Reviews

In the Woods by Tana French

klaireparavel's review

4.0

After finishing this book I need something light and fluffy. And sunshine. So much sunshine.

Where to start? Where to end? Broken victims. Broken investigators. Broken. You need to pause and come up for air at times because it sucks you in and under in it's bleakness. But once you get going, you're hooked. And want to know more. But don't expect to find happiness here.

trin's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This has been on my TBR for forever, and it was not worth the wait! Rob Ryan, a detective who himself was one of a trio of children who disappeared when he was young, and the only one to return, tells you from the jump that he is an unreliable narrator, but that's not actually what Rob is playing at here: he's just sort of stupid. He is also <i>extremely</i> unprofessional. Incompetence, to me, is one of the least sexy traits, so that, coupled with Rob's casual sexism (there's a lot of sly judgment of how women present themselves and not-like-other-girls-ism that I suspect may in fact be French's own) does not make him someone fun to spend 500 pages with.

It's especially not fun when the answer to the mystery is so blindingly obvious.

Could French have written Rosalind behaving any more like a simpering alien? Rob should have seen a flashing "THIS CHICK IS PSYCHO" over her head. What a dolt.

That said, there were occasional patches of nice reflective writing, or suspenseful sequences, but they were too thin on the ground for me. I think your enjoyment of this book really depends on your belief in Rob and his partner Cassie's relationship. Like, French is very obviously going for a UST-laden Mulder and Scully dynamic, but I did not ship it. I did not <i>believe</i> it. So none of the build or payoff had much effect on me. I won't be continuing with the series.

bookgirl_sfz's review

5.0

There are some books, when you read them you imagine yourselves there. Tana French speaks to you not only with her words but also her imagination.
This book is as same as any other detective novel as it is different.
You get the sense of sadness, outrage and disbelief. All of these emotions. I found both Maddox and Ryan as very well written and relatable human being. Must read Novel.

avalete's review against another edition

3.0

This was a buddy read and at times our conversations about what may have happened were way more interesting than the answer the books gives. Rob was extremely frustrating toward the end of the book and it felt like pulling hairs. Then the book tries to convince the reader that they, too, were fooled but, honestly, it was extremely obvious around the halfway point. I read the second book in the series before this one, and I think that one is much more enjoyable than this.

kristinhzta90's review against another edition

3.0

This was a great murder mystery, with a lot of twists. I like that the author fully develops her characters, and builds great relationships between them. I was really hoping for a happy ending, and while she ties up a lot of loose ends, i was left heartbroken at the end.

This is her first book, and I think she was trying really hard to write a literary masterpiece. One thing that annoyed me during this read, was that the author used a lot of crazy words, and I found myself looking them up in the dictionary...very distracting.

mbpartlow's review

2.0

This book has a lot going for it, but in the end the author doesn't deliver. I think it's dishonest to hold out a mystery, referring to it repeatedly for the entire length of the novel, and then never give the reader any resolution. I felt cheated. Worse, I felt like, after some really beautiful wordsmithing, the author had written herself into a corner she didn't know how to get out of.

vgardea's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

richmondo's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

lou_noel's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

author really knows how to write a devastating story; every one of her books i’ve read feels like a sucker punch to the gut. tragic, frustrating, worth the read.

caitkad's review against another edition

2.0

This book is so hard to review. I loved the first half even though I disliked the main character. Then I really disliked the main character! The end was definitely unsatisfying. The writing was well done though and I kept reading it!