Author Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the United States and Malawi. Living in these diverse cultures gave her a unique perspective, one that she puts to good use in her debut novel, In the Woods.
When the novel was published in 2007, it made the bestseller lists, and received many glowing reviews. French also won the coveted Edgar Award (named for Edgar Allan Poe) for the best debut mystery novel of the year.
The book opens in 1970s Ireland, in the rural town of Knocknaree, 10 miles from Dublin. Knocknaree was supposed to be an escape from the ills of the city: poverty, unemployment, crime. The lucky families who moved there hoped for a better life.
Children loved to play in the nearby woods. There was much to explore, and a castle to hide in. They played until they heard their mothers calling them home for tea. All was well until the day that three 12-year-olds went into the woods and did not return home.
The police were notified and a search began. The biggest of the children, Adam Ryan, was found clinging to a tree. He had blood filled shoes and his T-shirt had tears in the back. Adam was catatonic with fear and unable to remember what had happened.
Adam's best friends, Jamie and Peter, were never found. The crime haunted the community, and Adam's family sent him away to a boarding school in England, fearful that whoever took the children was still in Knocknaree and may return to kill Adam.
Adam's family moved away; they could not bear to look at Peter and Jamie's families. Adam never returned to Knocknaree, and he took his middle name Robert as his first name in an effort to distance himself from the event he could not remember.
Twenty years later, Rob Ryan, a member of the Dublin Police, is assigned to the Murder Squad. He does not have many friends outside of his partner, Cassie Maddox. Cassie is younger than Rob, and many of the detectives on the squad question her qualifications to work on the Murder Squad.
Rob and Cassie are good partners, and good friends. They are the ones present in the squad room when a call comes in; a young girl has been found murdered in Knocknaree. Child murders are rare in Ireland, and this one is shocking.
Twelve-year-old Katy Devlin was found by an archeological crew working in Knocknaree. She had been bludgeoned and laid out on top of a ceremonial altar where she would be easily found.
Rob and Cassie interview the crew working on the site. They are mostly college students, and some of the crew remembered seeing Katy with a group of kids who hung out and played in the woods. One person recalled seeing a man wearing a tracksuit wandering around the grounds a few evenings before.
It was difficult to notify Katy's family. They had reported her missing the day prior when her mother found her bed empty. After speaking with the family, Rob and Cassie felt that there was something off about the family; they were hiding something.
Katy's father had received some threatening phone calls recently because he belonged to a group of residents who were trying to stop a motorway from being built through Knocknaree. Could this be the reason Katy was killed, to send a signal to her father to stop his efforts? Investors stood to lose a lot of money if the motorway was not built.
This murder brought back memories of the missing children. Was there a link between Katy's murder and the missing children from 20 years ago? Could there be a child serial killer at work?
No one in the police department besides Cassie knew the truth about Rob actually being Adam. She questioned whether he should be working the case. If there was a connection, his work on the case could compromise the investigation.
Rob assured her that there was no connection, and besides, he remembered nothing. He wanted to solve this murder. A child murder is emotionally draining on the police working the case, and Rob started spiraling downward. He couldn't sleep, wasn't eating and was having nightmares.
The case brought everything back to Rob. He tried hard to bring back the memories of that night in the woods, but was unsuccessful. He did remember his friends, and the things that happened before their disappearance, but nothing of what happened to him and his friends when they disappeared.
French does a marvelous job creating tension in the novel. Will Rob remember anything? Was his disappearance related to Katy's murder? Who killed Katy? There are many theories and a few suspects, but nothing concrete.
Fans of police procedurals will enjoy In the Woods. French spends a lot of time detailing the workings of the Murder Squad, and the interviews with suspects are particularly riveting. (Hint to anyone who is going to be questioned by the police: call a lawyer immediately.)
How Rob, Cassie and their partner on this case Sam, question the suspects and witnesses, gain their trust and dig at getting the truth lends insight into their characters. The characters are well drawn, with interesting back stories. French is a marvelous writer, and she weaves this story tightly.
Part of the fun of reading a mystery is trying to figure out whodunnit, and French does give enough clues that I was able to figure it out. The fact that it took Rob much longer to come to the same conclusion, and that he does so very reluctantly, questions his effectiveness as a detective.
The relationship between Cassie and Rob is really the heart of the book. They are good friends, great partners but their easy going banter belies a more complicated relationship. When Rob starts his downward spiral, Cassie's efforts to be a good friend and work partner become more difficult.
There is much to recommend about this novel. Although a bit on the long side at more than 400 pages, French pulls the reader in with this intriguing tale of murder and memory, and she takes them on an interesting journey to a resolution. In this book, as in life, however, resolution does not always come for all, and that feels right in the context of this novel.
I give In the Woods four and half stars; fans of police novels and mysteries will like this smart, well written book. I am happy to note that French's follow-up novel, The Likeness features more of Cassie Maddox, my favorite character in the book.
Diane La Rue is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Her lifelong goal is to read one book per week. She can be reached at
laruediane2000@yahoo.com
The book opens in 1970s Ireland, in the rural town of Knocknaree, 10 miles from Dublin. Knocknaree was supposed to be an escape from the ills of the city: poverty, unemployment, crime. The lucky families who moved there hoped for a better life.
Children loved to play in the nearby woods. There was much to explore, and a castle to hide in. They played until they heard their mothers calling them home for tea. All was well until the day that three 12-year-olds went into the woods and did not return home.
The police were notified and a search began. The biggest of the children, Adam Ryan, was found clinging to a tree. He had blood filled shoes and his T-shirt had tears in the back. Adam was catatonic with fear and unable to remember what had happened.
Adam's best friends, Jamie and Peter, were never found. The crime haunted the community, and Adam's family sent him away to a boarding school in England, fearful that whoever took the children was still in Knocknaree and may return to kill Adam.
Adam's family moved away; they could not bear to look at Peter and Jamie's families. Adam never returned to Knocknaree, and he took his middle name Robert as his first name in an effort to distance himself from the event he could not remember.
Twenty years later, Rob Ryan, a member of the Dublin Police, is assigned to the Murder Squad. He does not have many friends outside of his partner, Cassie Maddox. Cassie is younger than Rob, and many of the detectives on the squad question her qualifications to work on the Murder Squad.
Rob and Cassie are good partners, and good friends. They are the ones present in the squad room when a call comes in; a young girl has been found murdered in Knocknaree. Child murders are rare in Ireland, and this one is shocking.
Twelve-year-old Katy Devlin was found by an archeological crew working in Knocknaree. She had been bludgeoned and laid out on top of a ceremonial altar where she would be easily found.
Rob and Cassie interview the crew working on the site. They are mostly college students, and some of the crew remembered seeing Katy with a group of kids who hung out and played in the woods. One person recalled seeing a man wearing a tracksuit wandering around the grounds a few evenings before.
It was difficult to notify Katy's family. They had reported her missing the day prior when her mother found her bed empty. After speaking with the family, Rob and Cassie felt that there was something off about the family; they were hiding something.
Katy's father had received some threatening phone calls recently because he belonged to a group of residents who were trying to stop a motorway from being built through Knocknaree. Could this be the reason Katy was killed, to send a signal to her father to stop his efforts? Investors stood to lose a lot of money if the motorway was not built.
This murder brought back memories of the missing children. Was there a link between Katy's murder and the missing children from 20 years ago? Could there be a child serial killer at work?
No one in the police department besides Cassie knew the truth about Rob actually being Adam. She questioned whether he should be working the case. If there was a connection, his work on the case could compromise the investigation.
Rob assured her that there was no connection, and besides, he remembered nothing. He wanted to solve this murder. A child murder is emotionally draining on the police working the case, and Rob started spiraling downward. He couldn't sleep, wasn't eating and was having nightmares.
The case brought everything back to Rob. He tried hard to bring back the memories of that night in the woods, but was unsuccessful. He did remember his friends, and the things that happened before their disappearance, but nothing of what happened to him and his friends when they disappeared.
French does a marvelous job creating tension in the novel. Will Rob remember anything? Was his disappearance related to Katy's murder? Who killed Katy? There are many theories and a few suspects, but nothing concrete.
Fans of police procedurals will enjoy In the Woods. French spends a lot of time detailing the workings of the Murder Squad, and the interviews with suspects are particularly riveting. (Hint to anyone who is going to be questioned by the police: call a lawyer immediately.)
How Rob, Cassie and their partner on this case Sam, question the suspects and witnesses, gain their trust and dig at getting the truth lends insight into their characters. The characters are well drawn, with interesting back stories. French is a marvelous writer, and she weaves this story tightly.
Part of the fun of reading a mystery is trying to figure out whodunnit, and French does give enough clues that I was able to figure it out. The fact that it took Rob much longer to come to the same conclusion, and that he does so very reluctantly, questions his effectiveness as a detective.
The relationship between Cassie and Rob is really the heart of the book. They are good friends, great partners but their easy going banter belies a more complicated relationship. When Rob starts his downward spiral, Cassie's efforts to be a good friend and work partner become more difficult.
There is much to recommend about this novel. Although a bit on the long side at more than 400 pages, French pulls the reader in with this intriguing tale of murder and memory, and she takes them on an interesting journey to a resolution. In this book, as in life, however, resolution does not always come for all, and that feels right in the context of this novel.
I give In the Woods four and half stars; fans of police novels and mysteries will like this smart, well written book. I am happy to note that French's follow-up novel, The Likeness features more of Cassie Maddox, my favorite character in the book.
Diane La Rue is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Her lifelong goal is to read one book per week. She can be reached at
laruediane2000@yahoo.com
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