In the Woods

A Novel

By: Tana French

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Anthony Award winner

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel winner

Macavity Award winner

The bestselling debut, with over a million copies sold, that launched Tana French, author of the forthcoming novel The Hunter and “the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years” (The Washington Post).

“Required reading for anyone who appreciates tough, unflinching intelligence and ingenious plotting.”—The New York Times

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Richly atmospheric and stunning in its complexity, In the Woods is utterly convincing and surprising to the end.

©2007 Tana French (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.

Critic reviews

"[An] ambitious and extraordinary first novel...rank it high." (The Washington Post)

"Part whodunit, part psychological thriller, and wholly successful...French’s plot twists and turns will bamboozle even the most astute reader.... A well-written, expertly plotted thriller." (NPR)

"In the Woods is as creepily imaginative as it gets." (USA Today)

Good

It was a good book, although, I found the main detective guy annoying, and (spoiler alert) the fact that one of the main plots remains unresolved is a rather annoying point that disgusts me in many new authors’ novels.

It was O. K. But....

This book was A bit too long and did not have the satisfying ending I wished for.

The "woods," friend or enemy?

Mystery upon mystery. Did the author lie to us or tell us the truth? You'll have to read the book to find out. Plan on some late nights, if you do.

Glad I Listened

This is the second Tana French book I listened to, the first being The Witch Elm. I think listening to the Witch Elm prepared me for what to expect, that in the end, I’m probably not going to care for the main character. But even then, I can’t say that I hated him. He’s all sorts of screwed up from what happened when he was a kid, trauma does that. I more or less pity him, I wish he would have gained some type of closure prior to messing up his life. However, Tana’s character development is AMAZING! I feel like these characters could be real people.
As far as the story goes...it was ok. The main characters past is important to understanding him, but not as important as we are led to believe. Who killed the little girl had a nice twist at the end. I would like to see another book about Detective Ryan. His past has shaped who he is and has come back to haunt him. It is a shame he did not gain closure before losing his best friend.
The book was a little slow, but after listening to the Witch Elm, I knew this. I have discovered I prefer Tana’s character development over action and excitement. I would recommend this book.

yeah

The middle really picks up and you start to feel as if it's going to be mind blowing twists and turns but it never delivers.

Good story but.. Ehh.

I have to say that I like the story. There were times where I couldn't stop listening and other times where it just dragged on and on. I don't mind when a good story drags on if it's worth it. In this case, not so much. By the end of the story, I found myself waiting for answers that you never get. The murderer in the current case is painfully obvious. You never know what happened in the cold case, which is so disappointing. Overall I liked this book and Tana French. I will read the next book in the series. I'm hopeful that it has a bit more to offer.

Captivating Story

Perfectly narrated. Loved Cassy, I only wish there was resolve to the this first mystery. It's a good story and worth hearing again!

incredible storyteller

narrator was fantastic, great rich characters. smart story. I highly recommend. now I'm going to read more of hers!

Mystery with a theme.

Not usually into mysteries but this one gave me a jarring insight into being a man.

Mostly a winner!

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. The narrator was excellent and I could listen to him all day every day. Overall the story kept me engaged and wanting more, making it hard to wait between listening sessions that are limited to my workouts and daily commute to work. Spoiler alert - stop reading if you don’t want any more details. I was disappointed only in that one mystery was never solved. It bordered on fantasy which I was hoping wasn’t the answer, but in the end it was left as unresolved (which is often the case in reality) and left me feeling cheated. Otherwise, I enjoyed the story with only a few frustrations with the main character and guessed the culprit early on with the hints the author gave us about psychopaths. I did not guess the actual killer though which is good...it gave me that nice surprise.