• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Block Examples
  • Landing Page

The Loopy Librarian

A book lovers blog

You are here: Home / Book Review: In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad Book 1) by Tana French

Book Review: In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad Book 1) by Tana French

September 10, 2011 by Allie

in-the-woods-cover
Like Mystic River and Lovely Bones, this book will stay with me for a long time. Not every question was answered and nothing about the case or the characters was tidy. Perhaps that’s why I liked it. It was more in sync with reality than is the case for most books. I picked it up because a reader’s review was selected for Powell’s Daily Dose and as such, the review landed in my inbox. It was compared to Mystic River and Lovely Bones, two favorites of mine. The comparison proved accurate. And, as I said, my reaction to this book is much like my reaction to those. The story is of an Irish detective assigned to solve the case of a murdered girl. This particular murder proves haunting to him because his two best friends from childhood disappeared in the same wood. He was with them at the time, but has no memory of what happened to him or his friends. He shares this connection with his partner/best friend, but fails to tell his boss because he doesn’t want to be taken off the case. Not surprisingly, he loses perspective and his secret is eventually found out. What disturbs and intrigues me is that this detective narrates the story and points out in the beginning and in the end that he is a liar. This acknowledgement puts everything he says into question. He can’t even trust his own memories. I like that this book takes place in Ireland. It gives it a different flavor. The main characters are supremely well drawn and complex. The mysteries that play out in the woods are fascinating, and the answers are elusive. If cozy mysteries are your taste, this is not the book for you. It also contains a considerable amount of blue language. This also isn’t a serial killer type book with gory descriptions. This is a dark and edgy mystery with complex characters and no easy answers. It leaves you unsettled long after you have turned the final page. What isn’t a mystery is why it was a finalist for the Edgar Award (named for Edgar Allan Poe).

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Book Reviews, Fiction

Primary Sidebar

E-mail Newsletter

  • Facebook
  • GitHub
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

More to See

Book Joy Live with John Schu – Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang

August 13, 2020 By Allie

Contemporary Fiction #bookreview: Takes One to Know One by #SusanIsaacs @GroveAtlantic

September 6, 2019 By Allie

Contemporary Fiction Book Review: The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels @RevellBooks

August 22, 2019 By Allie

Tags

adventure amazon animals authors Best Seller book Book Recommendations book review Book Reviews books Book Tour children Chistian Non-Fiction christian Christian Fiction crime faith family fantasy Fiction friendship giveaway Giveaway high school historical fiction humor Kindle Fire librarian libraries love magic marriage murder mystery Non-Fiction paranormal reading romance suspense teen Teen teenagers thriller war young adult

Footer

Text Widget

This is an example of a text widget which can be used to describe a particular service. You can also use other widgets in this location.

Examples of widgets that can be placed here in the footer are a calendar, latest tweets, recent comments, recent posts, search form, tag cloud or more.

Sample Link.

Recent

  • Still “Loopy”
  • Book Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
  • Book Joy Live with John Schu – Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang
  • Contemporary Fiction #bookreview: Takes One to Know One by #SusanIsaacs @GroveAtlantic
  • Contemporary Fiction Book Review: The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels @RevellBooks

Search

Tags

adventure amazon animals authors Best Seller book Book Recommendations book review Book Reviews books Book Tour children Chistian Non-Fiction christian Christian Fiction crime faith family fantasy Fiction friendship giveaway Giveaway high school historical fiction humor Kindle Fire librarian libraries love magic marriage murder mystery Non-Fiction paranormal reading romance suspense teen Teen teenagers thriller war young adult

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in