In the Woods

ISBN-13: 9780340924761
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: November 2007
592 pp



First sentence: Picture a summer stolen whole from some coming-of-age film set in small-town 1950s.

In 1984 in a small suburb in Dublin, three twelve-year-old children wandered into the woods and only one managed to walk out alive. The boy has no memory, nor any clue to the disappearance of his other two friends, except his blood-stained sneakers when he was found gripping a tree trunk, terrified. The two children could not be found.

Twenty years later, that boy is now known as Detective Rob Ryan and working in Dublin Murder Squad. No one knows about his secret past except his partner and best friend, Cassie Maddox. When they are summoned to investigate a murder case of a twelve-year-old girl, Katy Devlin, who was found at the local archeological dig, it eerily reminds Ryan about the unsolved case of his two childhood friends, Peter Savage and Germaine Rowan.

To add complexity to the case, there is something about the Devlin's family that arouse the two detectives' suspicions, and then there is the Move the Motorway Campaign which Katy's father, Jonathan is an outspoken member against the project. Ryan knows his career will be over if his superior finds out about his identity, but he is very determined to solve the case, and most of all he is hoping to find some answers to the case which happened twenty years ago.

In the Woods is a highly addictive read as I was drawn into Tana French well-woven debut story involving Detective Ryan's childhood and the taut pacing murder case of Katy Devlin. The chemistry between Ryan and Maddox is another interesting read; as both of them have their dark past and issues to deal with. There is also a psychological element in this story, which had led me to ponder about each characters' minds and their behaviours.

This book is also the winner of the 2007 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. I cannot wait to read The Likeness, where in this next sequel, Detective Cassie Maddox will take the lead of another intriguing case.


Other review:
Bookgirl's Nightstand
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?