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IN THE WOODS [Hardcover]

TANA FRENCH
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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First Sentence
What I warn you to remember is that I am a detective. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5 stars
Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Donald Mitchell #1 HALL OF FAME TOP 10 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
If you like good writing and enjoy psychologically complex mysteries, In the Woods will probably be one of your favorite new books this year. The best mysteries help us enter into the world of the detective, as well as into the world of the criminal and victim. Ms. French accomplishes this balancing act with aplomb while sharing many wonderful metaphors in lines of sparkling prose.

"What I warn you to remember is that I am a detective. Our relationship with truth is fundamental, but cracked, refracting confusingly . . . ."

In the Woods is the story of two crimes which occur in the same Irish location twenty years apart. The crimes are linked by the narrator, Rob Ryan, who survived the first crime with a case of amnesia. In 1984, three friends aged 12 headed into the woods, and only one was found . . . in near-catatonic condition with blood-filled shoes, scraped knees, slashes across the back of his shirt, and clutching a tree's trunk with bloodied fingernails. The survivor was called Adam Ryan, and his family soon moved away . . . and sent him off to boarding school in England. While there, he learned to speak with an upper-class English accent and started to call himself Rob. His passion? To become a Murder detective.

The new case becomes his assignment because Ryan and his partner, Cassie Maddox, happened to be playing Worms when the body of a 12-year-old girl, Katharine Devlin, was found on a pagan altar stone at an archeological site in Knocknaree where a motorway is about to be built. Ryan decides not to tell his supervisor that he had been a victim at the same age. Later, when potential connections between the cases appear, Ryan and Maddox agree to keep Ryan's secret.

The investigation soon bogs down into endless checking through standard procedures, but no motives or clues surface to point out the guilty party. The investigation does, however, turn up many other secrets. The stress of the case take a large toll on the partners and Ryan finds himself irresistibly attracted to the gap in his past. Can he regain his memory? Will that solve the current case?

The red herrings in this story are unusually well done. I suspect most readers will find the book's resolutions to be surprising and thought-provoking. Even if you don't, the stylish prose should keep you more than entertained. Much like in reading P. G. Wodehouse, I found myself stopping again and again to reread sentences that sparkled with precise and novel images.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Read..Highly Recommended!! Jun 9 2008
Format:Paperback
This has to be one of the best written mysteries I've ever read. French's writing is so fluid and lyrical I often re-read lines so I could grasp their beauty.

Prose aside, it's a fantastic plot with a good deal of psychological angst and insight, and once you're involved you'll not want to put it down. Plus, you'll be kept guessing which is rare indeed.

The story is woven with great intricacy and skill and if you're like me, you'll just love Cassie with her edgy, Irish humor. I can't say enough about this book - it's a must read, folks!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Ending Unsatisfying Dec 13 2011
By Jessica
Format:Paperback
Though well-written and thought provoking in spots, the author has a tendency to go off on tangental flights of fancy as though she's writing in the midst of delerium. Whenever the story stays on track, it is interesting and there is a heightening sense of expectation for the "who done it" moment. However, only one of the mysteries is solved and the reader is left hanging as to the result of the other. I thought as I proceeded through the last few pages that at last I was going to get my answer. So, imagine my surprise when I didn't get it! Hugely let down, I felt like tossing the book away--something I almost never do. I looked at the synopsis of her next two books, hoping to discover that this mystery was being carried forward. Apparently, not. Perhaps she'll circle back to it in her fourth, or fifth book, but I'm not certain I will stick around and see.
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Most recent customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Far from a meaningful read
Three children like to play in the woods. One is threatened with boarding school. They all decide to run away. There is a murder. One is left. Read more
Published on April 17 2011 by Len
3.0 out of 5 stars Stranded... In the Woods *SPOILER*
For a first time author, Tana French is a wonderful writer. She weaves two intriguing murder mysteries together and has the reader looking forward to solving both of them. Read more
Published on Dec 2 2010 by Marielle Bassel
3.0 out of 5 stars disappointing book - SPOILER ALERT
I read this book because of all the rave reviews posted here. Overall, the book was disappointing. It is somewhat long-winded, yet this is forgivable, considering that the author... Read more
Published on Jun 8 2010 by Booklover
4.0 out of 5 stars Multi-dimensional and Dynamic
The story is narrated in the first person by Adam"Rob" alternates back and forth in time between 1984 and the present day. Read more
Published on Feb 8 2009 by Toni Osborne
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling page turner
SOME SPOLIERS: I finished "In the Woods" in the wee small hours of this morning - couldn't put it down. I'm putting Tana French as one of my very favourite contemporary authors. Read more
Published on Jan 19 2009 by K. V. Keith
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read!!
For a first novel this is a excellent read!! You can't help but get wrapped up in the two main characters as they investigate a very difficult crime. Read more
Published on Dec 31 2008 by Rob Mcniff
5.0 out of 5 stars In the Woods-Tana French
I read this book some months ago and loved it. Could not put it down.
I loved it so much I sent an email to the author and she responded! Read more
Published on Nov 18 2008 by Fran
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