Adam Ryan was 12-years old in1984, when he was with two of his friends in the woods. Both friends went missing, never to be found again. Adam was found terrified, with blood in his shoes, "frozen" to a tree. Twenty years later, Adam has since changed his name to Rob and he is now a detective. He and his family had moved away from the area where it had happened years earlier. He has no memory of what happened. He and his partner Cassie take a new case - a little girl murdered in the same area where Rob's friends disappeared all those years ago.

I was drawn in from the start and stayed that way through the entire book. Both cases were very interesting and I loved Rob's interactions with Cassie. This is one book that I did not want to put down. I wanted to keep reading, or if I wasn't already, I wanted to get back to reading. There were a couple of twists toward the end, and I think it ended probably fairly realistically. Loved this book!

I just finished reading this book for the second time, not only to enjoy the excellent writing but to follow up on all the clues. The plot centres ostensibly around the murder of a child on an archaeological site, but the secondary plot concerning the detective and his missing childhood friends becomes front and centre as the book progresses.

I was surprised at the readers who didn't solve the "20 years ago" mystery - Tana French plays it very fair all the way along and gives you a number of clues to consider, without making things plain. The picture becomes clearer as Detective Ryan (who tells both stories) experiences flashbacks, and interviews people who have their own ideas about what happened. He says at the beginning "Our relationship with truth is fundamental but cracked." Tana French's greatest talent is for characterization, and every word and conversation clears another tile of the murky mosaic.

If you were disappointed by the lack of a solution handed to you on a plate, take the time to read this book again and look for the clues and take note of the last paragraph of the opening chapter. The hidden ending gave me a jolt and an incentive to read the next book.

Very disappointing ending. The hook that drew me in was the mystery surrounding Adams (Rob) past. This story never stopped comparing the two crimes and in the end there was no resolution to what happened 20 years ago. If I could sue the author for wasted time, I would.

The story is narrated in the first person by Adam" Rob" alternates back and forth in time between 1984 and the present day.

One day in Knocknaree (near Dublin), twelve year old Adam Ryan and his close friends Peter and Jamie were playing in the woods when an unexplained event happened, his friends disappeared without a trace to never be found. Adam was discovered pressed against a tree, his shoes filled with blood and no recollection of what had transpired.

Twenty years later, Adam now "Rob" a detective in the Dublin police force is drawn back into the mystery when the body of a little girl is found at the site of the old tragedy. With the help of his partner "Cassie", Rob hopes not only to solve the present case but also the twenty year old mystery of the woods.

I enjoyed this novel even with all its predictability, redundancy and its slow moving plot. It is a long book; the author had a tendency to be a little long-winded. A lot of time was spent identifying the relationship between Cassie and Rob and left us with the old cliché of male/female partnership. The characters are multi-dimensional and dynamic some may love Rob and some may not, Cassie on the other hand is a spunky, smart, witty and likable character. The character driven plot wavers between domestic issues and political issues; it never really finds its footing and ends on a very disappointing note. Nevertheless I found the book to be a page turner and I am looking forward to reading French's next novel.

I found this a great read for a difficult subject. The characters seem very real and you can feel their frustration and pain as the investigation progresses. The plot twists keep you guessing and flipping the pages right to the last. She's right there with Rankin and Stephen Booth for British crime novels! Well done!!

this book was super! i was completely into it right from the beginning, and couldn't put it down! I loved that it was a long book, kept you thinking, and i absolutely can't wait until Tana French's second novel comes out!
i'm definitely a fan!

I was swiftly absorbed by In the Woods with Tana French's quick prose and colloquial Irish dialogue. Detective Ryan and his female partner, Cassidy Maddox, investigate the murder of a 12-year old bright and talented girl near the woods of Knocknaree, Ireland. Though the story mainly revolves around the investigation of the murder, it is complicated by the fact that as a young boy Detective Ryan lived in Knocknaree and his two friends disappeared in the same woods, of which he cannot recall any of the details. Since that time he has had a dread of the woods around Knocknaree and is unable to separate what happened in his past with the investigation he is now involved in 20 years later.

This crime thriller was a satisfying read because the story was well plotted, complex and I was stumped until toward the end.

One of the best mysteries I have ever read, and not a big mystery fan. Beguilling characters, fascinating plot, well written, driven, interesting, frightening, haunting....what an EXPERIENCE this book was! Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended!!!