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In the Woods

A truly stunning thriller and psychological mystery from one of our greatest living crime writers

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In the Woods

Written by: Tana French
Narrated by: John McCormack
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THE ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME THRILLER FROM THE MILLION-COPY, SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

'To say Tana French is one of the great thriller writers is really too limiting. Rather she's simply this: a truly great writer' GILLIAN FLYNN

'[Crime fiction's] biggest contemporary star' GUARDIAN

'One of the finest writers of contemporary crime fiction' DAILY MAIL

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Three children went into the woods to play . . .

One came out.

When he was twelve years old, Adam Ryan went playing in the woods with his two best friends. He never saw them again.

Their bodies were never found, and Adam himself was discovered with his back pressed against an oak tree, his shoes filled with blood. He had no memory of what had happened.

Twenty years on, Rob Ryan - the child who came back - is a detective in the Dublin police force. He's changed his name. No one knows about his past.

But when a little girl's body is found at the site of the old tragedy, Rob is drawn back into his own haunted memories.

Knowing that he would be thrown off the case if his past were revealed, Rob takes a fateful decision to keep quiet, as he begins a desperate quest to solve the twenty-year-old mystery of the woods.

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Adapted, along with The Likeness, into the iconic BBC series Dublin Murders

EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
ANTHONY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
BARRY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
MACAVITY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL

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Praise for the talismanic Tana French and her novels

'I can do you no greater favour in life than recommending that you read her books' GUARDIAN

'The most interesting, the most important crime novelist to emerge in the last ten years' WASHINGTON POST

'The most breathtakingly brilliant and close-to-perfect thriller I've read for a long time' SOPHIE HANNAH

'I'm a big fan of Tana French' IAN RANKIN

'This is a tour de force of suspense and storytelling. Comes closer to perfection than anything I've read in the last decade' SARAH HILARY

'French offers a masterclass in unreliability' SUNDAY TIMES

'An audacious departure for this immensely talented author . . . not to be missed' NEW YORK TIMES

'A wonderfully assured and beautifully written debut novel' IRISH INDEPENDENT

'I didn't want it to end' HARRIET TYCE©2007 Tana French Crime Thrillers Murder Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense True Crime Fiction Crime Mystery
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What the critics say

Sharply written and insidiously creepy, this is a mesmerising read that grabs hold of the reader from the very first page and doesn't let go until well past two in the morning.
This is a wonderfully assured and beautifully written debut novel, a multilayered psychological thriller that digs beneath the surface of ordinary lives and delivers excitement and insight in large helpings.
Lyrical and haunting
A real show-stopper of a thriller . . . Author tightens the tension slowly until squealing point; Ryan's increasingly taut relationship with Maddox is woven cunningly around the crime plot. A splendid, page-turning debut.
A rich multi-layered thriller
This is a real treat for Christmas. In the Woods is a classic murder mystery with plenty of twists and macabre detail. This is Tana French's debut and it's startlingly accomplished . . . French writes beautifully and is far from lazy when it comes to sprinkling clues and red herrings and developing the characters.
An intricate and edgy top-notch psychological thriller.

Continue the series
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All stars
Most Relevant
Ireland, murder, suspense, a little bit of romance—what more could I ask for! Great narrator too. Looking forward to #2.

Can’t wait to read #2!

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The story might be ok, very hard to tell with a narrator whose inflections never change, even during dialogue. Will not listen to him again.

Terrible narrator

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Tana French’s narrator was excellent, deftly performing a variety of regional Irish accents and using inflection naturally and to strong effect. The story, of a murder squad detective, Rob Ryan, and his female partner, working a case in Knocknaree that has heavy personal implications for Rob, is intricately woven and richly told. It was very suspenseful and I had chills multiple times. I blazed through this audio book and didn’t want it to end. The reason I took off one star is because some of the description was a bit overwrought, and though I truly enjoyed the complicated and unreliable narrator/main character Ryan, I found some of his observations to be unrealistically written. Overall though, I was a bit obsessed with this book and I can’t wait to get the second in the series!

Gripping

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Enjoyed the story, but left hanging at the end. Sadly not the best narration, the characters sounded too similar.

Weak Narration

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A very true feeling throughout the book, as the narrator reflects and remembers. Beautiful descriptions, engaging characters and plot. An untrustworthy narrator keeps you guessing, but I’ll admit to disappointment about the end.

Poetic

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