Scan barcode
avidbookreader7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.25
beanpod's review against another edition
3.0
I’m sorry I didn’t love it. I really, really wanted to. Two things I love: murder mysteries, and Ireland. But this story was too drawn out. I loved Cassie, and even O’Kelly, but the friendship built too long in the writing and nothing seemed to carry us for a while. I’ve already bought the next two, so I will read them after a few more books. Things I did like:
Ryan/Adam’s evolution, even if it had little to do with any change with him, and yet:
Ryan/Adam’s telling us about it all with the knowledge of hindsight.
Cassie’s fierceness. How she faces her job/ her coworkers, her life, and the case
Ryan/Adam’s evolution, even if it had little to do with any change with him, and yet:
Ryan/Adam’s telling us about it all with the knowledge of hindsight.
Cassie’s fierceness. How she faces her job/ her coworkers, her life, and the case
chrissaay's review against another edition
I couldn’t get over how unlikeable Rob was and I didn’t find the story interesting enough to continue through that.
stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition
4.0
It's been about 6 months since I wrote a review, I've almost forgotten how to do these. Bare with me, because I think this author deserves the hype.
_____________________
My problem with the crime fiction genre is that I love reading about mysteries and murder, but I find cop books boring. Weird, right?
This is because as a behavioral science major, I want to know what the murderer thinks, not the one observing it. I am the observer, I wouldn't want to read a book about me watching something happen. Tell me about the dark secrets of the criminal, that's the exciting part!
I'm always interested in the case and the process, but have found the characters in the few police novels I've read, to be painfully dry.
Tana French is one of the few who managed to catch my interest while writing from the perspective of the police. I think it's because she defeats the stereotypes of the old, tired man who has become immune to the tragedies of his job (with a large part of my family working in the crime/security business, I can confirm that the last part is sadly true). To top it off he's almost always an alcoholic and just has a miserable life. The book is 50% about the actual crime, and 50% about how depressing his everyday is.
Now, I'm sick of that.
A big reason why the characters of In the Woods didn't bore me is because we have Cassie and Ryan working together. Although Ryan is the narrator, Cassie is just as important. Their chemistry and humor made the book entertaining instead of dry.
Yes, they're a little bitter and I can't relate much to them, but getting to know them was one of the best part of the book!
They have such good dialogue and for me the balance between work and personal life was perfect. It was a little slow-paced but never boring.
When the investigation slowed down, I could always rely on the characters to keep me reading.
Credit to the author, because as I've said that is hard.
It was very smart to create a narrator who has a personal connection to the case, I think that will make more readers enjoy this.
I kept thinking I had it all figured out, and at best expected an eyeroll-worthy twist that you can guess if you've ever watched a cop show, BUT French really took a 360-turn on the reader. It was dark and maybe a little unrealistic, but damn was it refreshing.
This is a perfect beach read that I got stuck in every time I sat outside in the sun, I can't wait to continue with the series this summer.
_____________________
My problem with the crime fiction genre is that I love reading about mysteries and murder, but I find cop books boring. Weird, right?
This is because as a behavioral science major, I want to know what the murderer thinks, not the one observing it. I am the observer, I wouldn't want to read a book about me watching something happen. Tell me about the dark secrets of the criminal, that's the exciting part!
I'm always interested in the case and the process, but have found the characters in the few police novels I've read, to be painfully dry.
Tana French is one of the few who managed to catch my interest while writing from the perspective of the police. I think it's because she defeats the stereotypes of the old, tired man who has become immune to the tragedies of his job (with a large part of my family working in the crime/security business, I can confirm that the last part is sadly true). To top it off he's almost always an alcoholic and just has a miserable life. The book is 50% about the actual crime, and 50% about how depressing his everyday is.
Now, I'm sick of that.
A big reason why the characters of In the Woods didn't bore me is because we have Cassie and Ryan working together. Although Ryan is the narrator, Cassie is just as important. Their chemistry and humor made the book entertaining instead of dry.
Yes, they're a little bitter and I can't relate much to them, but getting to know them was one of the best part of the book!
They have such good dialogue and for me the balance between work and personal life was perfect. It was a little slow-paced but never boring.
When the investigation slowed down, I could always rely on the characters to keep me reading.
Credit to the author, because as I've said that is hard.
It was very smart to create a narrator who has a personal connection to the case, I think that will make more readers enjoy this.
I kept thinking I had it all figured out, and at best expected an eyeroll-worthy twist that you can guess if you've ever watched a cop show, BUT French really took a 360-turn on the reader. It was dark and maybe a little unrealistic, but damn was it refreshing.
This is a perfect beach read that I got stuck in every time I sat outside in the sun, I can't wait to continue with the series this summer.
sunbreak's review against another edition
4.0
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.
lockleson's review against another edition
1.0
I am on hold for the next Cormoran Strike book, so I decided to give another detective series that had good reviews a try. I hated it. The characters were unlikable and poorly developed. The murder they were trying to solve was completely predictable. I spent much of the book feeling annoyed with Rob's idiocy. And the ending was completely frustrating in several ways. I will not be reading more of this series.
laurareane's review against another edition
3.0
Long slow burn. I like long books, but I think I took too long to read this book. It kept my attention and I liked the character development. Looking toward to the next one in the series
lennymckenny's review against another edition
2.0
What in the fuckity-fuck?
+1 star for engrossing me for the first 18 hours (out of 20)
+1 star because I didn't figure out who the murderer was
Minor spoiler (?):
Wtf was the point of his past?? No resolution??? Waste of time, what a flop. Also narrator = total dickhead.
+1 star for engrossing me for the first 18 hours (out of 20)
+1 star because I didn't figure out who the murderer was
Minor spoiler (?):
Wtf was the point of his past?? No resolution??? Waste of time, what a flop. Also narrator = total dickhead.
nataliamar's review against another edition
2.0
Achei o livro longo demais, tive muita dificuldade de ler pois sempre que pegava acabava dormindo. Fiquei revoltada quando soube que o crime havia acontecido no próprio sítio arqueológico e que a arma do crime estava escondida ali. Demorou 350 páginas para isso. O corpo foi encontrado no sítio, não é possível que eles não tivessem revirado o local de cabeça para baixo para encontrar provas! Ridículo. Porém, achei interessante saber por quem e por que o crime aconteceu. Sim, a Rosalind parecia bastante dissimulada desde o início, mas não esperava tudo. Por esse motivo dei 2 estrelas.
Sei que é uma série de livros, mas sinceramente estou com preguiça de ler os demais. Eu gostei do Ryan, mas a escrita da autora me da sono.
Sei que é uma série de livros, mas sinceramente estou com preguiça de ler os demais. Eu gostei do Ryan, mas a escrita da autora me da sono.