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)

Good But Overlong With a Stuffy Reading

Any additional comments?

If this were the first book I experienced by Tana French, I would probably not buy another. Since I started the Dublin Murder Squad series with "Faithful Place," which was excellent on all points, I will stick with the series. This book was overlong and, during the last third, I was just hoping it would end soon. The story was very good as was character development. The author surprised me with the perpetrator(s) of the crime. The reading was skilled and also my biggest complaint. Rob Ryan, the character telling the story in first person, is Irish but was raised in British boarding schools and speaks with an "upper crust" British accent. Steven Crossley delivered Ryan just right, but then delivered the dialogue of ALL the characters in that same accent. I would have preferred Rob Ryan to at least imitate the Irish accents of the other characters and I blame the producers and directors for a poor judgement call. But that's really a minor complaint. All in all, the book was worth the time and kept me occupied for many 45-minute treadmill sessions.

Surprised and Pleased

When I started this book, I found it hard to get used to the voice telling the story, but as I continued to listen the story unfolded and I remember getting quite excited as the story teller described the feelings and surrounding with such great detail. I felt like I was a bystander in the story, like I was right there sharing their frustration, grief and disbelief portrayed.

I would definitely recommend this book, and caution anyone listening to have patience as the story is very interesting, It is a book I will listen to again, as it delves deep into its characters.

Sharon Nolan

Uh? Ok?

Well written. Well read. Interesting charachters. Interesting story. But somehow it doesn't add up. Feels like the story lacks something - when the book's finished, I feel left in the woods really. I don't have to have every story to give every answer, but this book kind of disappointed me.

Very "dry"!

In listening to this story I felt like I was walking through a deep marsh in heavy (large) boots!

It is my hope others might like it but --- "one must have a lot of patients" & don't mind hearing the same/similarly happenings again and again and again ... !" Well you get the idea!

More than a crime novel

This book would be a fine novel if it were just about the plot. But in the end it is a profound meditation on loss. Loss of childhood and its innocence. Loss of opportunity, of friendship and love, and loss of memory. The author has fantastic descriptions of the protagonist grasping for flitting images that lie just beyond consciousness. I was fully engaged through all three sections of the download. This is an excellent work.

Live inside The Woods

I loved every sentence in this book and although I pretty much detest a British accent, I was compelled to listen straight through and then listen, again. Really terrific writing! Great narration and a wonderful new author to delve into. I felt like I was living inside that crime scene.

Did I really just listen to that for 20 hours?

Would you try another book from Tana French and/or Steven Crossley?

Yes...maybe. I liked her writing style and certainly his voice. I hated the character of the narrator, so I'm hoping that was my real problem with the book. I didn't like him and when he tried to convince us that he wasn't so bad because "she fooled you too" I was grossed out. "She" wasn't fooling anyone and seemed to be the obvious killer from the beginning. I am a little forlorn that French's other books seem to be equally as long. I don't mind a long book as long as it doesn't drag..which In The Woods did.

If you’ve listened to books by Tana French before, how does this one compare?

I haven't

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

None. I like his voice and he does a stellar job, but the casting was all wrong. He sounded like a 60 year old playing a 30 year old man imitating young women and girls. Awkward.

Was In the Woods worth the listening time?

No. I honestly can't believe the way the story stops...not ends...just stops.

A great story!

Grabs you immediately! If you want a neat ending this is not for you. This is real life untidy and messy but I loved it and will read Tana again. Not all loose ends are tied up. The reader is great as is the author. Just sit back, relax and enjoy!

Don't waste your time

Great performance for an awful ending and complete waste of time. The sad part is there was a detailed and concise set up for a potentially clever ending, but the author wasted her talents for a "thud" of a conclusion. I wish I could have read a review like mine before I wasted so much time on this dog.

In the Woods

Very good story. Well read. I recommend it.