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In the Woods

A truly stunning thriller and psychological mystery from one of our greatest living crime writers

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In the Woods

By: Tana French
Narrated by: John McCormack
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THE ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME THRILLER FROM THE MILLION-COPY, SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

New York Times #3 best thriller of the 21st Century

'To say Tana French is one of the great thriller writers is really too limiting. Rather she's simply this: a truly great writer' GILLIAN FLYNN

'[Crime fiction's] biggest contemporary star' GUARDIAN

'One of the finest writers of contemporary crime fiction' DAILY MAIL

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Three children went into the woods to play . . .

One came out.

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, 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.

But when a little girl's body is found at the site of the old tragedy, Rob is drawn back into his own haunted memories.

Knowing that he would be thrown off the case if his past were revealed, Rob takes a fateful decision to keep quiet, as he begins a desperate quest to solve the twenty-year-old mystery of the woods.

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Adapted, along with The Likeness, into the iconic BBC series Dublin Murders

EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
ANTHONY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
BARRY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
MACAVITY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL

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Praise for the talismanic Tana French and her novels

'I can do you no greater favour in life than recommending that you read her books' GUARDIAN

'The most interesting, the most important crime novelist to emerge in the last ten years' WASHINGTON POST

'The most breathtakingly brilliant and close-to-perfect thriller I've read for a long time' SOPHIE HANNAH

'I'm a big fan of Tana French' IAN RANKIN

'This is a tour de force of suspense and storytelling. Comes closer to perfection than anything I've read in the last decade' SARAH HILARY

'French offers a masterclass in unreliability' SUNDAY TIMES

'An audacious departure for this immensely talented author . . . not to be missed' NEW YORK TIMES

'A wonderfully assured and beautifully written debut novel' IRISH INDEPENDENT

'I didn't want it to end' HARRIET TYCE©2007 Tana French Abductions, Kidnapping & Missing Persons Murder Serial Killers Thriller & Suspense True Crime
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Critics' reviews

Sharply written and insidiously creepy, this is a mesmerising read that grabs hold of the reader from the very first page and doesn't let go until well past two in the morning.
This is a wonderfully assured and beautifully written debut novel, a multilayered psychological thriller that digs beneath the surface of ordinary lives and delivers excitement and insight in large helpings.
Lyrical and haunting
A real show-stopper of a thriller . . . Author tightens the tension slowly until squealing point; Ryan's increasingly taut relationship with Maddox is woven cunningly around the crime plot. A splendid, page-turning debut.
A rich multi-layered thriller
This is a real treat for Christmas. In the Woods is a classic murder mystery with plenty of twists and macabre detail. This is Tana French's debut and it's startlingly accomplished . . . French writes beautifully and is far from lazy when it comes to sprinkling clues and red herrings and developing the characters.
An intricate and edgy top-notch psychological thriller.
All stars
Most relevant
I love British and Irish crime and detective series, so I was very eager to start the highly recommended Dublin murder squad series. I’m afraid I was a little disappointed - I found this book far too long winded and I guessed the murderer immediately. Although it was full of Interesting character studies, I really didn’t like the main character, detective Ryan - mainly because of how he treats his partner and all those who care for him.

Did not like main character

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especially of the characters. You can relate to the characters because they are presented as human beings with all the flaws that comes with it

Amazing description

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Like I said: catching but I guessed who the killer is... still it was enough an elaborate story for me to like it ;)

Catching but predictable

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The story is narrated from the detective's view and even though he assumes in the end that the reader didn't guess who did it, I actually did, because it was relatively predictable very early on. Still it was interesting to follow along because the motives and characters only reveal themselves slowly. What really bothered me though, is that the Detective (who'd I like to be some sort of smart hero) turns out to be more and more of a pathetic a.. hole who I couldn't stand any more in the end. Still I found it interesting enough to finish.

Interesting Story, Very well read but predictable

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