The Witch Elm/ Tana French/ 509 pgs

Tana French is an exquisite writer. Her details on every level wrap around you and pull you into the story. However, this book required some fortitude to get through. Toby is a 20-something Irish guy who has skated through life rather easily. After a night out with his pals, two guys break into his house. When he gets out of bed to see what's going on, they beat him to within an inch of his life. After a long hospital stay, Toby, who now finds it hard to concentrate and can't remember much about events prior to the attack, moves in to the old family home to care for his dying uncle, Hugo. Later rather sooner, Toby's cousin's kids find a human skull in the wych elm tree out in the back garden. So, who killed this person and stuffed their body down the trunk of a tree? It's a long road to get to this answer and we only have Toby as our guide. Toby is not a likable person. He's selfish and obtuse. Neither are his two cousins, who are also key players. But Uncle Hugo? Him, I would have liked to know more about. This is a long, circuitous story. The author does bring us back around to the beginning but I wish there would have been a shorter route to get there.