In the Woods: A Novel

Tana French

May 2007 · Dublin Murder Squad Book 1 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

Most of what happens in this book is pretty obvious. At first I liked the main character, Rob Ryan, but his personality completely changes in the middle of the book and after he turns into a whiny jerk, I kind of lost interest. I kept on reading because I was still curious about what happened to his friend when they were children, but the book never completes that story line so I was just kind of disappointed.

beginning was great enough to get you hooked then the rest of the book your wondering what happened and she never tells. made us wait for nothing read through 630 pages for a murder unrelated. such a slow book going into descriptions and details unrelated and not useful for the ending .bull

Excellent book. I really enjoyed it. It took some getting used to the Irish slang but I was able to look up words and get the meaning. Amazingly well done. I was so lost inside this book. The ending left me sad and I brooded for awhile and then I jumped into another one of her books. Highly recommend.

About the author

Tana French is the author of the bestselling In the Woods, The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, The Secret Place and The Trespasser. Her books have won awards including the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards, the Los Angeles Times Award for Best Mystery/Thriller, and the Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Dublin with her family.