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)

Almost liked it

First let me say that I realize many people use the "F" word in their everyday vernacular, however, this is not the case in my life, and I would suppose the same is true for many. The people in my circles also don't make it a habit. One could also say that cops/detectives in real life just "talk like that." Maybe they do, but I find it extremely offensive when used in a story. It doesn't make the story more believable and credible for characters to speak like that. There are several detective series I listen to that are very believable, where the authors have chosen not to use crude language. It's just not necessary.

Though Steven Crossley has narrated many, many books and is well thought of, obviously, an Irish accent doesn't seem to be in his repertoire. Though the main character, Adam Robert Ryan, has taken on a British accent, the story is placed in Ireland and the rest of the characters should reflect that. I really only heard a very slight Irish accent a couple of times through the whole book. I had to remind myself that this was an Irish setting and not a British one. Big disappointment.

There were some parts of the story that were spell binding and very interesting, especially regarding psychopathic behavior. That was done very well. I thought it was pretty easy to pick out the mastermind, though Rob tells us that no one really saw it coming besides Cassie.

I found the ending to be dissatisfying. Rather than rambling on and on about what happened or didn't happen to the characters over the next couple of years, the book should have just ended and the story continued in the next book. A good editor is everything!

I will not continue the series, specifically because of the coarse language. It probably wouldn't bother a lot of people, but for me it broke the bank.

Why oh why did this need to be so long???

This book could've been much shorter. I also thought the narrator was making it even longer by how slowly he read. I even sped it up and it was still a 16+ hour book!

Just Okay

Story and plot were decent but left unfinished. The twist was decent but not completely unpredictable. A lot of added in details that were not necessary to me I’m not one for filler details. This is my opinion others may feel differently but not one I would recommend.

Couldn't stop listening!

"In the Woods" is another Tana French book I felt compelled to finish listening to as soon as possible - I wanted to know the answer to "who done it." Written in 2007, it's actually French's debut novel and the first in her Murder Squad series. One reviewer suggested reading this and her second book, "The Likeness," last as this one is not traditionally satisfying, and apparently, "The Likeness" won't make sense without reading this one first. But I am not sorry I waited. The main character, Rob Ryan, is a Dublin detective. He and his partner, Cassie Maddox, are unwittingly put on a case that may or may not be linked to the disappearance of Rob's childhood best friends decades ago. Rob thinks he can handle it, but his choice is questionable and has consequences he couldn't have predicted. There's lots of tension in this book, from what really happened in the current case, what happened in the decades-old unsolved case, Rob's relationship with his partner, Cassie, what happened in Cassie's past to make her the way she is, and more. French provides intricate plots and lots of details. She has a great way of foreshadowing what's going to happen next, making you think she's going to give you the answers, but she doesn't always do so. I agree the ending is not traditionally satisfying. Maybe French will wrap it up in a future book. In the meantime, I'm happily moving on to "The Likeness." The Murder Squad addiction continues.

Believable.

Well written and beautifully performed. I wish I had Starz so I could watch the show. Curses cable for being so expensive.

"Better than the TV Show"

I hate when people constantly compare books to movies, but this show seemed like it was missing something, more about brooding production than story. the storyline made a lot more sense in this format.

Great narration and dimensional characters

The friendship between Rob and Cassie felt so instant, deep, and real. It wasn’t something I wanted to end, but Rob was set up to fall victim to his trauma since before he’d been Adam.

I do wish the narrator was more consistent with the pronunciation of Cassie’s name, but his voice was buttery velvet and kept me interested.

I needed more from the ending however. It left me yearning for answers, but not in a satisfying cliffhanger way.

Possible spoiler alert 🫣

I can’t say I’m not disappointed. What hooked me from the very beginning had zero payoff for the reader. Even to the last minute I was waiting for some explanation that never came. I loved the plot, but there were way too many questions left unanswered for me. A book of this length should have had enough room to tie up of a few more loose ends is all.

Good Read

It’s a great read. Like the twists and turns. However it never solve the side issue which was frustrating.

Very well performed, although a long drawn out story.

When you feel like things are about to pickup, it doesn’t lol. Loved the detail and storyline, it’s just not the book for me.