In the Woods: A Novel (Dublin Murder Squad)
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.
“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.
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Readers say *In the Woods* is a gritty, atmospheric Irish detective novel with rich psychological depth and complex characters. Many praise Tana Frenc...
This is Tana French's first book in this series and I can't wait to read the rest of them. This book had me on the edge of my seat. I love psychological thrillers.
The story begins with Detectives Maddox and Ryan as they begin investigating a murder case centered around a child who was killed near an estate where an archaeological dig was being performed. The characters and the story were gritty, sad, and at times very funny, but the overall sadness of the book sets the tone throughout. As they continue with the case, they find clues that are very similar to a case from 1984 where two children were presumed dead and never found. It's a tale that will keep you guessing and devouring the information as you go along for the ride attempting to determine who the killer is and what the motive was. I really enjoyed the book!
This was the first Tana French book that I have enjoyed and I look forward to reading more from her. I felt as though her descriptive writing and story development was very witty and creative and having been fortunate enough to visit Dublin last year, it was really neat to hear about places I had been including Bray.
This was the first Tana French book that I have enjoyed and I look forward to reading more from her. I felt as though her descriptive writing and story development was very witty and creative and having been fortunate enough to visit Dublin last year, it was really neat to hear about places I had been including Bray.
Book one of the Dublin Murder Squad series.
In 1984, three children (Jamie Rowan, Adam Ryan and Peter Savage) disappear into the woods near the Irish estate of Knocknaree. Hours later, Adam is found near-catatonic, standing against an oak tree with mysterious cuts across the back of his shirt, and his shoes and socks soaked in blood. Jamie and Peter are never found, and Adam has no memory of what happened.
Twenty years later, he's a detective in Dublin's elite Murder Squad, and investigating a murder in Knocknaree with elements eerily similar to Adam's disappearance. The book follows the investigation through developments and dead ends, exploring the relationships of investigators and Adam's long-buried trauma. The story's conclusion is HAUNTING.
A lot of build up for a very anti climactic ending. The writing was well done though. It took me a long time to get through it.
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. I did really like the Cassie character though.
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