In the Woods

Stupendously dull, this book is like watching a bad movie with first-rate stars. You almost want to reach into the projecting booth to throw the film to the floor. With ITW, You're high hopes are quickly dashed as you realize that the author is much more interested in turning a phrase than telling a story. The primary plot is simplistic, the villain easily seen almost as soon as he/she (no spoiler here) is introduced. To spare myself a coma, I skipped through the middle of the book and discovered that I could pick up the last few chapters without losing a beat. The frustrating part comes when a key mystery is left unsolved. I'm sure high-minded critics hail this as Nuevo art, but in the end you just want to throw the book across the room.

I ordered In The Woods. I was told it was in ok condition - I felt it was in very good condition. The seller was quick and timely with the delivery of the book. Overall great buy.

This novel enthralled me at the start. I suffered through some rather dull patches, assured that the ending would somehow wow me. I anticipated some answers or connections of the two mysteries but was completely let down. It left a lot to be desired. It did not stop me from reading her next mystery, The Likeness, which was a sort of interesting in a very luke-warm sort of way.

You can tell French is in love with her words on the first page. It's this characteristic that makes the novel slower than most psychological whodunits. As to whodunit, no surprise in the first case, left unresolved in the second. The protagonist Ryan has to be the dullest soul on earth. I don't get the hype or the awards, but as they say, reading is an individual experience and not all novels are everyone's cup of tea.

I agree that there are disappointments with the denouement of this beautifully written novel. But it is meant to be more than a mystery or police procedural. It is a tragedy about lost opportunities. Katy Devlin's life of promise was cruelly cut short, but so was Adam Ryan's. So, indeed, are the lives of many of the people in Knockaree, in Ireland, everywhere. But the author also offers her readers the promise of how people can rise above their painful experiences.

Spoiler Alert for those who haven't read the book:

The last remaining memory held by Rob Ryan regarding life before his best friends were taken presents a beautiful world full of infinite possibilities. This is seen with the innate optimism of children who have not yet experienced loss and the harsh realities of life. The fact that all of this light and joy would be destroyed in one horrible afternoon is terribly sad. It doesn't really matter who or what took his friends. Life's tragedies don't always have easily identifiable villains. Adam Ryan made it out of the woods, but he was broken - perhaps irrevocably.

As Ryan's work as a Murder detective is the only thing that gives him a sense of success and personal fulfillment, his demotion is cruel. But it is just. He himself has been cruel to those who loved him. His inability to allow real intimacy and commitment explains, but does not justify, his callous treatment of Cassie and others. Perhaps a few years of reflection on his choices will lead him to some kind of salvation. Perhaps not.

Beyond the mixed success of Katy's murder investigation, Tana French offers us one hopeful, if not dramatic, resolution. Cassie, drawn to Ryan by her own complexity and history of personal injury, ultimately chooses to move beyond pain and tragedy. Her easy happiness with Sam shows how she, unlike her former partner, can move forward. She has found a place of affection, support and comfort. She has chosen mental health and contentment. Sam may be a yokel. But there is truly an important difference between intriging and damaged.