(Larger Image)
|
In the Woods
by Tana French
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (2008-05-27)
ISBN: 0143113496
EAN: 9780143113492
Dewey Decimal #: 823.92
Binding/Media: Paperback - 464 pages
Edition: Reprint
SKU: MYSTERY-17
Condition: Very Good
Comments: Gift condition for someone who appreciates a gently used book. Trade paperback from Penguin (NY:2007), this is In The Woods by Tana French. Edgar-award winning mystery novel, a debut novel also. The pages are clean, the binding tight, the only sign of gentle use is some edge wear. Very nice copy. « if ( document.getElementById ) { document.writeln('Show less'); }
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Product Description
A gorgeously written novel that marks the debut of an astonishing new voice in psychological suspense.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Awful (SPOILER)
Rating  (1)
Date: 2010-07-29
If I could give this book negative stars I would! When I saw that this book had won numerous awards I was excited to read it but instead ended up completely disappointed. This book was awful - the main character, Rob, was a jerk. I get that he had suffered a major trauma in his past but he acted like a complete and total tool. And the ending was completely useless - there was no resolution to what I considered to be the central mystery of the book. And I have to agree with other readers that the "whodunit" part of the book was completely obvious! All in all I felt it was a complete waste of time and will never read another of her books. So do yourself a favor and skip this one - read any of the Stieg Larson books instead!
|
|
Excellent mystery
Rating  (4)
Date: 2010-07-25
Well-written, very well plotted, with thoughtfully drawn characters, this is one of the best mysteries of the decade. French's second book, Likeness, is even better. The origin of the main character's motivation is deep in his traumatic past; conventions of the genre lead the reader to expect (a) that the past crime will be solved and (b) that the present-day crime will lead to the solution of the old one and (c) that the traumatized survivor, now a detective, will solve both crimes. French does a wonderful job of frustrating these expectations, and creating, in the process, a more complicated, deeper account of the effects of crime.
|
|
Such potential...
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-07-24
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I love mystery novels - especially ones by an author I have not read before. This book had such potential. Two crimes, possibly related and built up well for a good part of the book. Parts of the story seemed to be added in for no reason at all as they do not end up relating to anything in the end. One mystery is solved, and somewhat predictable. The other- the one you really want to find out more about- you are left hanging. The book ends and I started to read the intro at the back for a future book just in hopes I was missing something. I thought, ok so maybe there is a sequel to this. But no, there was no insight given at all. I'm ok left wondering, but it was just thrown out there and then nothing.
I'm hoping that the author's other books don't leave me feeling the same way- I figure I'll give one more a try.
|
|
Character over plot
Rating  (5)
Date: 2010-07-23
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I don't understand what some of the other reviewers are bitching about-the ending of this book is of a piece with the rest of it. Methinks the whole book is a bit off-the-beaten-track for anyone looking for a simple whodunnit. It is a whodunnit, but the real joy of reading this story lies in reading one of the most meticulously detailed group portraits of a relationship in modern fiction. It is a whodunnit, but the real purpose of the writing is to describe a thrown-together relationship between two police detectives, one male, one female, that starts tentatively, then expands into what can only be called love as they get closer and closer to the center of the murder mystery that frames the story. The story shows us the main character as a boy, one-third of a boy-girl-boy trio that owns the woods behind his house in a suburb of Dublin; As an adult, when the murder happens, he becomes one-third of a boy-girl-boy trio trying to solve a murder in that same wooded area. The author manages to create an overwhelming sense of yearning and nostalgia for childhood that makes the book really stand out for me. If it sounds as if I have ignored the procedural details in favor of the love story,drop it. This is a police procedural, in every sense of the phrase. The author shows us each major character dealing with the details of the case, as a cop would deal with them. This is character over plot.
I plan to read everything else Tana French has written.
|
|
Well written, but a real letdown
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-07-22
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I cant believe how flawed the male character is! He just cant seem to do anything right, from the beginning to the end. His partner, Cassie, could do no wrong, she was unrealistically perfect. The author has a very annoying way to create her characters, makes you angry to watch the unending mistakes of Rob.
The story was rather good, but the initial mystery ended up nowhere, not solved at all. The reader is left hanging.
With a little thought, this book could have been so much better, the ending could have not been such a let-down.
I don't think I will bother with any more from this author. Though she does write well. Frustrating to say the least.
Read something by William Boyd instead.
|
|
|
|
|