Biblioracle on Tana French's novel "The Keeper"

For the third and final time, in her new novel, “The Keeper,” Tana French returns to the small western Ireland town of Ardnakelty and her ex-Chicago cop protagonist, Cal Hooper.

“The Keeper” follows 2020’s “The Searcher” and 2024’s “The Hunter.” Hooper has opted for small-town life on another continent in order to forget the steady degradations of being a police detective in a major American city, but things don’t go according to plan. In the first two books, we see Cal introduced to and then steadily more immersed in Ardnakelty’s intrigue, a place with literally generations of history and the grudges to go with them.

“The Keeper” works as a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, while also showing clear signs that French is making the right call to move on from Hooper and Ardnakelty. It’s been an enjoyable ride, but barring some major shift, the juice has been squeezed from this world.

Hooper is now established in Ardnekelty, in a relationship with Lena Dunne, and a happy quasi-parental figure to young Trey, who helps with Hooper’s sideline as a craft furniture maker. He better understands, and to an extent now trusts, his nearest neighbor, the salty old Mart, who always knows the pulse of the town. Hooper drinks with the fellas at the pub, busts chops with the best of them, and seems on his way to a settled life.

But then a body turns up, Rachel Holohan, a sweet-natured young woman engaged to Eugene Moynihan, son of local bigshot Tommy Moynihan, and soon enough Hooper is dragged into a simmering struggle for the spirit and future direction of Ardnekelty, with no choice but to involve himself in this place that has become his home.

French weaves several mysteries into the narrative. What has happened to Rachel Holohan? Was it a suicide, as it seems, or something else? And significantly, what is Tommy Moynihan up to with his purchasing of significant tracts of local farmland?

Hooper is not the only character who is involved despite the desire to maintain distance from the machinations that seem to drive Ardnakelty. Lena believes she’s the last person to see Rachel alive when Rachel came to Lena’s house the night of her death, in distress, but also not obviously suicidal. Lena has held the town at arm’s length even as she’s come to accept it is the place where she will stay, but to get to the bottom of what happened will require her to reengage in ways she thought she’d left behind.

Lena and Hooper are pursuing answers to the same questions, but their different methods cause tension between them that their equally taciturn natures are ill-equipped to solve.

French makes effective use of what we’ve come to know and understand about these characters and this world from the earlier novels. We know that seemingly quiet scenes of conversation may auger future fireworks, helping to build solid tension regarding both the main plot and the character relationships.

But I also felt like I was traversing territory very similar to the earlier installments. French seems to get this, remarking in prepublication materials that “There’s a limit to how many sinister deaths you can have in one small townland before you go full ‘Murder, She Wrote.'”

Indeed.

Readers of the earlier installments should be eager to read the conclusion to the trilogy in “The Keeper.” There are a couple of moments that made me gasp at their import.

And those who have yet to start the journey should be encouraged to start the ride and be pleased that there’s plenty of reading ahead.

Book recommendations from the Biblioracle

John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.

1. “The Picture of Dorian Grey” by Oscar Wilde

2. “Bastard Out of Carolina” by Dorothy Allison

3. “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros

4. “The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth” by Josh Levin

5. “The Quiet American” by Graham Greene

— Gary N., Des Plaines

For Gary, I’m thinking some Daniel Woodrell, who died late last year, but left a rich legacy of writing. “Tomato Red” is the pick.

1. “The Red House” by Mary Morris

2. “Go as a River” by Shelley Read

3. “Strangers” by Belle Burden

4. “The Birdwatcher” by Jacquelyn Mitchard

More Top Picks Fin

5. “Boy from the North Country” by Sam Sussman

— Brenda A., Skokie

For Brenda, I’m recommending the charming and warm “Rules for Visiting” by Jessica Francis Kane.

1. “Our Missing Hearts” by Celeste Ng

2. “Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs” by Caitlin Doughty

3. “An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good” by Helene Tursten

4. “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks

5. “The Queens of Crime” by Marie Benedict

— Janet S. (on behalf of the Reflections Book Club),  Waukegan

Always fraught to recommend to a book club. You just have to hope you hit the target with a majority of the group. Here goes: “Excellent Women” by Barbara Pym.

Get a reading from the Biblioracle

Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to [email protected].

John Warner is the author of books including “More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.” You can find him at biblioracle.com.