A worthy finale to the Cal Hooper trilogy

5 stars

A bittersweet end to the Cal Hooper trilogy, I relished this final stay in Ardnakelty, Ireland. It's hard to put my finger on what drew me, and kept me hooked, to this series about a retired Chicago cop, who 'blows in' to a seemingly quiet rural Irish village. An outsider to the villagers, most of whom keep a respectable distance, Cal collects friends as the books progress. Neighbour farmer Mart, taken with healthy scepticism; the illusive Lena, who comes to mean a lot to him as we go along and, most notable, half feral Trey, a young girl in need of a moral father figure. Maybe as a transplant to the British Isles, myself, I feel a kinship to Cal? Maybe I am drawn to the gorgeous Irishness of the dialogue with a twisty logic and story? Perhaps it's purely the desire for a simpler life, being a good neighbour, in a quasi off grid fashion as one finds their feet in a new place? Regardless, this is a story that spoke to me and one I will miss.

Trey tended to feature heavily in the previous books but takes a quieter, though key, role in The Keeper. It worked well as Cal et al face a curious local death and a threat that has dire consequences to Ardnakelty's future. There were a fair few levels to the story and countless moments of conversations that translate wisdom in a uniquely Irish oblique way. A highly philosophical lot of characters, it was great fun for the reader. But deeper was the concern for losing a way of life that has sustained civilisations with ancient roots. Monetising and decimating a quiet existence in balance with nature to feed an ever hungry and destructive commercial machine. Cal looks to root out evil influences in The Keeper, as he did in both previous books, but here it felt a more anxious threat. More prolonged, stressful moments of worry on my part making it difficult to put the book down.

The Keeper proved a worthy finale that left hope in my heart for the future of Cal and the countryside as a whole. Tana French is an exceptional story teller and one I keenly follow to see what she comes up with next.