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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Significant violence — a brutal home invasion; Toby's injuries; the skull's discovery leads to further violence
Language
Some
Moderate profanity
Sexual Content
Some
Mild to moderate — some adult situations; a party culture
Substance Use
Some
Moderate — Toby's social world involves significant alcohol and drug use; the recovery scenes
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Toby's altered self after the attack — memory, trauma, and the question of who he really is; the family's buried past; the privilege theme
What this book is about
Toby Hennessy has always been lucky — charming, well-liked, gliding through life. Then a home invasion leaves him injured and altered, and he retreats to his uncle's crumbling family home to recover. When a skull is found in the hollow of a wych elm in the garden, the family's past comes apart. The Witch Elm is Tana French's first standalone novel — a meditation on privilege, memory, and the stories we tell about ourselves.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Home invasion — Toby is attacked; injuries are described
Alcohol and drug use — Toby's social world and recovery
Memory and identity — the psychological core of the novel
A standalone — no need to have read the Murder Squad series
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