Deborah

Deborah asked:

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Linda I wouldn't have minded so much if it were simply a matter of not ever finding out what happened to the kids.

But the level of detail that remains unexplained is what burns me. Specifically, the blood inside the shoes. What a crazy detail to not offer *any* viable explanation for. There were a lot of other details that I feel should not have been thrown out there unless we could be offered some plausible possibilities to ponder.

I love her writing, and have loved all her books. But I'm still mad about this.

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Geoffrey Carter Life is not tidy. Loose ends abound. I was quite happy with the lack of explanation. Maybe she will come back to it (I haven't read any others yet) and maybe she won't.

Karen

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Susan Carlsen Rob was never the most reflective inward looking guy and this was his story which was a story of things hidden even from himself. And in then end looking for answers turned out to be too much. It makes total sense it ended the way it did. Also there was this whole other mystery going on which is the mystery of the book and that mystery was solved in the usual fashion even though the main perpetrator got away with it. (partly because of Rob's flaws)

Michael Hitchcock I liked it a lot because it reflected the major character flaw in Ryan. He was so hung up on trying to figure out what happened, he never got around to figuring out much how it affected him. He's not getting that happy ending because he doesn't know himself. And you can know yourself now in the present whether or not you know the details of your past.

Pyp I had these feelings too. It really irks me when stories are not really finished.
I think that we have given the time and money to read the story, you could of at least finished properly, seems like a cop-out.
I struggled with the book anyway, but held on to see what happens in the end, and I did not even get that.
Put me off the author in a big way.

✨ Kit ✨ It is been over five years since I read this book and I am still pissed about not knowing the answer to the mystery of Rob and his friends. I have never been so frustrated by a book, ever, in my life. Over the years I will randomly think about the book and just get so mad all over again that I will never know. I have checked in to see if the answer was in any of her future books in this series over the years and when it was clear that it wasn't, I never read any of them. I would have, because CLEARLY the book was incredibly riveting and well written or I wouldn't still be thinking about it - but the idea of her doing this to me AGAIN in another book means I won't read any more of hers until she gives me a satisfying ending to that story.

Rebecca It didn't bother me that his story wasn't resolved at the end - I felt it added more to explaining his character and thought process because it was included, and that was satisfying to me. That being said I am hoping as she nears the end of this series she'll return to that story line - who knows, maybe it will be Sam that brings the circle to a close.

Joana Ferreira da silva

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Peggy I prefer a plot to be resolved, but could accept if good reasons are given to leave it hanging. This book didn't do that. Also, when so much time is spent on this part of the plot, it does seem like a cheat just to drop it clunkily about 3/4 of the way through.

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Amy

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Karen I just finished this book and I have read most of the comments. One thing that I have noticed in them is that no one mentions Rob's memory of the castle or the secret garden. This is Ireland. The veil between our world and the Fae world is thin. No one but Rob seems to know that the castle and the garden exist. There is no mention of a castle near Knocknaree and he makes a point of saying that if there was such a garden the archeologists would have found it. I think it is because these things exist in the Fae world that the children were able to cross over to somehow. Another thing that the comments don't mention is the blood found at the alter and the hair clip that looked like Jamie's. I think that the children had crossed into the Fae world where something horrible happened. In most cultures, victims of sacrifice had to be unblemished. Rob believed that he had been left out of something because he was lacking. Jamie and Peter were accepted. Perhaps for some type of ancient ritual that Rob witnessed before fleeing back to his own world.
Sandra's rape was another type of sacrifice and for a short time i think the teenagers were beyond the veil into Fae as well, thus Jonathon's description of what happened following the rape. Of course you would have to buy the magical theory to think that all this was viable. I find it more plausible than Adam killing his friends, hiding the bodies where hundreds of searchers could not find and only getting blood in his shoes rather than his clothes, hair and hands, but there it is.

Clay

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Risa Peris I'm really annoyed with the ending. I needed answers to the subplot. French is a good writer, don't get me wrong, but I needed answers.

Karen Bartlett But there is still the rest of the series to go! I'm guessing that more of Rob's past might be revealed as the series goes along....

ashes ➷ To give my two cents: I don't have time to read every book in the world, so I've started looking up plots to mysteries that sound interesting but not interesting enough to read in full. I was disappointed, and I just read the Wikipedia summary!

I think what ticks me over is the fact that this is the primary mystery. Yes, there's something going on with girls, but any blurb for this book will focus on the crazy unsolved disappearance of the detective, positing the new one as an OPPORTUNITY to discover what happened to him. That's the whole point. Look at the GR synopsis-- an entire paragraph for the former, and one phrase ("a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery") for the latter.

Saying that there's no connection at all after purposefully misleading readers like that is really frustrating, and while it's fair to say that Life Isn't Always Simple, mystery readers aren't necessarily looking for that-- and they're definitely not looking for it in books that set themselves up in this manner. That's actually why I'm here to begin with-- I was shocked a book that does this could have such high reviews!

But that's just my opinion as someone who hasn't read the book ;)

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Angela I was also very disappointed by this. The blurb about this book alludes to the two cases being linked somehow, and even detective Ryan thinks there may be a link at multiple stages of the investigation. I kept waiting for the mystery to be solved until the last page and then I was totally let down.

E.A. I love that Tana puts you into the mind of detectives and then expects you to solve a murder using the detective skills. She told you everything you need to know to solve the murder of the two kids.

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Diana It makes sense to end it this way. Rob did not have all the memories back or answers to what happened. Life is sometimes this way.

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Nigel I agree, I did kind it find of frustrating. Especially when there were strong hints that Rob himself may have been involved. I did really like the book though, and I think having the ending as it was made it stay with me longer than it otherwise would have. I particularly liked the psychopath character depiction, very well done. I have now read 3 of Tana French's books - In the Woods, Broken Harbour and The Secret Place. They all have elements of the supernatural in them, which, in my opinion, detract from what are otherwise excellent books. What do others think?

Claudia Mccarter Not all questions are answered in life. It is more realistic in that way. But as someone else said...maybe in the future all will be revealed!

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Holly

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Jerry I would have loved it if the last line of the book had the highway construction crew dig up 2 children's skeletons while Rob was standing there.

Then. boom! Segue into In The Woods 2!

Closet Rebel I believe it was Rob who killed the other kids in the past and he blocked it out of his mind. He was definitely a damaged wacko so he fits the crime.

Tom I totally agree. All books in all genres make a promise to the reader, whether scifi, mystery, romance, etc. This book broke it's promise.
If the author had wanted it to be a literary novel about the characters, with a mystery in the background that will remain unsolved, there are skills to do that. That wasn't the case with this. Mysteries are an art of reassurance, with elements of unsettling the reader. The beginning and most of the book set up the reader to care about the mystery. Then failed us. It's too bad, because there are many enjoyable and excellent elements to this book and it's writing.

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Paolo

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Meredith The first mystery was only subtext.

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Linton For moment I though it was going down a supernatural route and I am not sure if I would have wanted that or not. I think it fit the story. While is does not really give an answer, I think it did at least resolve some of the past for Rob.

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Brenda Although I hated how the book ended, I enjoyed the read. I would much rather have had BOTH mysteries answered/solved in the book. I kept expecting to learn more about the original mystery. When it was over I thought "There MUST be plans for a sequel!" hehehe

Kumari de Silva

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Zahra

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Amina

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Bethann I thought this was a brilliant and refreshing way to frame a murder mystery. The original murders were a red herring. The real mystery is what happened to Cathy; Rob's missing friends are part of the setting.

John

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Devon

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