The first in a series of five books, Tana French’s debut
novel is impressive and mind-bending, another stay-up-all-night read. Part
police procedural, part psychological thriller, In the Woods is dark and mystifying, masquerading as a murder
mystery for what is really a brilliantly cruel piece of psychological mastery.
For fans of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl,
Dark Places, and Sharp Objects,
this book is a must read.
The story begins in Dublin, Ireland during the summer of
1984 when three children vanish in the woods. Two of them have disappeared
forever, leaving Rob Ryan clutching a tree trunk in sheer terror, unable to
speak, much less remember what had happened. Twenty years later as a detective
on the Dublin Murder Squad, Ryan buries his past in order to work on the case
of a murdered 12-year-old girl who was found in the same woods. Detective Ryan
and his partner, who have become fast friends, delve into past and present to
solve the murder.
This first person novel is as much about the murder mystery
as it is about the narrator himself and his dark and dreary past, which comes
back to haunt him every time he visits the scene of the present crime. Are the
two crimes connected? You will wonder if Ryan’s repressed memories will resurface
as he delves into the murder of another child in the same secretive and
illusive woods. As you become privy to Detective Ryan’s thoughts and
unravellings, the transformation he undergoes will be particularly striking. Questions
left unanswered will undoubtedly have you craving more. Reach for the next in the series, The Likeness followed by Faithful
Place, Broken Harbour, and
recently released final book of the series, The
Secret Place. Find a good spot to read this, preferably with people around,
but definitely not in the woods!
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