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)

Enjoyed very much

I went into this book blind. I found it very slow for most of the book and the narrator has some awkward pauses and mouth noises throughout. I would knock out a few hours, forget about the book for a while. Come back to it a week or two later, get a little further. Then I hit a point where it got very good. The writing is superb. Highly talented. Narration could use improving but overall this is a great audiobook and unfortunately I will probably buying everything else this writer has written as a result.

A Triumph!

Tana French is clearly one of those writers who seldom comes along- but leaves an indelible mark. Her prose is outstanding. Witty, dry, articulate and skillful- she is a master craftsman in terms of constructing clearly defined character voice and haunting realism. In my opinion, the mark of a truly great story is one that leaves you in a state of greedy withdraw symptoms- simply wishing there were more chapters. The narrator is fantastic as well. He brings this story to life with effortless precision leaving the listener feeling as if they've just had a long late night conversation with a desperately interesting stranger. Well done all around!

Good story-driven mystery

The story is very well put together. I found there was too much detail in some parts. I also didn't really like the characters. Took me a while to get into the book because of this, a third or half way through it began to peak my interest. Even by the end I didn't like the characters much, but the story was very good and warranted my rating.

4.5 stars for this and the next 3 in series

Outstanding writer. The prologue to this book is worth the price of the entire book. It's so well written, so keenly insightful, that I've made several of my friends (many of them writers) sit and listen to it. They all agreed! And then there's the rest of the book: beautifully written, complex and interesting characters and a very rich portrayal of place. Really, this first in the Dublin Murder Squad and the next three (The Likeness, Faithful Place & Broken Harbor) are all good, all completely different from each other, and all wonderfully written. The mystery/ murder itself, in each case is secondary to the story of each book's featured main character. You will miss them when you are finished listening, and the place will stay with you. Here's another plus: you don't need to read them in order ... although you really should since there is a tiny bit of carry over from one book to the next. Really, really great reads. I'll be checking in often to see when French has a new book out.

Fun read, disappointing ending

I enjoyed the book, looking forward to resolution of the many enticing details at the end. Trying not to give anything away...but the ending left me sad and unresolved.

Not bad, not great

I really liked how the book started out, the two mysteries (one in the past, one in the present) and particularly how the characters of the two detectives and their relationship to each other was developed. However, towards the middle of the book, the story just turns depressing. Not thrilling or scary, but depressing and that is not the kind of thing I'm looking for in this kind of book. In addition there are some lose ends which are never picked up so that you are left wondering: "What was the point of that whole strand?"

I want more!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I am anxiously waiting for another book in this series to come out. I started this book and by the middle I had gone back and downloaded the other three. The stories are intriguing and kept my interest from start to finish.

Great Book!

Tana French is one of the most talented writers alive today. You can't go wrong with any of her three, but read this one before The Likeness if you can.

The story is complex and almost impossible to guess, but she's excellent at leading the reader in exactly the right direction.

Looking very much forward to her next one!

Lost in the Woods

Boffo beginning but the author - and her editor - lost her way in the last third of the book to an extent that I have never experienced before. Very disappointing!

Enjoyable mystery, well written and suspenseful

I really love a well-written mystery and this one had all of the ingredients, suspense, good characterization and an excellent plot along with believable dialogue. I don't want to discuss in detail the one aspect of the book I found less than satisfying because I don't want to spoil it for potential readers. It was not critical to my enjoyment, but it is the one thing that kept me from giving the recording a higher rating. The narration was also excellent, I always appreciate Steven Crossley's talents.

I look forward to reading other Tana French mysteries. Although I am a 'temperamental' mystery reader - sometimes I'm in the mood to read one and sometimes I am not - I am always appreciative of having a new author to whose work I can look forward when I am in the mood.