When he was twelve years old, Adam Ryan went playing in the woods one day with his two best friends. He never saw them again. Their bodies were never found, and Adam himself was discovered with his back pressed against an oak tree and his shoes filled with blood. He had no memory of what had happened. Twenty years on, Rob Ryan – the child who came back – is a detective in the Dublin police force. He’s changed his name. No one knows about his past. Then a little girl’s body is found at the site of the old tragedy and Rob is drawn back into the mystery. Knowing that he would be thrown off the case if his past were revealed, Rob takes a fateful decision to keep quiet but hope that he might also solve the twenty-year-old mystery of the woods.
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Review
‘A terrific debut . . . French’s psychological insights into the damaged policeman’s torment combine grippingly with the clammy atmosphere that surrounds the lethal woods. As an example of a novel in which the past returns to haunt the present, this scores very high marks.’
(Marcel Berlins, The Times 20070201)‘This is a wonderfully assured and beautifully written debut novel, a multilayered psychological thriller that digs beneath the surface of ordinary lives and delivers excitement and insight in large helpings.’
(Irish Independent 20070201)A masterpiece
(Evening Herald 20070201)'Tana French’s IN THE WOODS is a terrific debut . . . French’s psychological insights into the damaged policeman’s torment combine grippingly with the clammy atmosphere that surrounds the lethal woods. As an example of a novel in which the past returns to haunt the present, this scores very high marks.' (Marcel Berlins, The Times 20070201)
'Lyrical and haunting' (Scotland on Sunday 20070201)
'A real show-stopper of a thriller . . . Author tightens the tension slowly until squealing point; Ryan's increasingly taut relationship with Maddox is woven cunningly around the crime plot. A splendid, page-turning debut.' (She 20070201)
'A compellingly complex case with nuanced characters and a richly detailed sense of place' (Kirkus Reviews 20070201)
'French expertly walks the line between police procedurial and psychological thriller in her debut.’' (Publishers Weekly 20070201)
'A brilliant first novel . . . the reader’s attention is slackened and tightened with a masterly hand.' (Literary Review 20070201)
'Beneath the lyrical descriptions of hot summers and happy childhood memories in small town Ireland lies an unsettling psychological thriller… A compelling page-turner of sinuous twists and turns.' (Choice Magazine 20070201)
'The most breathtakingly brilliant and close-to-perfect thriller I've read for a long time. I stayed up until three in the morning two nights running unable to put it down.' (Sophie Hannah 20070201)
'A must-read is Irish writer Tana French's IN THE WOODS, a literary, dark and absolutely compelling book set in Dublin where all manner of secrets are unearthed.' (Reviewing the evidence 20070201)
'This astonishing first novel weaves a web of intrigue to confound even the most astute: and its denouement, swift, shocking and sublimely executed, will remain with the reader long after the final page has been turned.' (Margaret Carragher Sunday Independent Dublin 20070201) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the US and Malawi, and has lived in Dublin since 1990. She trained as an actress at Trinity College, Dublin, and has worked in theatre, film and voiceover. IN THE WOODS is her first novel.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is Tana French's first novel, published in 2007, and also the first in a series involving detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox. I bought it in 2011 having discovered this author by way of her third novel Faithful Place, which I thought was outstanding - one of the very best novels I read last year. Sadly and surprisingly, I didn't come away from In The Woods with quite such positive memories.
Dublin Detective Rob Ryan works with smart, tough Cassie Maddox, they are best friends as well as partners, and when the body of a young girl is found at the site of an archaeological dig, they are assigned to the case. When they reach the crime scene, Rob realises it is the exact site of his secret childhood trauma twenty years earlier - when he was twelve, Rob (known as Adam back then) had been playing in the woods one sunny day when his two best friends disappeared and were never seen again. Rob has no memory of the event however, although when a hairclip is found at the crime scene he recognises it as having belonged to his friend - and wonders if there could be a connection between that old, unsolved crime and this latest one. Knowing that he would be thrown off the case if his past were to be revealed, Rob takes a fateful decision to keep quiet. He and Cassie are investigating the murder of Katy Devlin, but they both hope that they might also solve the twenty-year-old mystery of the woods.
I was sure I going to like this, I had previous experience of the author with the same characters, and the novel has won high-profile acclaim by way of Anthony, Barry, Edgar and Macavity Awards (that's four separate awards by the way!).... Read more ›
Dublin Detective Rob Ryan works with smart, tough Cassie Maddox, they are best friends as well as partners, and when the body of a young girl is found at the site of an archaeological dig, they are assigned to the case. When they reach the crime scene, Rob realises it is the exact site of his secret childhood trauma twenty years earlier - when he was twelve, Rob (known as Adam back then) had been playing in the woods one sunny day when his two best friends disappeared and were never seen again. Rob has no memory of the event however, although when a hairclip is found at the crime scene he recognises it as having belonged to his friend - and wonders if there could be a connection between that old, unsolved crime and this latest one. Knowing that he would be thrown off the case if his past were to be revealed, Rob takes a fateful decision to keep quiet. He and Cassie are investigating the murder of Katy Devlin, but they both hope that they might also solve the twenty-year-old mystery of the woods.
I was sure I going to like this, I had previous experience of the author with the same characters, and the novel has won high-profile acclaim by way of Anthony, Barry, Edgar and Macavity Awards (that's four separate awards by the way!).... Read more ›
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In fairness the plot to the story is quite good, but the real problem is the ending. After some pages of thrills this book ends with a horrendous anticlimax. It feels as though the book is building up to a grand finale of fireworks and acrobatics, and all we see is a meagre party popper.
The other problem is the excess of description. Sometimes I found myself skipping pages thinking 'What is the need for all this rambling?' I had to force myself to trudge through the endless description of unnecessary ramble. In honesty, borrow this book from your local library and not make my mistake of buying it on first sight.
The other problem is the excess of description. Sometimes I found myself skipping pages thinking 'What is the need for all this rambling?' I had to force myself to trudge through the endless description of unnecessary ramble. In honesty, borrow this book from your local library and not make my mistake of buying it on first sight.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Big Bertha
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
First novel I've read by Tana French and I can't wait to read more. Primarily a crime novel this book starts with the discovery of a young girls body at an archeological dig in Knocknaree. As the central characters Detectives Ryan and Maddox investigation begins the storyline also cleverly intertwines memories of events from years previous when Detective Ryan was a 12 year old growing up in the small community of Knocknaree, idyllic summer memories of times spent playing in the woods with his best friends Jamie and Peter that were marred by a terrible tragedy
The main characters of Ryan and Maddox were great, they made a great team and their characters were developed well, making them believable. Their relationship is central to the storyline and the bond between them is well written, the jibes and subtle humour between them true to life. There's just the right amount of tension in the storyline and I found the scenes in the woods sufficiently creepy to unsettle me. If you like good character development then this is a book I'd definitely recommend. Other reviewers were disappointed with the non-conclusive ending and whilst I agree it would have been nice to have everything nicely tied up, it didn't annoy me sufficiently to stop me thinking it was a great read and I can't wait to start her second novel.
With 91 current reviews there's very little I can add other than to say that in my opinion this really is an excellent book and well worth reading. I purchased the authors second novel The Likeness midway through reading this one and can't wait to get started on it, from me you can't get a better recommendation than that.
The main characters of Ryan and Maddox were great, they made a great team and their characters were developed well, making them believable. Their relationship is central to the storyline and the bond between them is well written, the jibes and subtle humour between them true to life. There's just the right amount of tension in the storyline and I found the scenes in the woods sufficiently creepy to unsettle me. If you like good character development then this is a book I'd definitely recommend. Other reviewers were disappointed with the non-conclusive ending and whilst I agree it would have been nice to have everything nicely tied up, it didn't annoy me sufficiently to stop me thinking it was a great read and I can't wait to start her second novel.
With 91 current reviews there's very little I can add other than to say that in my opinion this really is an excellent book and well worth reading. I purchased the authors second novel The Likeness midway through reading this one and can't wait to get started on it, from me you can't get a better recommendation than that.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By AF
Format:Paperback
I loved it. I thought the first person narrative was incredibly witty and the story very suspenseful. I loved the characters, I thought they were complex and interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone. I can't wait to read the next two.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Olwyn Hayes
Format:Paperback
What a fabulous first novel. I actually read her second novel first "The Likeness" which was excellent too. A good holiday read, not at all predictable and certainly makes you think.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the type of novel which restores your faith in books. It is a pageturner which I genuinely couldn't put down, not just because of the plot (which I won't mention as others have gone into it) but because of the sparky, sexy relationship between the two main characters. Their interactions came across as spiky and realistic and I just loved them.
Several reviews have mentioned that (beware - plot spoiler here) they were very disappointed that the mystery of Adam's friends who disappeared as children was not solved. For me this was not a problem. It would have been all too easy for the writer to dream up some solution to this. How much more realistic to leave it as an unsolved mystery - that's what happens in many cases after all - and it also leaves the possibility open of the author returning to this at some time.
Several reviews have mentioned that (beware - plot spoiler here) they were very disappointed that the mystery of Adam's friends who disappeared as children was not solved. For me this was not a problem. It would have been all too easy for the writer to dream up some solution to this. How much more realistic to leave it as an unsolved mystery - that's what happens in many cases after all - and it also leaves the possibility open of the author returning to this at some time.
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3.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
ok read
bought this book as it looked a good read from the cover.on reading it was good but the ending was a bit poor!
Published 2 days ago by mrs A
3.0 out of 5 stars
So what really happened??
I read a positive review of this book in a magazine so bought it. I thought it was well written and started off promisingly but I think it really lost the way about half way... Read more
Published 15 days ago by Fievans
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not that good
This book is really very over-rated. It is well written, with good depth of character, but lacks pace and action. To call it a thriller is very misleading. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Emanon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling read
The first Tana French novel I've read and I I found it a compelling read - albeit with the caveat that (and I don't want to spoil the story for other readers) the police missed a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lloyd Barnes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly gripping
I read and reviewed Tana French's later two novels (Faithful Place and Broken Harbour) before I read In the Woods, her first book, and although I still feel that those two books... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lady Petra Wimsey
5.0 out of 5 stars
good author
excellent read from start to finish plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. I recommend it well written
Published 2 months ago by mr darcy
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great read
This is the second book I have read by this author. It is a great read mixing detective fiction with the personal lives and dramas of the characters.
Published 3 months ago by Madeleine taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well above average cime thriller
Tana French has the talent of taking the basic crime format to new dimensions by expanding on characters and relationships well
beyond the norm of the genre. Read more
beyond the norm of the genre. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Andy N
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Read
Great story, well worth the money, impressed with the second hand product, have bought other titles since and not been disappointed.
Published 4 months ago by linda martin
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Holiday Read
Read this book while on holiday recently. It took me a few chapters to 'get into it', but was really interesting - would have never guessed 'who done it'.
Published 4 months ago by Clare Burnett
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