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In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1)
by Tana French
by Tana French
** spoiler alert **
I was disappointed in this novel, which seemed so promising at the beginning. The central mystery not only remains unsolved, but a disproportionate amount of the plot is spent on what seems, in the end, a total red herring.
The narrator appears at the beginning to be a sympathetic, introspective figure, but by the end of the novel he's revealed himself to be whiny, a lousy and disloyal friend, and an inept detective. I found nothing redeeming or engaging about him, and the fact that his negative character traits were gradually revealed rather than laid out at the beginning made them even less palatable.
My main problem with this novel, however, was that I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to buy major elements of the plot. These cops are, frankly, idiots who overlook obvious clues and leads. The psychopath is too contrived to be believable, and her motive for murder too facile to work well as fiction. (I have yet to read an interview with a real-life psycho/killer who's this glib and silly.) The female detective's ability to spot a psychopath from a mile away rings a bit false, and the heavy-handed foreshadowing leaves readers waiting for major revelations that never really materialize.
The narrator appears at the beginning to be a sympathetic, introspective figure, but by the end of the novel he's revealed himself to be whiny, a lousy and disloyal friend, and an inept detective. I found nothing redeeming or engaging about him, and the fact that his negative character traits were gradually revealed rather than laid out at the beginning made them even less palatable.
My main problem with this novel, however, was that I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to buy major elements of the plot. These cops are, frankly, idiots who overlook obvious clues and leads. The psychopath is too contrived to be believable, and her motive for murder too facile to work well as fiction. (I have yet to read an interview with a real-life psycho/killer who's this glib and silly.) The female detective's ability to spot a psychopath from a mile away rings a bit false, and the heavy-handed foreshadowing leaves readers waiting for major revelations that never really materialize.
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Vanessa
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rated it 2 stars
Oct 01, 2008 07:28pm
I agree with you completely!
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I agree. I gave it three stars because I figured I must be missing something since it had won an Edgar Award. I did find myself skimming through a lot of it, so it was certainly possible. I think she could have told this story in 200 less pages. I did like the characters of Cassie and Sam enough to stick with ***.
I couldn't have said it better. Tana French must be writing a sequel where she solves the mystery of the childhood kidnapping...right?
This is exactly how I felt about this book!I also felt that the word "wanker" would fit the main character perfectly. Is that strictly a British term or do the Irish use it too?
I'm still digesting how to feel about this one, actually, since I just finished it a couple of days ago. Did you not feel that the narrator should get a little slack though based on what happened to him as a kid? And the fact that he owns up to being not completely honest and admits to being not that great a guy several times throughout the book. I found myself sort of surprised he wasn't much more screwed up than he was, actually, given his childhood. I do hear you on the frustration of the ending though. And it does leave you feeling a little manipulated, doesn't it? Like you've had this carrot dangled for you the entire novel, loads of foreshadowing like a huge reveal is coming your way, making me at least almost positive that the 1984 murder must connect to this one somehow...but then it doesn't. And 1984 goes unsolved.
But I can't deny how much I loved the book up until that feeling of manipulation sunk in.
I just finished it and put up my review. I hope it might help some who were disappointed in this book. I loved it. Once I got to page 200, I didn't want to put it down. If you are "stuck" and want me to outline for you all the parallels and how I came to the mystery being solved, let me know.
I was very intrigued from the beginning and could not put the book down, but felt seriously cheated in the end. The whole time I am reading and imagining what happened to those kids and wondering how is the author going to get out of this mess of a mystery she created... and she doesn't. I agree with you 100% and will not recommend this book.
Melinda wrote: "I just finished it and put up my review. I hope it might help some who were disappointed in this book. I loved it. Once I got to page 200, I didn't want to put it down. If you are "stuck" and want ..."Yes, please let me know! I don't mind working to understand books, but frankly I didn't feel that this one was worth any more time or effort than I'd put into it. I'd like to hear your thoughts, however.
I agree. I personally didn't care about the case, I wanted to know what happened to the main character back in the woods. Maybe when Tana French writes that book it'll be more interesting.
I was so relieved to read this review and comments. I felt angry and cheated at the end and couldn't stand Adam who was so fickle and a whiner. He was so awful to Cassie who did not deserve him as a friend or partner.
I was so annoyed with this book. I felt cheated, you know? Reading these other reviews that say the exact same thing as me make me feel so much better.
Yes! I'm with all of you. Not only would this book have been improved by major editing, but the ending left me terribly disappointed. I, too, felt that I had wasted a lot of time reading this book and expecting some sort of resolution. I enjoy psychology and mysteries, but this one failed on so many levels. Will not be recommending this to my friends and am hesitant to read the sequel.
