• In the Woods

  • A Novel
  • By: Tana French
  • Narrated by: Steven Crossley
  • Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (17,731 ratings)

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In the Woods  By  cover art

In the Woods

By: Tana French
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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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)

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What listeners say about In the Woods

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  • Overall
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Great performance

Great story that keeps you listening. Performance is very well done with each character having a distinct nuance of tone . Will look for books read by Steven Crossley in the future!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good, but not great!

I like the narration...story was all over the map, plus I figured it out early

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Marvelous

I never expect much from mysteries but really enjoy them. This one surprised me. I thought that I'd get bored at some point because it is a long book for a mystery but I was riveted from beginning to end. The ending isn't as neatly resolved as some might like but that doesn't ever disappoint me. The performance was good although his female voices sometimes bothered me a bit, but not enough to ruin the book, which has happened to me a few times. This is the second book I've read from this author. I will read more. Excellent story telling and writing.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Boring

The story dragged until the last few chapters. The moon carer turn was unsympathetic and needed to be medicated.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

I really recommend this book, the character development is amazing.

Great plot twist. I really was in shock.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing ***Possible spoilers ***

I bought this book because of the hint of supernatural mystery. That was barely mentioned. Why was this book so long and yet had such a horrible unresolved ending? Would not recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Surprise

Loved this book. It totally kept me guessing and was one of the best books I have read/listened to lately. The narrator occasionally mixed up the two male voices but not enough to detract from the overall enjoyment.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Bummer of an ending

So many twists and turns, good subject, GREAT narrator, but complete letdown at end. I was all set to rec to my friends but no more.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Waste of a credit and 13 hours

I know this book has a lot of good reviews but this just could not get into it. I love suspense and detective books. But this one is soooo slow. Basically, the premise is an old murder case and a new one that are somehow related. Or so says the description. New murder is solved but old one is not. Very frustrating ending. And the book is too long. Great narrator.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Amazing but lacking

Well all the questions about the main story were answered. I wanted there to be an answer to Ryan's story of Jamie Peter and him but there wasn't. Disappointed.

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