Tana French
Viking, 2007
24.95
reviewed by Paula Harris
On an idyllic summer afternoon in 1984, three twelve-year-old children living in the exurbs of Dublin go to play in the deep woods near their homes. But they never come home for tea or bedtime. They never answer the calls of their worried, searching parents. Later that night, the police find one of the boys clutching a tree trunk in terror, his sneakers filled with blood. He has absolutely no memory as to what happened to him or to his friends. The other two children are never seen again dead or alive.
Twenty years later, the found child, Adam Ryan, is on the murder squad of the Dublin Police. His past a secret from everyone, Ryan now uses his middle name, Rob, to further disguise his identity. When a body is found on an archeological dig near where he grew up, Rob and his partner, Cassie Maddox, at loose ends and a bit bored, ask to take the case. Too late Rob learns that the victim is another child, the same age as his lost friends, and that she has been killed at almost the exact spot where his friends disappeared. Though Rob has ominous and haunted feelings about the case and knows that because of his past he should ask to be removed, he continues on. Never in his wildest dreams does he realize the terrible impact this decision will have on his personal life, his career and his partnership with Cassie.
What a great beginning for a mystery novel! The writing is fresh and original; the characters live. The relationship between Cassie and Rob is delightful and special. Modern day booming Ireland is well portrayed. The Irish dialect of some characters adds flavor and interest but there’s never so much of it that the reader has to struggle to understand what is being said. The foreshadowing and flashbacks are expertly handled, the plot so compelling that I could scarcely put the book down. This novel won an Edgar Award, for reasons that are very obvious. And yet…
Many scenes through out go on and on and on. In this first outing as an author Ms. French seems not to trust that her readers will “get it”. And that’s a shame because she is such a good writer her points are easily made. The solving of the mystery, though some readers have harshly criticized it, didn’t disappoint me. The ending of the book did. It was, again, far, far too long. And why? The fate of the hero was pretty obvious. It seemed it could have been wrapped up in half a dozen pages. Instead, it went on until the true end was anticlimactic, robbed of the punch it should have had. I was left with a vague, unsatisfied feeling that, long as it was, something vital was missing from the ending.
Nevertheless, In The Woods is an excellent and enjoyable read. Lots to like here. Any mystery lover who doesn’t expect simple solutions will find it worth the effort. Ms. French’s next book, The Likeness, came out earlier this year. It continues some characters from In The Woods and I’m expecting another good read.
Paula Harris had the fabulous good fortune to be born and raised in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, and also the luck to have lived in most of the major cities up and down the west coast in years past. She has been happily back home in Oregon for some years now. Happy mom of four sons, adoring grandmother of six, she lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband, her old cat, and her books, with the detritus of her many other hobbies and projects scattered comfortingly in and around the house.
