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)

Fantastic first book!

I read the author's second book first, and couldn't wait to read this one to find out more about the characters. I was not disappointed! I initially checked out the print version from the library, but could not renew it due to a long waiting list, so I downloaded it on Audible. now I also have another favorite narrator, too! I listened to it constantly and loved every minute of it. can't wait for her next book.

Interesting Listen

Would you listen to In the Woods again? Why?

Yes. It is always good to listen more than once because you always miss something the firt time around.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It did. I was interested to see how the two story lines connected.

Have you listened to any of Steven Crossley’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When we found out who committed the latest murder.

Any additional comments?

I was disappointed with the end. It was as if the author got bored with writing the book and just wanted it to be done.

Enjoyable read

I enjoyed this book. However the chapters were too long. I couldn't find essy ways to take a break. I also found it necessary to reread long passages or even full chapters just to keep myself following the story.

A Story that left me yearning for more

I enjoyed the story but was kind of disappointed in the overall persona and character of our narrator/protagonist. Don't get me wrong, I love the tortured soul approach. But as the novel progresses I found myself liking him less and less.

Terrifically long and unsatisfying

The author set up four narrative threads and only satisfactorily resolved one. The others were hastily dispatched and the mastermind of the primary crime was not even convicted. This was the first of this series of books and I can only hope that subsequent novels live up to the glowing review that led me to this author.

Top notch

In the Woods is both a chilling police procedural and in depth character study. Ryan is a man I want to meet again. The story is full of twists and tension and for me, that "can't put it down" quality readers love. I wonder how I've missed Tana French's books before now. I'll read them all.

Great book

What did you like about this audiobook?

Most books are predictable but this one was not. Great ending

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

Hasn't

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

Yes he does. He does this by leading you on but not quite giving you all the answers until the end

Fair tale but too long

Perhaps true to life, but I did not care for the story as a whole and found the book too long. However, the plot is intriguing and the main characters are well developed.

Incomplete

I really enjoyed Witch Elm, so I decided to go back to this one. Having loved the lead character in Elm, I was disappointed in this lead. He had several missteps that simply felt odd even taking into consideration his damaged psyche. The smoking & drinking became tedious rather than adding depth or interest to the characters. I still want to know the rest of the story, but I’m afraid I never will. It was simply mean taunting us to the end.

I know I’m American, but the narrator’s interpretation of the characters’ words often seemed off. I often had to say the line differently in my head with different inflections for it to make better sense and be more in line with the characters. Maybe the producer needed to give better direction, but I was quite disappointed in the narration. Maybe, like some have commented, he needed to be Irish!

I will listen her again.

Great crime story. Characters are very well created. I was wishing to have more of them but good stories need an end. I was looking forward for the Irish accent in the performance but i get the twist. Recommended.