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)

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.

Great Book

I really enjoyed this book. It had a different pacing to it the I found refreshing. I also really liked that the story didn't end 5 seconds after the case is resolved. The story felt like the characters were the focus versus the case.

Exceptional

Excellent read! Can't wait to read another book by Tana French. Couldn't put it down

Wish I could write like this!

Just when you think you know, you don’t. Supreme storytelling, character development and scene setting all are gracefully done!

excellent writing

loved the prose but feel the murder mystery could have been better. I'm going to continue the series.

You will talk to no one until you're done .

Dive in if you dare. Upside down, inside out police story. Told by victim turned police officer.

I had the killer figured out

it only took a few chapters to figure out the killer. although I didn't have the circumstances
or motive figured out though until they were revealed. great reader.
I will read another one by this writer. it was a fun listen.