In the Woods

I loved the beginning of this book and couldn't put it down. The characters are fresh and engaging, the premise intriguing and the mix of poetry with stark police procedure appealing. However, the narrative lost steam half-way through and I struggled to finish it. I don't fault the author here. Tana is a major talent and I'm looking forward to the second book in the series. In my opinion, a good editor should have tightened up the manuscript and kept the plot line taut.
Sadly, this is one more indication of how cutbacks and downsizing in the publishing industry are affecting the quality of books produced.

Please disregard the detractors. Once you start reading, you will not be able to put this book down. The complaints about the ending are by folks who expect that life will turn out with a nice, neat ending, finished in a big bow. Some mysteries are never solved, those we love the most ultimately may be those whom we are least able to understand, and some people are simply too damaged by the horrors of their childhood to ever be able to love and live fully: these are the gifts of this wonderful, unforgettable novel. What an exceptional debut!

It was hard to put this book down to do unimportant things like, sleep, for instance. I liked the Irish setting, and the characters started out very strong. I liked the details of their lives, apartments, the music they listen to, what they eat, how they spend their time outside work. A much more endearing picture than the standard, damaged American detective, smoking and drinking either at the bar or in front of the TV. Rob Ryan is very damaged: he survived an attack that killed two of his friends twenty years ago in the same wood. They were twelve. Now, he should take himself off the case of a twelve-year-old girl found murdered there. But he can't. He just can't. And this makes him very human and sympathetic. He's even hoping that this case will help solve the case of his missing friends, whose bodies were never found, though their blood was. In his shoes.

Somewhere along the way, however, he loses his sympathetic nature, and it's not that believable, to me, how that happens. His character isn't handled as well as it might be. Cassie, his partner, is another interesting character, although she is not shown as well, more just described by Rob. The assorted characters surrounding them are done well enough, standard techs and bosses, with an Irish twist. One thing you will notice is that Ireland seems about twenty years behind the U.S. in terms of things like crime -- he says nobody worried about it in 1984. Well, bless ye, we had Ted Bundy and Son of Sam by then, plus an assortment of other maniacs, too many to list. Also, he calls twelve-year-olds "little kids" where we are used to thinking of them as pre-teens, and old enough to be responsible for younger siblings. I think this is the author, not the character, and it reflects Irish culture. So, it's interesting, but the story worked better for me to think of the three kids in the original crime as somewhat younger.

The ending is a disappointment in some ways, but in spite of the problems, this is still a very enjoyable read. The author has a great writing style, even if the detective's voice is a little too poetic for a male detective...unless Irishmen are different? I remember an Irish boxer who, asked why he became a boxer, said, "Because I wasn't a poet." So there you go. Highly recommended for mystery lovers with patience -- over 400pp to keep you busy here.

I wanted so much to like this book! I enjoyed the first few chapters, in which we get to know Rob Ryan, a homicide detective with a secret past. Unbeknownst to everyone except his partner Cassie [...], as a child Rob was the only one of three to survive an encounter with a murderer in the woods near his Dublin home. Rob is unable to remember the details of that day's events, so he struggles to hide his past and move on with his life. However, when he and Cassie are tasked with investigating the murder of a 12-year old girl in the same woods, Rob cannot help but notice the similarities and wonder if there is a connection.

Tana French is clearly a talented story teller. She is at her best when focusing on the relationship between Rob and Cassie, and her dialogue really sings. However, the story that she is telling in this book was just not interesting enough to hold my attention for 400+ pages. The ending is odd, and there were a lot of issues left unresolved.

Though this book was disappointing, French is a writer to watch. Hopefully with some careful editing her next book will live up to the potential shown in this one.

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.