The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
WINTER CHALLENGE 2019
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Group Reads Discussion - In the Woods
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This was one of the most unique crime novels I've ever read. I didn't really like the resolution of either of the cases, and I really hope Tana French has another novel with Rob Ryan as the main character. (view spoiler)
While the mysteries were good and kept me turning the pages, none of the characters were very appealing. Rob, in particular, seemed to devolve psychological as the story progressed. The resolution of the present-day mystery was thought-provoking, but I was disappointed in the (view spoiler)
This is not my usual genre. However I thought this was well written and I really enjoyed the "Irish"ness of the story. Throughout the book, I was enthralled, couldn't stop reading or overwhelmed with the level of detail and slow pace and was surely disappointed by the ending but overall it was an engaging story. I would love to see more of Rob Ryan as well later in the series.
I have read this before and wis disappointed with it. For the most part this book had less to do with investigating a mystery than investigating how much alcohol the MCs could pour down their throats each night and still drive the next morning. I think the whole balance of the book was off.In the UK they made aTV mini series of the books and they have the same imbalance
Chandni wrote: "This was one of the most unique crime novels I've ever read. I didn't really like the resolution of either of the cases, and I really hope Tana French has another novel with Rob Ryan as the main ch..."Without giving anything away, so far in the series, French uses a different main character for each book, but it's always one that we've seen in a previous book. For example, in book two, Cassie is the main character.
On the one hand this is a beautifully written, atmospheric, slow burning thriller (with not one but two mysteries) with compelling character development. On the other hand it's an extremely slow burning, long winded, roundabout thriller with an anticlimactic resolution to only one of the mysteries. To be fair, initially after finishing the book, I was disappointed and felt betrayed for being led on this long, convoluted journey and not given some closure. But, after a few days of pondering, I have grown to appreciate the character and backstory development and have added book #2 to my TBR, if only to learn a little bit more about Detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox.
What sets Tana French's police procedural apart are the characters. Deeply drawn, the characters are slowly unveiled to reveal people who are real and gritty. However, French's lovely prose keeps the horror of the crimes from being too awful to swallow, and the magical friendship between Rob and Cassie is described in fairy-tale fashion. A friendship almost too good to be true. I don't have a problem with the mystery about Rob/Adam's childhood remaining unsolved. In life everything isn't tied up in a bow and resolved in a specific time frame. Sometimes we learn to live with questions in our lives. Did Adam kill his friends? Did someone or something else kill them? The answer is locked in Adam's memory, and only he holds the key.
I really enjoyed the freshness and literary style of French's writing style in this book; however, I enjoyed The Likeness better. I think the plot is stronger.
I had heard so much about this book before reading it. When i finally got to it, I did find that it was long and I had to work to get it finished.I liked the characters particularly Cassie as I found she had some real depth and represented an independent, smart woman who had her own issues yet was coping remarkably well. I will read the next book now that I know she is the main character.
I had a hard time getting into this book. At first I thought there was a formatting error because the narration went from Rob being a detective to Adam's memories and it took a while for me to realize this really was the same character. I liked Cassie. It was frustrating reading how Rob/Adam seemed to always be drinking, so I started to wonder how much of an unreliable narrator he was.
AbsurdaI enjoyed this and found the characters engaging and the mysteries compelling. I am disappointed by a lack of resolution in the older mystery but, as Connie (Ava Catherine) above said, that is true to life. Not everything gets resolved and sometimes these things just remain a mystery.
Although I liked Rob less and less as the novel progressed (his treatment of Cassie and his blindness to Rosalind's manipulation made him hard to read) but it was interesting to see a character unraveling like that and I found it an interesting departure from the norm.
This was an interesting book, much more complex than one would expect of this genre. I found it engaging, though fairly slow reading with so much detail on each page, and, as others have noted, it is a long book. What stands out now, as I have just finished it, is the deeply unsatisfying ending. I understand that there perhaps was not an authentic way to resolve all the questions nor to create a happy ending for Rob and Cassie, but I would have liked to end it with things working out a little better. I know there are more books in the series. Maybe some of the issues are revisited.
SandyLI enjoyed this murder mystery! I read some reviews before I started that talked about how they were disappointed with the ending, and that not everything was resolved, so I had that expectation in my mind. My biggest issue with the story is what a jerk Rob Ryan ended up being!!! The mystery itself was very interesting and I did like the characters - until I didn't like Ryan anymore. I was surprised by how things unfolded and didn't see it coming. I think I will continue on with this series.
I am not much of a mystery reader, but I did enjoy this read. I listened to it in audio, and it was easy enough to follow the story even with the Adam/Rob and the story going back and forth in time. When the book ended, I thought I had missed the resolution to the older mystery, but I rewound and listened to the last chapter again, and realized that the author did not wrap up that story line, Perhaps it will be resolved further into the series, although all the main characters are no longer in the Dublin Murder Squad, so I am intrigued enough to read the next book in the series.
Police procedurals are not a favorite genre for me....but I did enjoy this one. For me, the "procedural" portions were not the story as is so often the boring case. Here, there were believable characters in difficult circumstances.... and we learn about their techniques in such a way that I didn't feel like I was going through a tutorial. The ending was a half-way non-ending. I wanted more...and that is the sign of a good book. There should be a sequel...and if there is, it will immediately go on my TBR.
Kathy KSThere were interesting things going on in this novel. I always enjoy police procedurals and this one definitely includes a real sense of the day-to-day slogging through interviews, evidence, and other nitty gritty details involved.
But, it didn't really live up to my hopes, considering all the awards that have been won and the TV show (which I haven't watched). First, it seemed drag TOO much. We heard many of the same things over and over, it seemed; it seems it could have been a little tighter.
And, then there are the red herrings. Lots of red herrings and other wanderings it seems. And the biggest of all was the most unsatisfying of all... I'm not going to go in to it, because I don't want to provide spoilers to future readers. But the part of the storyline that I thought was the most interesting didn't live up to my expectations.
So, I'm struggling with whether to start the next in the series or not. The GR descriptions lead me to believe that the unresolved parts of #1 still go unresolved, and that the subsequent volumes aren't really part of a continuing tale. I guess I'm disappointed, even though I did find some of the story worth listening for 21 hours.
*****
I wrote the above directly after finishing the book. Then, I read quite a few of the comments on the GR page for it. It feels good to know I'm not the only one that feels cheated and/or that the story drug. I'm starting to wonder about the awards...
This was a reread for me, although I didn't really remember any of the details. All I remembered was that one of the investigating officers lost his friends when he was young, which isn't really anything different than what the book jacket says. But regardless, I enjoyed it just as much the 2nd time around. I had planned to reread it anyway because of the recent adaptation on Starz and because I want to read the rest of the series.I enjoyed the mystery as well as the character interaction. It felt gritty and real, and there weren't any weird coincidences that always seem to happen in procedurals to help the officers solve the case. Even the ending was satisfying, even though it wasn't the rosy, happy ending so many books get. This felt more authentic in that way.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
So, I don't typically read police procedurals like this so I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this as much as I did to rate it 4 stars. Although we never find out what happened to the children, the author had me invested enough to keep reading and hoping for a resolution. The horror of the crimes was also done in a way that was palatable without being grisly. I do agree that it could have been edited a bit but it didn't bother me as much as others. I wouldn't be opposed to reading the second in the series but I won't be rushing out to get it.
My review:I'm glad I had seen some reviews before I read this and knew ahead of time that some things would remain unresolved. I would have gotten over it eventually even if I hadn't known, but it made it easier to accept and see the rest of the book for its merits. It's well-written. The characters are complex - very complex. And while the plot does have a major twist, there are enough hints for the really observant reader to not be completely surprised by it. It's nowhere near as twisty as some, but it's a police procedural, not a thriller.
The one complaint is that she spends so much time making Rob Ryan a likable character, then basically assassinates him (not literally). I suppose it makes it more palatable that he plays no major role (if any) in subsequent books in the series, but he just seemed like a pathetic screw-up by the time it was all over, and even his tragic childhood didn't make him sympathetic any longer.
******
I'm undecided about whether or not I'll read the second book. I know Cassie is an important character, but I'm so disappointed in how the first book ended that I'm not sure I want to know. Their partnership was amazing, and then it just fell apart. I've already accepted and am completely fine with never knowing what happened to Peter and Jaime. I'm considering skipping it and moving on to the third book, and maybe reading the second one later. From the GR descriptions they all seem to focus on different members of the Murder Squad.
I enjoyed this book but I felt it could have been shorter and still a good story. Rob and Cassie were well written characters, although they had their annoying moments. I was disappointed that the mystery of what happened to Rob as a child was not resolved. I will probably continue with the series at some point.
My goodness, Amanda A -- me too!!! I could not put this book down, and while I thought the revelation of the killer and mastermind behind the killer was ok, I was (and am ) DYING to know who the killer was in Rob/Adam/s childhood. I hope the author has told herself. (I have actually written to authors before and asked "what really happened?" and once said "I have no idea. The publishers decided they did not want a sequel!" Can anyone at least tell if the cold case is ever solved in the series? Should we know by reading between the lines of this book. Rob repeatedly reminds us of what a liar he is. Does that mean his memories or lack thereof are lies too??? Glad I read this book but pretty frustrated at the lack of resolution....
I am just angry. Angry at this book for a few reasons.I will start with whatever positives I can manage to pull out of this, though.
1. Character development is one of the most important things I look for in books and TV and movies. I love these characters.
As a side note on character development: I have, unfortunately, had two people in my life who were like Rosalind. Having experienced that behavior personally, those parts were difficult for me to get through. But I felt she did a really good job describing a behavioral pattern that most people truly struggle to understand.
Kudos on the characters.
That's it for the positives...
The negatives:
1. I am angry that there is no explanation of what happened to Rob and his friends. I realize, as others have mentioned, that in real life you don't always get a resolution. But I don't read books for reality. In a book I need answers. If I enjoyed the book more I might overlook that and keep reading the series in the hopes that it is a continuing story line that gets explained later, but I didn't enjoy the book enough to put myself through that.
2. I am frustrated by other loose ends that I noticed. They are less significant than the story of Rob and the woods, but they were still there. I was taught a long time ago that everything a writer writes means something. The details are significant, always, even if they don't see to be at the moment. Maybe this isn't always the case, but...
a) Why did she hint at something going on between Rob and the roommate when in the end it didn't matter in the slightest?? What was the point in that? Just to point out that Rob can be a jerk at times? I think we already got that from the rest of his behavior.
b) I felt like Rob was spiraling, and I was expecting that to be an important factor, but it wasn't. I was waiting for him to blow up over something, for him to completely and officially lose his mind, but he didn't. He seemed just a bit off, with some extreme moments (his freak out in the woods, anyone?), but it never amounted to anything more. Again, what was the point of that?
3. The writing itself. At times I was really into this book, but more often than not I was struggling to push through it. It was slow. I found myself mixing in other books while I was reading this so that I could take a break from it. It took me forever to get through... picking it up, putting it down, picking it up again. And maybe it's just me but I hated the descriptions being thrown into the middle of sentences using '--'. "Start of sentence --- rambling descriptions that seem to have nothing to do with the overall point of the sentence... have I lost you yet? good --- end of sentence." What is that?? I regularly found myself getting to the end of a sentence and thinking... that didn't make any sense, how did this sentence start again??
All that to say I am angry and I almost wish I hadn't read this but in the end I had put in too much time already the season is ending and I wanted my 20 points.
i've had this on my TBR pile (or rather TBL for several years now) - and since neither of the other books really appealed ot me (i tried reading the NF one) i ended up starting htis one with only a week and abit to go (thank god for 1.25x on audio listening)...i'm ambivalent at best - i thought the author did a good job wiht character development and the relationship between Rob an dCassie (but seriously you 2, keep it in your pants - that whole twist just annoyed me). The crime was so-so - it was interesting but honestly i've read better mysteries set in both UK and other European countries
2.5 stars
I tried to read this several months ago, and could barely get through the first few chapters. Since the other 2 options this round didn't appeal (A Discovery of Witches and I had a rather nasty breakup at the 50% mark a few years ago) I decided to try this one again on audio. Fortunately that worked much better for me and I was able to get to the end. I'm also glad that I spoiled myself a little and knew that I wasn't going to be satisfied with the end, or it is highly likely that I would have thrown my phone -- or my paper copy of the book -- against the wall in the last 50 or so pages.
In general I liked the character interaction, but the mystery was meh as I was able to figure out who was involved at about the 50% mark (men are just so simple sometimes), and I felt like it just took foooorrrreeevverrr to get to where the story was going. I don't anticipate that I will continue with the series as it doesn't seem like it really follows anyone consistently from book to book.
Stacey wrote: "I tried to read this several months ago, and could barely get through the first few chapters. Since the other 2 options this round didn't appeal (A Discovery of Witches and I had a r..."it is highly likely that I would have thrown my phone -- or my paper copy of the book -- against the wall in the last 50 or so pages
YES!!!
I also don't think I will continue with the books. But I am somewhat interested in checking out the series that Starz put out. I enjoyed it enough to think that it might be good in TV show form, plus I heard from a friend that the series (only one season) covers the first two books. So there will be more story than we got from this one reading. I have Starz for the next five months or so, might be worth checking out.
TraceyLI understand why other people love this book, but it wasn't for me. The writing style was pretty good but I think it's too long and didn't really build any momentum. It didn't pull me in and I didn't really care about finding out who the killer was.
I liked the setting, the Irish history and the archaeology stuff, but if this wasn't the book club pick I wouldn't read past the first few chapters. I'm just too picky of a reader.
Dee wrote: "i've had this on my TBR pile (or rather TBL for several years now) - and since neither of the other books really appealed ot me (i tried reading the NF one) i ended up starting htis one with only a..."Nice summary Dee.
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
A Discovery of Witches (other topics)A Discovery of Witches (other topics)
The Likeness (other topics)
In the Woods (other topics)
The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.