Review #13: In the Woods by Tana French

Title: In the Woods

Author: Tana French

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Awards: Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author

Publisher: Penguin

Rating: 5/5

First off, what is this book all about? Here is my description.

Set in and near Dublin, Detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox are investigating the murder of a young girl found in the woods behind Ryan's childhood home.

This setting brings back painful memories of Ryan's escape from abduction. Twenty years earlier he was found in the very same woods clinging to a tree trunk in shock wearing sneakers filled with blood. His two friends he was playing with that day, dead and gone. Not to be found again.

He is unable to remember anything that happened and for the next twenty years kept this secret from most everybody in his life, except from his new partner Cassie.

In the Woods combines both of these unsolved murders in an awesome suspenseful read.

My Review:

I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. The writing was superb; haunting, raw and nostalgic.

I had so many post it notes to mark quotes but I don't want to give anything away.

Imagine experiencing something so awful as a child that you block it out and leave so many unanswered questions that haunt you for the rest of your life. Then one day you land smack in the middle of your memory and in order to answer another victim's question, you must face your own. This "unknown" haunted the whole story up until the end.

Detective Ryan's character was heartbreaking and endearing and his dynamic with Cassie was beautifully portrayed by the author's writing.

The supporting characters gave this book a raw edge. The family of the little girl included a controlling father, a submissive mother, and two sisters, one troubled and one manipulative.

The woods that the murder takes place in are near an archeological site run by a cast of strange, fiesty characters. The police force in which Cassie and Ryan work is also filled with men and women, dedicated to the job and fierce in their opinions.

What I loved the most, outside of Ryan and Maddox, was the way the author made you feel nostalgic. She wrote about childhood in a way that made it easy for any reader, in my opinion, to identify. She wrote honest dialogue between the young kids and the way a child looks at the world and how they feel about their home life.

I am very excited to continue with these characters and this author. The Likeness is Book Two and is already out in paperback. Check our Tana French's website for more details. The ending of this one will completely catch you by surprise.

This was my first of two books chosen for the R.I.P Challenge and it was worth it. I am glad I finally got around to reading it. It got all 5s. Highly Recommended!

Happy Reading!

* red headed book child