In the Woods in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 26, 2014 Jim rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, fiction

I have only myself to blame for this one. I happened to see a quote from something French wrote on a GR friend's profile, and at the time it struck me as so clever and profound that I determined to read something by French and, being the methodical SOB that I am, I started at her very first book.

This started slow and then put on the brakes. The book is 485 pages long and I endured about 408 pages of disjointed investigations and improbable interrogations before the story got mildly interesting. ...more

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Jun 02, 2015 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: broken, mystery, psych-psych-psych, ireland

As a book, this was really a fantastic reading experience for me, but as a mystery, it had a few flaws, so it didn't quite make 5 stars.

The plot: A little girl is found murdered at an archaeological dig outside a small Dublin suburb, and Detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox catch the case.

Things I loved:
The feel of this story and these characters is so rich and complex and real, so unlike most other mysteries. It reminded me a bit of The Chalk Circle Man, which also has similarly rich and compl ...more

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May 26, 2008 Madeleine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery-thriller, smart-nonannoying-entertaining, favs

This was definitely not your average mystery, and after the last 10 or so novels I've read being very average mainstream/"literary" fiction it was about time I read something that stands out. I think I have a new favorite detective... ...more

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Apr 30, 2010 Doina rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery

I was so looking forward to this book. Debated with myself whether or not to pick it up for a couple of months before I gave in and bought it (as I already have over 400 books on my TBR shelf, I'm at least trying to finish most of them before buying more). It started strong, looked to be a good psychological thriller, but unfortunately it did not deliver. I finished it, but I have to admit that I ended up skipping around a bit towards the end. I was expecting more from this book. I liked the cha ...more

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Apr 14, 2010 Jennifer rated it it was ok

Shelves: mysteries

This book had a promising start to a good mystery. But by the end of it, I couldn't stand the main character anymore. He made such a mess of things. There were 2 parts to the story, but only one part of it got resolved in the end. Disappointing. ...more

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Oct 20, 2010 Joanne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: generalfiction, suspensethrillers, psychologicalthriller

French's writing is wonderfully descriptive, poetic and captivating. The story is equal parts thrilling, suspenseful and gripping. ...more

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May 05, 2010 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

So, I liked this book a lot until the very end. The last quarter of the novel I was so disappointed in Rob's actions, that i couldn't completely enjoy the solving of the case. On the other hand, I supose Rob's actions were realistic -- we don't always handle ourselves well and sometimes we ruin things we've worked hard to build for ourseleves. Even with the disappointment I felt I still gave it 4 stars :) ...more

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Feb 10, 2011 mstan rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, irish

A fantastic debut by Tana French, this psychological thriller is atmospheric (Irish woods! stark police interrogation rooms!) and fast-paced. Rob Ryan, the protagonist and first-person narrator, is drawn into a spiral of (view spoiler) as he investigates a murder that took place at the same spot where he himself had been involved in the disappearance of two young children many years ago. ...more

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Sep 27, 2009 Erin (NY) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, read-in-2010

This book was so dreadfully boring! I read it for an online book club. I decided to read it because the premise sounds interesting, but the story was so slow and un-thrillerish at all! I expected a lot more from this than what I got.

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