• In the Woods

  • A Novel
  • By: Tana French
  • Narrated by: Steven Crossley
  • Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (17,727 ratings)

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In the Woods  By  cover art

In the Woods

By: Tana French
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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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)

Featured Article: Whodunit Whizzes—A Shortlist of the Best Mystery Authors


Who doesn't love a good mystery? Listening to mystery audiobooks is a great way to feel some semblance of order in an often chaotic world. The clues are there for you to solve along, and by the end, it will all come together in an incredibly satisfying manner. There’s a formula to the genre, sure, but the best mysteries still surprise you and often subvert expectations. These mystery writers take the genre to a new level. Here's our pick of their best listens.

What listeners say about In the Woods

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    7,763
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Wish the ending was ...

What happened! So many loose endings makes me frustrated and wondering if is a ploy for a sequel ok but not fair

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I found my new series of books!

Loved this book and the performance. Can't wait to read the next. I think each book has new lead characters. Can't wait to meet the new team!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Engrossing

Loved this audible book performance - found extra work about the house so I could continue listening. I was completely captivated.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story but no accents

Well written story, but the narrator keeps to an English accent throughout even though only the main character has an English accent. A bit disappointing from that standpoint.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautifully detailed prose

The writing is poetic, intricate and enveloping while maintaining enough intrigue to keep the intellect stimulated and curious. Loved the story line and the narration. My favorite novel

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Simply Excellent!

Such a great writer.
I will say that Although the narrator was excellent, I found it difficult to hear his words (except the exclamations) on my car stereo. But with a regular headset it was great.

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A well-done mystery that keeps you guessing

This book left me wanting to read more by Tana French. If you're a fan of HBO's True Detective series, you'll enjoy this. French does a great job of slowly unraveling the mystery without giving too much away. French paints a descriptive picture with words that puts you in the setting of the story.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Well written, but very dark, disappointing story

This was very descriptive, well written and held me captivated on the edge of my seat for days in a row. However, unfortunately the author chose to have it be more or less the story of a very sad man and I was left at the end feeling no closer at all. Too many questions left unanswered, and overall unnecessarily depressing ending. Don't understand why authors and screen writers do this for dramatic effect. I feel like I was on the edge of my seat for so long-- to have nothing at all happen. Wont be reading anymore of her stuff. Bummer! I thought I'd found a gold mine at first- as she's written so many. Does anyone write stories that make you feel over all happy at the end anymore? Don't expect perfection, but at least not empty depression!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great mystery

The story has a loft of interesting twists.
And Steven Crossley is my new favorite male narrator.

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fantastic read

Everything about this buy is enjoyable. from the plot of the book, pacing, phrasing, narrator. I just bought The Likeness and am going to start it promptly.

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