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)

Didn’t like ending

It was generally a good book but the ending was awful. Hoped for resolution and/ a happy ending but found neither one. Generally depressing when the ending started to become clear. Well written, except ending. Performance was excellent

#1 in series

I listened to book #3 first. I'm actually glad I did. I like the female narrator in book 3 better than book 1. I have already purchased book 2 and will start it immediately!

Bummer

Overall, book was disappointing. Backstory was necessary to help us understand main character and how it affects him as a detective...sort of. There were two mysteries, and only one was solved, and the other-- well, we just never find out and it ends with the audience and the main character needing to use our imagination and I can't stand that about a plot. If affected the theme and the purpose of the book. Reading something that resembles life; the idea that we don't have answers to everything is annoying to read and ultimately pay for.

I thought there was good writing, but the story didn't go any where. Everything I liked about the book at the beginning was either dissolved by the end or just was never brought up again.

Didn't have much time to write this review, but I wouldn't buy the book.

A mystery that ends with a mystery.

Rob is a homicide detective on the Muder Squad who must overcome his worst fears and return to the same woods where he was terrorized as a child. A young girl is found murdered and there are strange forensics that just don't add up and/or fit in this kind of murder. Rob and his partner Cassie, a profiler, know it is a conflict of interest, but they decide to stay on the investigation with hope of Rob regaining important memories about what happened to him all those years ago. They are both aware that they are putting the case and their very jobs on the line but feel they must because the two cases might be linked. Rob's forgotten memories may be just what they need to solve the case. Many conflicting stories, from the past and present, make it exceedingly difficult to build a scenario or figure out who could have committed this strange murder. When there is a break in the case and they finally have a handle on who the perp could be, they still may not to be able to prosecute because of important procedures that were not followed.

More mysteries arise throughout their investigation concerning Robs forgotten past, that only drag he and Cassie further into frustration and further apart from each other.

Steven Crossly is a wonderful narrator, who definitely added depth to our mentally distressed main character, and helped to bring the story along at a good pace. I'm very happy and eager to be reading through the rest of this reputable series with my good bookathon buddies.

Maybe it's just not my style

I agree with the other reviewers that the writing is well done and the characters are well developed. Unfortunately I thought they were perhaps a little too developed and I often found myself wishing we could get on with the investigation. There are times when a 20+ hour book is done way too soon. There are other times, like in this case, where I wish more editing had been done to trim a few hours and stay more focused on the main story. Steven Crossley has been praised for his work on this book but again it's not to my taste. His narration seems too meticulous and drawn out emphasizing even more all the extra dialog and description in the story. The next book in the series is about one of the other main characters in this book (from the description anyway) and a different narrator. I may try it but I need to listen to something else first.

Unsatisfying...Beware spoilers

Is there anything you would change about this book?

First, the narrator doesn't use an Irish accent for any of the characters even though this is set in Ireland. Fine, the narrator has an English accent but he gives everyone the same. Second, French spends so much time talking about the first murder, to have that go unresolved is hugely annoying. Third, the main character is incomprehensible. For him to be flawed and start falling apart as the investigation goes on, fine. But he turns into someone who doesn't care about anyone or anything. In the end, he admits that he didn't even think/care about the murdered child he was investigating. I really hate film noir and that's exactly what this book is. There is no satisfaction in any way, on any front. I can't see me investing in any more of her books.

Wonderful book and great narration.

What did you love best about In the Woods?

Read everything Tara French has written. You will be so glad you did. Her Dublin Murder Squad series is just about as good as it gets.

Needed editing for length

Some of the meandering plot lines could have been cut to create tighter and more tense pacing. Way too long. Beautiful writing and I think French got immersed in her prose to the detriment of the story.

My first Tana French

My first Tana French Book but won't be my last. I hadn't heard of her before. I like the audible app for finding new high rated authors.

well told

i love how the author tells the story without getting mired in unnecessary details. we don't have to go thru every step and redundant conversations. hoping the second book follows this vein. great narration and wasn't the least bit bothered by lack of Irish accent not being used .