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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A little girl is found dead, which brings a Detective from the Dublin murder squad back to the small suburb where 20 years ago, two of his friends went missing and he was found traumatized and completely amnesiac, with blood in his shoes that was not his own. The case was never solved, the other children never found, and he eventually changed his name from Adam Ryan to Rob Ryan to leave this past behind.
Now he and his partner Cassie Maddox navigate a case what might or might not have a connection to the disappearance of his childhood friends.
I love Tana French, I really do: Her atmospheric, elaborate, sometimes lyrical writing style. Her multi-layered plots and the slow-burning suspense. Her flawed, complex characters. Her books are usually 5-star reads for me.
So it is with a heavy heart that I say: Had »In the Woods« been the first of her books I'd read, I likely would not have picked up another.
Yes, the writing style still has its breathtakingly beautiful moments and its vivid metaphors, but it's overly verbose. This novel did not need to have 608 pages. Yes, the case itself is interesting and has all the makings of a great thriller – but before I'd read even a third of the book, I knew who the murderer was. Pardon the pun, but it's bloody obvious. And yet, Rob Ryan does not see it, like a rookie who has no experience in looking through a murderer's machinations.
But for me, the worst thing was the downfall of Rob Ryan as a believable character. For the first 100 pages or so, the banter between Rob and Cassie, their obviously deep platonic friendship, was my favorite part and a much-needed counterbalance to the bone-chilling tragedy of child murder. And then he does a 180 and not only turns into a very gullible person, but one who is willing to throw their partner under the bus. It did not feel like a convincing natural progression, based on his previous charakterization.
In my eyes, he turned into a walking talking plot-device.
Now he and his partner Cassie Maddox navigate a case what might or might not have a connection to the disappearance of his childhood friends.
I love Tana French, I really do: Her atmospheric, elaborate, sometimes lyrical writing style. Her multi-layered plots and the slow-burning suspense. Her flawed, complex characters. Her books are usually 5-star reads for me.
So it is with a heavy heart that I say: Had »In the Woods« been the first of her books I'd read, I likely would not have picked up another.
Yes, the writing style still has its breathtakingly beautiful moments and its vivid metaphors, but it's overly verbose. This novel did not need to have 608 pages. Yes, the case itself is interesting and has all the makings of a great thriller – but before I'd read even a third of the book, I knew who the murderer was. Pardon the pun, but it's bloody obvious. And yet, Rob Ryan does not see it, like a rookie who has no experience in looking through a murderer's machinations.
But for me, the worst thing was the downfall of Rob Ryan as a believable character. For the first 100 pages or so, the banter between Rob and Cassie, their obviously deep platonic friendship, was my favorite part and a much-needed counterbalance to the bone-chilling tragedy of child murder. And then he does a 180 and not only turns into a very gullible person, but one who is willing to throw their partner under the bus. It did not feel like a convincing natural progression, based on his previous charakterization.
In my eyes, he turned into a walking talking plot-device.
5 stars! I've been considering why I'm giving so many stars to things recently. It's quite simple really, I'm just reading much better books! So, thank you Goodreads :)
This book is a murder mystery but, it's not, it's much more than that. The book examines the effect on the investigators and their relationships with each other. These are complicated characters with flaws and personalities. They are brilliantly written and definitely did provoke emotional responses. I want to know them, I want to help them, I want to drink and laugh with them, I want to shout at them and I'm a little bit scared of them too.
There is a certain cliff hanger element which I know has annoyed many readers. I'd love to see closure of course but it's kind of the authors last emotional kick at the reader. It's strangely satisfying to feel so much frustration at the characters and the author. After compulsively reading at every opportunity to finish the book I'm still not done and it's kind of good to be wanting more.
I'm off to order the rest of the series now.....
This book is a murder mystery but, it's not, it's much more than that. The book examines the effect on the investigators and their relationships with each other. These are complicated characters with flaws and personalities. They are brilliantly written and definitely did provoke emotional responses. I want to know them, I want to help them, I want to drink and laugh with them, I want to shout at them and I'm a little bit scared of them too.
There is a certain cliff hanger element which I know has annoyed many readers. I'd love to see closure of course but it's kind of the authors last emotional kick at the reader. It's strangely satisfying to feel so much frustration at the characters and the author. After compulsively reading at every opportunity to finish the book I'm still not done and it's kind of good to be wanting more.
I'm off to order the rest of the series now.....
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When it takes me a long time to read a book - that it the first clue that it won't end up on my favorites list. Although I enjoyed the book, I was disappointed that the core msytery of the book was not solved. I kept hoping, even up to the last page that the mystery would be solved, but it was not. It was well written, and a page turner in parts - but it's hard for me to get over the ending.