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)

What a great reader

Story has good number of twists and turns. What made the book even better was the reader. Best I have ever listened to

Good story. Lots of details.

If your looking for lots of details and character based storylines then I recommend this book. The narrator is exceptional!!

Good old fashion whodunit

I enjoyed the book very much. Similar to a long Law and Order episode. mystery and police procedure book in one. realistic.

I got too tense

This book is so good but I was just so tense around chapter 18 that I had to skip to the end to read the last chapter.

Depressing

Really good story but left with a lot of questions and very depressed with the ending.

Complex characters left me hoping for more

This was unusual in that the first person narrator - spoiler alert - alludes throughout the story to a less-than-happy ending, and lo and behold, the story delivers just that. Nevertheless, the characters are compelling and I was left with the hope there would be more to their story. At the very least, as one of the two mysteries being recounted remained unsolved, I would love to know that readers will eventually get the answers they/I crave. Solid narration, although in spite of the narrator's assertions to the contrary "be honest [reader] - you didn't see this coming", I DID, but perhaps I'm just too cynical to believe any character to be all she/he presents her/himself to be. (And I'm no detective.) Still, a very enjoyable read/listen.

Great writing and performance!

First novel for me - loved her writing style, description, emotion, and humor. Performance was top notch - got lost in the story thanks to Mr Crossley. Only 4 stars on story because I wanted more closure on back-story... otherwise a 5 there too.

Spoiler alert

I loved the book but can only give 3 stars because you never get your original answer. Big disappointment

Amazing!! ...and awful.

This was my first Tana French novel. Where have I been? The writing was mesmerizing and the characters - gritty and fascinating. I enjoyed every eloquent moment of the performance. I would recommend it highly with only one caution: the story is tough - kind of like watching a train wreck. It’s not for the faint of heart.

This author has better books

The witch elm was MUCH better, and by the same author. Better narration, story, and just all around superior.