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)

Solid mystery, plenty of twists

Really enjoyable - kept my attention and built to the climax beautifully, showing, not telling, each character’s development. I loved the final twist as the case was solved as well as the remaining loose ends that left me wanting just enough more to go right away and get the next book in the series.

Good "read"

Great writing. Some holes but the characters and plot were great. Ending was a tad disappointing. Narrator did a great job minus none of the characters having the correct accent. Though I would much rather that than an awfully done one.

Deliciously Captivating from the Start

This has been one of my favorite books to listen to, second only to Shantaram.
In both books, the story was well written and held my attention, and they both had excellent readers.

When I say Steven Crossley made this book, it is because he added so much life and feeling to the words on the page. I never read the book, but if I had it would not have been as enjoyable to me.

This book grabbed my attention from the beginning and held it throughout. It was like an addiction for me. I had to listen at every free moment. I even went back and listened to several sections again because French's use of the English language was delicious. His metaphors were fantastic.

I will be listening to this book again, even though I know how it ends.

The story was not predictable, and was not ridiculous. It maintained reality throughout.

I strongly recommend this book.

Long and underwelming

The book starts strong but falls flat from there. It is a bit too long with too much detail on small unimportant elements.

Great mystery with fantastic narration!

Great story, great characters and I didn't figure out the mystery until the very end! And the narration was fantastic! I listen to over 100 audio books a year, and this is a great one!

Good

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

This was written by a woman from a 1st person male perspective. Although I enjoyed the thought processes, as a man I don't think any man including myself thinks in this way.

What does Steven Crossley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

the best part

Could you see In the Woods being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

BBC

Enjoyable listening BUT...

I really enjoyed listening to the accent and the back and forth between the characters and the suspense of the book. But about half way through the book, I feel like the author added senseless drama for no good reason. The ending was also a bit aggrivating. The biggest suspense/question of the book was never answered which just kinda left the reader hanging.

On and on and on

What did you like best about In the Woods? What did you like least?

The story seemed interesting at first, and then it dissolved into long, long excursions into Ryan's childhood and what the sky looked like and 1000 other things having little to do with the story or the actual broadening of the characters.

What was most disappointing about Tana French’s story?

The "asides" that had little to do with the thrust of the plot.

Which character – as performed by Steven Crossley – was your favorite?

Cassi

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No, it would be 6 hours long.

Any additional comments?

Close, but no cigar.

Intrigued by the psychology of the characters

Great character development and plenty of surprises as the story unfolds. Hard for me to take a break from listening.

enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this book. the story was well written and the narrator did a great job. I've been wanting to read/listen to it for some time now. finally purchased it and I'm glad I did. highly recommend it and thinking about continuing the series.