In the Woods

This was a well-done mystery in that it kept me guessing until the end. Rather than adding in heavy-handed clues, the author introduced dozens of tiny near-clues, which was a bit distracting at times, but probably necessary to throw readers off the scent.

I would've given this book another star, well, another half star if I could, if I hadn't grown to dislike the protagonist so much. By the end of the book, I was actually getting joy out of each of his missteps. I would consider reading the book's sequel sometime in the future, when I'm up for another mystery.

I was excited to find out that this book was the first in a series, because the setting was so evocative. Then I learned that [b:The Likeness 1914973 The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad, #2) Tana French http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255897334s/1914973.jpg 6504351]'s protagonist is Detective Cassie Maddox. I won't be reading the sequel.I got the feeling that the audience is expected to like, no, to adore Cassie...and I didn't. It didn't help that the author kept emphasizing how small Cassie is–she shops in the boys' department for clothing, she owns the same blouse as the pre-teen victim...This insistence was distracting, to say the least. I also had a problem with how quickly she Spoilerswitched partners, turning from Rob to Sam, so quickly and so intensely. She started an affair with one partner, it was more complicated than she'd like, so she agreed to marry the other partner? Just like that?

Good book. Well written, interesting plot, etc.

But then ... the ending. It left me dissatisfied and sad and depressed.

So yeah. I have mixed feelings about this one, but it was a good read, I guess.

Not as twisty/turny as I expected. Also, not scary. Just a whodunit book. A good book, but not what I expected.

I started this book out with high hopes and in some ways it delivered which is why I gave it three stars. I really liked the premise. I loved the story of a lost boy being found in the woods blood soaked shoes and his friends missing. I loved how this lost boy all grown up and a murder squad detective is called back to that lonesome town and those mournful woods. I love it.

But it did not work for me in the end. First, I really, really desperately wanted to like Adam Rob Ryan – really. But when he slept with his partner and that very morning gets up and walks out and starts acting like a moody teenager that did it for me as far as being able to like him in any way. I know he had a rough life, I know he is being traumatized by this case bringing up all sorts of emotions and memories about his tragedy as a child but come on she is his best friend and his partner his behavior seemed contrived. I thought his interaction with Sam and with his parents was real. Truthful. And even his initial interactions with Rosalind and Jessica felt right but not for long.

I admit I don't know much about crime scene investigation but honestly the crime lab did not choose to check out the storage places the day of the murder. Twenty yards away and out of bounds. I don't know it seemed like they would have checked the entire site. It just did not make sense to me.

It irked me the way the author pushed it back in the readers face about Rosalind being involved. This is Rob Adam Ryan speaking, “I am intensely aware, by the way, that this story does not show me in a particularly flattering light. I am aware that, within an impressively short time of meeting me, Rosalind had me coming to heel like a well-trained dog: running up and down stairs to bring her coffee, nodding along while she bitched about my partner, imagining like some starstruck teenager that she was a kindred soul. But before you decide to despise me too thoroughly, consider this: she fooled you, too. You had as good a chance as I did. I told you everything I saw, as I saw it at the time. And if that was in itself deceptive, remember, I told you that, too: I warned you, right from the beginning, that I lie.”

Contrary to what the author thinks I did figure out that Rosalind was involved. Right when she tried to seduce Ryan in that instant I knew. It made the whole Cassie spilling her guts story relevant. Hello psychopath.

I am used to books not telling the whole story (and I don't need happy endings) but I felt the author lied. Framed it up to be a story about Adam Rob Ryan and it never really was, the murder that he is called back to head up is solved but the reader never learns one tiny little detail about what happened that summer day back in 1984 when three 12 year olds went running into the woods and only one came back out.

But with all that (which does seem like a lot) I thought Ryan got what he deserved in the end. I was deliriously happy that Cassie and Sam get together. And I read every word which truth be told I don't do often with books I don't like. I think that says a lot about her writing ability and style.

I just picked this up Friday and am thoroughly engrossed in it. I'm not usually into crime thrillers, but this has a good storyline (so far) and interesting lead characters.

First the good, I really enjoy this writer's “style” of prose, it's almost poetic, if that makes sense and the story in this novel I enjoyed more then her other novel (The Likeness), but overall it still fell short for me. The most interesting of the two stories being left unsolved really disappointed me and I found one of the two main characters just truly unlikable, so ya, this was just an OK read for me....

Despite giving me scary dreams at night, I enjoyed reading this book. It was creepy. Everyone said “you'll never guess the ending!” and, well, I did. Mysteries don't usually appeal to me, but this one had a great level of character interest.

A psychologically violent book, I thought the characters were very realistically human. The story is perhaps most disturbing not because of the murder mystery, but because it is a beautiful portrait of how the humans destroy themselves, and others, in many ways. The ending left a bit to be desired, but it left me with a sense of dissatisfaction and melancholy fitting to the themes of the book.