In the Woods by Tana French

Where oh where do I start with this one. The bloody beginning you might ask? Well, yes, that would seem rather smart. Let me say that it was an interesting read. The book is told not as the story is happening, but looking back at the story. The story is told by Detective Rob Ryan. What's interesting in the way the story is written, is that the character is talking to the reader. I found it rather interesting.

Now, the story itself. In the 1980's, three children were out playing in the woods near their home and they didn't come back. A search party eventually found one of the boys, Adam Ryan. However the case was never solved. The other two kids were never found. Detective Rob Ryan, is Adam Ryan. I don't believe I'm giving that away, since you know always right away.

One day his partner, Cassie, and him are assigned a case where a child was found, murdered, in Knocknaree. This wouldn't be such a big deal, but that is the location of the disappearance of Ryan's two friends in the 1980's. He knows he shouldn't continue with the case but he does. There is a suspicion that the death of this child, might be linked to the old case, but still he doesn't tell his boss.

For awhile the case goes nowhere. Each lead they get takes them to a dead end. The case is getting to both Rob and Cassie, however it's harder on Rob because of the link to his childhood. He begins to remember things about that summer and his friends.

Eventually though, there is a break in the case. Nope, not saying more. Seriously, I don't want to say too much and ruin it for you.

This book is listed as a psychological suspense. I guess that's what it is. I tend to label mysteries as either a mystery, or a cozy mystery. Haha! I didn't think there were really any gory details, nothing to give me the willies. The story is more about the case and the relationships between the people and how things end up. I admit that at first, it kinda took me awhile to really get into it. Once I got into the groove of the story it really took off for me. I wanted to know what would happen to the current murder investigation. I wanted to know if the cold case would be closed. I wanted to know about the relationship between the detectives. I really do recommend this book. I thought the story was excellent.

Now, for two things I find pretty funny.

1)The cover of the copy I have shows a quote on the front cover, it says: "[An] ambitious and extraordinary first novel…rank it high" - The Washington Post Book World, now next to the author's name it says :author of The Likeness. Get it? I happen to know that The Likeness is the author's 2^nd book, but if you didn't know that, the quote would seem off. Oh…and I agree with that quote. I rank it pretty darn high.

2)This story takes place in Ireland, the police HQ are in the Dublin, the castle actually. I think that's fun, because I've been there. But…as happens to me often when I read a book that takes place in Ireland or England, I begin to read the book with an accent. I'm sure I do a horrible English (Or Irish for that matter) accent, but all the same, I tend to read the book with the accent. Then…when I'm just doing normal thinking, I realize I'm thinking with an accent. Such as, troubleshooting some kind of PC problem and in my head going "What the bloody hell is going on?". Then..when I talk to people, I start using "bloody" a lot. As in…"It's a bloody boring day today isn't it?" yeah…I know…

Have you reviewed this book on your blog? If so let me know and I'll link it below

I took the liberty of doing a blog search for other reviews since I'm told there are a lot out there, so here you g, the following readers reviewed this book:

BookBath

Dante and the Lobster

Reading is my superpower

Piling on the Books

Happy Reading…and thanks for stopping by! Kris