In the Woods

Where do I get some of the best book suggestions from? Why, book blogs of course! I’ve seen In the Woods by Tana French mentioned many times over the last few weeks and even though I don’t usually read psychological thrillers, the reviews were all glowing so I figured I would give it a chance.

A twelve year old boy went to play in the woods in his backyard in the town of Knocknaree with two friends. Hours later, the boy is found in a trans-like state leaning against a tree with blood filled shoes. His two friends were never found and he doesn’t have any recollection of the events that took place in these woods.

Twenty years later, Detective Rob Ryan is a newbie on the Murder Squad for the Dublin police. He also happens to be the boy found in the Knocknaree woods all those years ago. Cassie Maddox, a twenty something undercover cop joins Ryan’s squad and the two quickly become friends and partners. While Cassie is aware of Rob’s past, the rest of the squad, including his boss, don’t know about his involvement in that long ago case, since he now uses his middle name as his first. When Detectives Ryan and Maddox find themselves investigating a murder of a twelve year old girl in those same woods, they start to try uncover both this case and the twenty year old unsolved mystery. Could they possibly be connected? As they delve deeper into the investigation, the high stress of murder work, lack of sleep and personal involvement begins to take it’s toll.

As Trish pointed out in her review, Tana French has a wonderful talent for setting the stage of this thriller. It is a fast paced page turner and the author’s writing is almost poetic. Plus, the book is often pretty darn funny. Yep, I said funny. There is an undeniable chemistry between the two detectives and this relationship is what adds a bit of humor and levity in an otherwise dark book.

There were a few plot threads that were left hanging in the end, but it really didn’t deter from my enjoyment. French’s second book, a sequel to In the Woods, The Likeness, sounds really good too and I’m lucky enough to have gotten a copy of it already. Yeah me!