In the Woods - Tana French

In the Woods

By Tana French

  • Release Date: 2007-05-17
  • Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
Score: 4
4
From 2,160 Ratings

Description

The debut novel of an astonishing voice in psychological suspense

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, stunning in its complexity, and utterly convincing and surprising to the end, In the Woods is sure to enthrall fans of Mystic River and The Lovely Bones.

Reviews

  • Slow read

    3
    By Heywoodya
    Started out intriguing but slowed down too much in the middle. No closure on one of the main characters. I forced myself to read it all.
  • It was ok

    3
    By boring read
    It was an ok read. When I was done I had so many questions still. And from what I found reading the description of the next book in the series, I won’t get those answers at all. So this was it for me.
  • 5 stars the first 3/4 of the book

    3
    By Davidsmonster
    And then the ending was so disappointing!! I loved the heavy description and sense of mood in this book. I was totally invested in Ryan and Cassie’s stories and each of their trauma. I’m ok with what happens to them in their relationship, but there is so much that is left unresolved! The ending was so disappointing. We are led on for 700-800 pages of beautiful deep feelings and character history to end up no where in the end.
  • Exhausting

    3
    By Grammambo
    Arduous and circuitous long-telling of a short story….only my need to finish what I started got me to the end.
  • Great read

    5
    By solve4life
    Well paced, interesting characters and an ending that was satisfying, without cliche.
  • In. The woods

    4
    By Grammy Jo II
    First Tanya French book I read. I loved it.
  • Well written, slow burn, ends with disappointment SPOILER ALERT

    3
    By MelTizzy
    Spoiler alert - you don’t get an answer to the biggest question of all, what happened to the friends who disappeared in the 80s. Definitely a slow burn book and ends with disappointment. The main character is like able but then essentially blows up the good things in his life. I really enjoyed the story but was so very disappointed with the falling out between the main characters, no answer to the big question, and then the one “responsible” for the death of Katy is pretty much continuing to live life with no consequences. This story could have been so easily nicely put together with the main characters in a relationship and then solving everything else.
  • Hate/Love Relationship

    3
    By kenzievm
    First of all, this book was such an amazing read. It was beautifully written, had all the perfect vibes for a murder mystery, and really had me drawn in. Took me a few chapters to really get into it, but after a hundred pages or so, I was hooked. Sped through the book and spent an entire evening trying to finish it so I could get to the bottom of the mystery. Well low and behold, you get NO ANSWERS to the biggest mystery of the story!! I’m left feeling a bit cheated like I was strung along the whole entire book. Still would recommend, but I’d say don’t even bother reading the last few pages
  • Boring!

    1
    By Findaddy16
    Wanted to stop reading because it was so slow but also wanted to find out what happened. Nothing happened!
  • Incredibly beautiful language.

    5
    By Dogsbody67
    Incredibly beautiful use of language. French describes the natural world it a purely poetic manner, makes it integral character. Her human characters have warmth, humor and heartbreak and we live them all through her words. The is easily the best book I have read in a long time. More than a mystery, this is literature at its finest.

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