In the Woods: A Novel

by Tana French | Mystery & Thrillers |
ISBN: 0143113496 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 10/30/2017
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, October 30, 2017
I got this softcover from the ongoing charity-sale shelves at a local Hannaford's, for another release copy.

I first picked the book because I was intrigued by the premise: three kids go into the woods one day and only one returns, traumatized and terrified, with someone else's blood on him - and no memory of what happened.

Fast-foward to his adulthood, where he's a police detective, called in to work on the murder of a young girl - very near the site where his friends disappeared so long ago. He's changed his name in the meantime and of his current co-workers, only his partner knows the truth. (I admit that when he decided to keep the secret so he could work on the case - however unlikely it might be that it was connected with his own - I winced; he *knew* what he was risking, up to and including making any evidence he might find ineligible in court, and it's a pretty blatant violation. Sure, he has his reasons, but it made it harder to sympathize with him later on - it could have been so easily avoided.)

Aside from that, he and his partner are fascinating characters, quirky and likeable, with a really marvelous relationship - he and she have been a great team, with no romantic complications and with personality traits that make them great foils for each other. When the two of them are assigned a third officer to join in their team investigating the murder, the three of them wind up having some truly delightful team-building scenes, whether they're working on the case or unwinding together after hours. I liked them all so much at this point that I really, really wanted main character Rob to confess to his bosses and get all three of them recused, so they could go do other interesting things without courting the inevitable disaster. But of course if they'd done that it would be a completely different story...

The case itself has some tantalizing aspects, and does cross over Rob's traumatic case as far as physical location goes. But it also raises new issues, among them Rob's judgement or lack thereof. He mutters something about how nobody could have spotted the plot-twist regarding the true killer of the young girl - but I noticed some things about one character immediately, and couldn't believe that Rob would let himself get taken in so badly. [Given that we learn everything from Rob's point of view, and he calls himself a liar, it's an interesting question: did he deliberately tip off the reader about the criminal's true nature only to taunt the reader for not noticing? I dunno.]

The main characters are flawed in various ways, with Rob's flaws being more blatant and deep-seated - not without cause, but still very frustrating, when he winds up wrecking all the good things in his life. I was so involved in the story that I got truly angry with him...

As for the mysteries, past and present: one gets solved, one does not, though there are flashbacks and hints as to different things that MIGHT have happened. There are even some hints at a supernatural possibility, though the reader is free to decide whether that was really due to drugs or trauma rather than some lingering nature-god at the site of an ancient temple {wry grin}. If you like your stories tied up neatly, this one probably isn't for you, but if you enjoy intriguing characters and complex plots, you might like this very much.

The author has continued this series as a loosely-linked set of books, each one following a different character into new and different areas. I've enjoyed all of them so far, though I admit that I'm still hoping for a future novel that will bring us back to Rob and his fate; then again, perhaps this book says all that's really necessary... [There's a very good audiobook version of this novel, btw; recommended.]

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Little Free Library - Pocantico St. in Sleepy Hollow, New York USA on Saturday, November 4, 2017

Released 6 yrs ago (11/5/2017 UTC) at Little Free Library - Pocantico St. in Sleepy Hollow, New York USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book in the Little Free Library today - hope someone enjoys it!

*** Released for the 2017 The The release challenge. ***

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