In The Woods by Tana French

In The Woods (Dublin Murder Squad)

by Tana French

When he was twelve years old, Adam Ryan went playing in the woods with his two best friends. He never saw them again. Their bodies were never found, and Adam himself was discovered with his back pressed against an oak tree and his shoes filled with blood. He had no memory of what had happened.

Twenty years on, Rob Ryan - the child who came back - is a detective in the Dublin police force. He's changed his name. No one knows about his past. Then a little girl's body is found at the site of the old tragedy and Rob is drawn back into the mystery. Knowing that he would be thrown off the case if his past were revealed, Rob takes a fateful decision to keep quiet but hope that he might also solve the twenty-year-old mystery of the woods.

Reviewed by Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews on

4 of 5 stars

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WARNING: DO NOT READ IN THE WOODS WHEN YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN THE WOODS!

I made the foolish mistake of reading Tana French's In The Woods while at my families home in upper Wisconsin, in a wooded isolated area. I don't want to come off as some kind of chicken because the novel wasn't actually scary but very suspenseful and creepy. Obviously being "in the woods" added to said emotions.
In a suburb of Dublin in 1984, three children ran into the woods, their childhood playground and fortress. Long after tea time the children are declared missing with only one being recovered, clinging to a tree with congealed blood in his shoes and no recollection of the past few hours.

It has been 20 years since that horrifying day and Rob "Adam" Ryan, the found boy is now on Dublin's murder squad and has managed to keep his childhood identity a secret. Although when a twelve year old girl is found murdered in the same woods and under very similar circumstances Rob may have the opportunity to solve not only the present case but also the one from his past.
In The Woods is like a grown-up ghost story told around the campfire, the weather sets the ambiance, the crack of a stick makes you jump and the shadows have you looking over your shoulder. Shadows and misconception can cover ones persona and can arrange it in a new order to deceive the eye. (Little Red Riding Hood is a prime example) Tana French's novel does just that, with a psychological twist I never saw coming. I cannot end without mentioning Ryan's partner Cassie Maddox a clever new detective in the same category as Steig Larrson's Lisbeth Salander. She is bright, mysterious and knows more than she lets on. (and not to mention Cassie keeps Rob in line) With a on-the-edge-of-your-seat plot and well developed characters it is hard not to find yourself lost in the woods.

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  • Started reading
  • 20 August, 2012: Finished reading
  • 20 August, 2012: Reviewed