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)

OK

There's a murder and a mystery. We do find out in the end who the murderer was, but there's a whole back story that is just left hanging. Obviously, it has an effect on the detective and his approach to this murder, but there's so much emphasis on the back story that as a reader, I expected it to have some sort of resolution. Nope. The writing is very good, I'll say that. But the story wasn't a page turner. I wasn't thrilled with this book.

Mouth noises

The book was a bit too long. I don’t think the character development needed this much droning on. I found myself having to push through it because I really wanted to know who was to blame for the two separate cases which ended up not even being related. I get where the author was going but you could’ve enjoyed the story without the back story of the protagonist.

Besides it being a bit too long, I enjoyed the story and this was the second of French’s novels I’ve read.

What bothered me the most was the distracting noises the narrator made with his mouth, his breathing, and an occasional background noise of his studio. He’s a brilliant performer but I think the audio could’ve been edited better. I skimmed though the reviews and was surprised to see I was the only to have noticed. Surely not.

A search hiding in the woods of childhood.

The disappearance of two childhood friends haunts the detective who is investigating the murder of a star ballerina in his childhood woods. Interesting characters who are struggling with the case and facing the truth of their lives and balance between work and personal relationships. The performance was excellent and easily understood.

A Downward Spiral

I want my 15 hours back. Book started out with a bang and I was hooked. And so I kept hanging on....and on and on and on, waiting for resolution....some redemptive moment that never happened.
Utterly depressing.

Narrator’s voice

Narrator’s voice sounds elderly which doesn’t match the young protagonist. In addition his voice is wet/ phlegmy and if you don’t like the sound of people eating this narration will trigger that feeling. Story is great!

Great writing but the actor doesn't get it.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I wouldn't. I would heartily recommend they read the book themselves, but I can't really recommend this audiobook. Crossley somehow manages to read every passage of banter between friends, written as a showcase of just how perfect and easy the friendship is, in the manner of a harsh interrogation. In fact, throughout he manages to take French's gorgeous, scintillating prose and somehow turn it into...just words. I bought this audiobook to introduce this wonderful author to my sister on a long road trip we were taking together, and wound up constantly apologizing and saying "it's much better in print, I swear." The sad thing is, my first introduction to this author was hearing her read the prologue to this book on the radio, so I know exactly how good it can sound. The publishers should have simply asked her to read it herself. Skip the audiobook and get this one in print.

What was one of the most memorable moments of In the Woods?

Nope. No spoilers.

Not Great

Many have enjoyed this book, so I was a bit surprised that I did not enjoy it. The story was too slow and it really did not keep me interested. There were certainly parts of the book where it did pick up and hold my interest, but this is the first audio book that I have listened to that I did not have to force myself to get back to work, I actually had to remember to listen to it. Not a great book for me. Not horrible, but not a top shelf book at all for my money.

No Satisfaction

This Book opens with an intriguing mystery, one that is not the main focus of the story, and is never solved. The main mystery in this book is nowhere near as interesting as the opening mystery. I don't know why people would recommend this book to other people when there is so very little satisfaction involved. It's not some literary masterpiece, the characters are not all that intriguing, and it leaves you with nothing but questions. I love a book with an unpredictable ending, this book just has no ending.

An interesting story with a vey sad ending.

The story centers around the relationship between 2 derivatives on an Irish murder squad. I found their banter and comfort with one another delightful. The murder was satisfyingly complex without trailing off into the weeds. The resolution was not terribly surprising, but is layered enough to make it engaging.

I found it very annoying that though this takes place in Ireland there is not a single Irish accent. The narrator also strays into extremes of melodrama that the writing does not necessarily call for.

Well worth the time

So finely written and so well performed. Happy to have discovered this author. The atypical story of murder pulls you in, while the fullness of each character sustains your interest. I highly recommend indulging yourself with the time needed to read or listen to this book.