The Tense Theatre in The Witch Elm
The Witch Elm is an impressive novel. It’s a riotous exercise in prose and character and suspense whose ending literally left me breathless. But it has one flaw that has disappointed hardcore Tana French fans: a suspect as the narrator. I myself didn’t particularly mind but apparently most longtime fans did. They yearned for her usual complex detective protagonist while lighting up websites with irritated reviews. They were hoping for what they liked, a Dublin Murder Squad personality, and didn’t get it. I thought French’s approach was fresh and worked…