In the Woods by Tana French

Quickly after finishing Two Can Keep a Secret, I was antsy for another book, but not just any book. I wanted something LONG that would suck me in from the beginning; I was not really looking for a series, but would accept one; and it could not be a book currently on my shelf. Why? Because I looked at all of the books on my shelf and none of them said "Read me!" I was also being extra picky with genre. In a nutshell, my brain was being difficult. So I turned to the Silent Book Club and told them what I was looking for and other books I had enjoyed. Nothing was catching my interest. Every title and author that popped up seemed further and further from what I was looking for (not all of them, but I was in that picky of a mood). So while people are still commenting, I am on Audible, again looking for recommendations. One of the first books to pop up was The Witch Elm by Tana French. The title was intriguing and the plot sounded solid; but then I read a comment that it was not the best Tana French book to start with if you have not read any of her other works. The name sounded familiar and I vaguely remembered two people mentioning the name in the group, so I went and looked, and both praised the Dublin Murder Squad series, so I looked up In the Woods, and what would you know, I have already added this title to my TBR list (I did not realize it was on my list of 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime until after I started reading it). All of the signs seemed to be pointing me toward this book and this series, so I bought the first one and jumped right in.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

It is the summer of 1984 and three young children go into the woods to play like they always do; only one comes out covered in blood and no memory of what happened. Twenty years later, Rob Ryan, the only survivor, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad. When a little girl is found murdered just outside the woods where his friends went missing, Ryan and his partner, Detective Cassie Maddox, are determined to figure out what happened to her, and if there is any connection with what happened to Ryan all those years earlier. The deeper they dive into the lives of Katy Devlin and her family, the more it seems that there might be some connection, causing Ryan to force himself to remember that horrible day that he has completely barred from his memory. But as they come up with more questions and less suspects, they find themselves questioning if they will be able to solve who killed Katy, let alone what happened to his friends.

The prologue does a wonderful job of pulling you in and making you want answers right away, even though you know that is not going to happen. However, the first few chapters then slow down a little bit. If it had not been for the prologue, I might have walked away from the book, and I never would have known what a wonderful novel I was missing out on. I became hooked when I met Katy's family. There was obviously something wrong with the family dynamic: abuse, hiding a murderer, or if they are just that weird. But as the old adage goes, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... Either way, my Spidey senses were tingling and from there on out, I was determined to figure out what happened to Katy, and hopefully to Jamie and Peter.

(Source: Giphy)

I had a suspect list starting from that moment too, and it included Katy's father, Jonathan, Katy's older sister, Rosalind, someone who hired a hit man, and some crazy psycho who has taken up residence in what little bit is left of the woods; and really, my money was more on the first two. If true crime has taught me anything, you probably know the person who is going to murder you. But French does a good job of sprinkling in other possibilities that you want to hang your hat on, because the thought of a family member killing you is a terrifying one, even in a novel.

Rosalind really was a good murderess and she played a good victim. Ryan and Maddox knew that someone was making Katy sick, but it is usually a mother who does that, and the mother was cleared. And the way she attached herself to Ryan was a huge red flag, but I thought more in a way that she is just going to try to get Detective Ryan in trouble in a sexual assault kind of way, not a "I am going to blow your cover and your case and ruin your friendship and basically destroy your life" kind of way. While towards the end I suspected her of murder and being a psychopath, before that, I just thought she was your run of the mill psychopath.

"'I'm sorry,' I said, suddenly horribly ashamed of myself. 'There may come a time when you're ready to talk about this, and when that happens, I'll be right here. But until then...I shouldn't have tried to push you. I'm sorry.'

'You're so kind to me,' she murmured. 'I can't believe you've been so kind.'

'I just wish I could help you,' I said. 'I wish I knew how.'

'I...I don't trust people easily, Detective Ryan. But if I trust anyone, it'll be you.'

We sat there in silence. Rosalind's hand was soft under mine, and she didn't move it away.

Then she turned her hand, slowly, and interlaced her fingers n mine. She was smiling at me, an intimate little smile with a dare lurking in the corners.

I caught my breath. It went through me like an electric current, how badly I wanted to lean forward and cup my hand around the back of her head and kiss her. Images tumbled in my mind-crisp hotel sheets and her curls falling free, buttons under my fingers, Cassie's drawn face-and I wanted this girl who was like no girl I had ever known, wanted her not in spite of her moods and her secret bruises and her sad attempts at artifice but because of them, because of them all. I could see myself reflected, tiny and dazzled and moving closer, in her eyes." (p. 297)

(Source: Giphy)

I am disappointed that we do not learn what happens to Jamie and Peter, and that Ryan's career and life are ruined after this. I was not expecting a happy ending; how can there be a happy ending when a little girl is dead? And Ryan did a lot to mess up his life all on his own, but man, that was still rough to read. I was at least somewhat hopeful that it would give an inkling into what happened to Jamie and Peter, but nothing; it is still a cold case, and that annoys me more than anything. I even broke my cardinal rule and read the synopses of the following books to see if Ryan made another appearance, since the books are only loosely connected, but unless I missed it, it looks that I will never get an answer about those two children. So because of that, my hypothesis is that Ryan is also a psychopath and killed them and blocked it from his memory. If you read the book, it fits.

I definitely agree with the book being on the 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list. French makes the book read as a very interesting police procedural. There is enough dialogue and personality with the characters that you are sucked into their lives and decisions, but is also so incredibly accurate on how the case would be handled.

Rating: 9/10
Author: Tana French
Series: Dublin Murder Squad (Book 1 of  6)
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime
Dates Read: March 21-25, 2019