BOOK: In the Woods by Tana French

In the Woods by Tana French, 592 pages

Irish Reading Challenge; Mystery and Suspense Challenge

When Detective Rob Ryan and his partner Cassie Maddox begin their new case, old memories surface for Rob. He was the lone survivor from an incident when he was twelve, and his two friends disappeared in the woods and never found. Now another twelve year old has been murdered and left in the same woods. However, sixteen years have passed and there is very little in common with the murders.

Ryan narrates the story, and in one of the first paragraph, he states that he lies. I think he means in his context as a police officer, because he makes a point of saying his partner never lies. Omits truth perhaps, but not lies. I enjoy a story when it is clear from the start that the narrator may be unreliable. Ryan spends much of the book detailing his and Cassie's partnership, an unique arrangement of very deep friendship. He also begins getting some memories of his time as a child, when his two friends disappeared.

The mystery was excellent and I liked the characters. It was a long book, and could have been a bit shorter - Ryan rambles and takes forever to get anywhere in his current mystery. French tells a great tale though, and I was swept up in the mystery. Also,  I can very seldom determine who the murderer was, so I was quite surprised at how it turned out. I was a bit disappointed in the vagueness of part of the ending, but knowing that there are more books in this series, starring Cassie Maddox I believe, that hopefully, it's a long term mystery. One of the mysteries ends very satisfactorily, however, so I would read another book. I liked spending time in modern day Dublin.

also reviewed: eva at striped armchair; karen e olson;  bybee at naked without books!; rhapsodyinbooks at her  in books weblog;