal

"French is a poet of mood and a master builder of plots." --Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post

"In all of the author's work, meaning lurks beneath every quip and glance. French not only spins a twisty cop tale, she also encases it in meticulous prose, creating a read that is as elegant as it is dark." --Associated Press

Praise for The Trespasser:

"This one, starring Detective Antoinette Conway, may be her best yet." -- Entertainment Weekly

"French has always found a marvelous balance between the crimes at the heart of her novels and the personal and interpersonal lives of her detectives." -- O, Oprah Magazine

"French keeps the reader pulling at the end of a tight leash."-- TIME

"...French outstrips most crime writers. Instead of following a single detective across 30 books, French sucks the reader into a different narrator's mind with each book. Her stories build to the moment when the narrator's personal and professional lives intersect, and sometimes her characters are vanquished by their transformations." -- GQ.com

"Ms. French writes dialogue like nobody's business, and The Trespasser has enough surprises to keep your brain buzzing." -- The Wall Street Journal

"French has classed up the old-school police procedural with smart, lush prose and a willingness to explore the darkest recesses of her characters' emotional lives." --The Millions

"When Gillian Flynn calls your book 'mesmerizing,' it shouldn't be taken lightly. And Tana French's new thriller about a detective embroiled in a complicated case involving a woman's murder is worthy of the accolade." -- InStyle

About the AuthorTana French is also the author of In the Woods,The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, The Secret Place and The Trespasser. Her books have won awards including the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity and Barry Awards, the Los Angeles Times Award for Best Mystery/Thriller, and the Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Dublin with her family.