Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Keeper by Tana French Narrator: Roger Clark
Series: Cal Hooper #3
Published by Penguin Audio, Penguin Random House on March 31, 2026
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 496
Length: hours, 32 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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On a cold night in the remote Irish village of Ardnakelty, a girl goes missing. Sweet, loving Rachel Holohan was about to be engaged to the son of the local big shot. Instead, she’s dead in the river.
In a close-knit small town, a death like this isn’t simple. It comes wrapped in generations-old grudges and power struggles, and it splits the townland in two. Retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper has friends here now, and he owes them loyalty, but his fiancée Lena wants nothing to do with Ardnakelty’s tangles. As the feud becomes more vicious, their settled peace starts to crack apart. And when they uncover a scheme that casts a new light on Rachel’s death and threatens the whole village, they find themselves in the firing line.
The Cal Hooper series is a newer one by Tana French. Cal is an American, originally from North Carolina, but was a cop in Chicago for 25 years. He is divorced with one adult daughter. He comes to Ireland for a quiet place to live in retirement.
I continue to be surprised how much I am enjoying this series. The small town is definitely its own character here, an old and gritty one. Cal and Trey are making some custom woodworking pieces. Trey is considering an apprenticeship but Cal hopes she will finish school first. Trey is just starting to have friends and even date which is going better than he expected. Cal and Lena are “engaged” but neither one is in a hurry to get married.
One of the town’s young women, whose dating the son of the main employer comes to see Lena one early evening. She is concerned about her cat and other things. Late that night her parents say Rachel didn’t come home and there is a big search. She is found drowned and it is thought to be suicide.
The main employer guy, Tommy, wants Cal to investigate but he says no. Lena does her own research because the girl did not seem suicidal. She discovers what she thinks happened to her, and believes it was caused by Tommy and his son. She knows Rachel was concerned over what their plans might do to their small town. Tommy doesn’t want Lena to stir things up. Lena isn’t sure she wants to get involved.
On the other hand, Cal has started to feel part of the small town. He tries to protect Lena and Trey but Lena hasn’t told him important things. Trey and her friends are fired up about investigating. The small town politics are frustrating and terrifying. As usual, things are resolved but not without emotional hurdles and political ramifications.
Narration:
I have enjoyed Roger Clark in his narration of this series. It felt strange with some characters sounding more Irish and others not. Of course, Cal as an American and a key point of view in the story does not sound Irish; he isn’t. The others had some with accents and some without them. I was too engrossed in the story to pay too much attention though. I did notice some typical vocabulary from the area. I listened at my usual 1.75x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Tana French
Tana French is the New York Times bestselling author of In the Woods, The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, The Secret Place, The Trespasser and The Witch Elm. 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.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 26-Audio
- 26-COYER
I’m glad you’re enjoying this series so much. I love how emotional it sounds, and I love stories set in small towns with lots of secrets. Wonderful review!
Thanks Tammy. There are SO many secrets. And politics.
Glad you’re continuing to enjoy the series. I had issues with her Dublin series and think her style just isn’t a good fit for me.
I think I read only the first one of the Dublin series. But this one seems to be pretty good.
Books where the small town is also a major character are favourites with me – and I think US authors excel at that premise. Thank you for an informative review – I love layered mysteries and am sorely tempted… But I’ve already broken one of my commitments NOT to add any more series to my TBR pile, other than Netgalley arcs after reading one of your reviews today. If I go for this one as well, then I’m just a wretched oathbreaker with no moral fibre left… *sobs*
Sometimes great books all come out the same month and other months have less so I give myself grace to get a few extras but I am pretty piled up right now.
I enjoy small-town mysteries. Great review Anne.
Thank you Kimberly. I enjoyed this series.
Yea for surprising joy! Glad it’s working for you.
yes the quality of the writing, plots, characters is better than expected. Which is a bit dumb on my part since I read the first 2 books.
It’s so hard having a full cast of characters and getting different voices for each.
I think the narrator did really well with it, though.