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In the Woods

by Tana French Publisher: PENGUIN GROUP

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A present-day investigation shadowed by an old mystery

Regular price $18.13 USD
Regular price $30.22 USD Sale price $18.13 USD
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Paperback New English

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Awards & Recognition

  • Editorial selection

    A New York Times Best Thriller of the Twenty-First Century

    Named a New York Times Best Thriller of the Twenty-First Century.

  • Author recognition

    The Washington Post calls Tana French “the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years”

    Described as “the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years.”

AlbakiReads Editorial

A present-day investigation shadowed by an old mystery

In a Dublin suburb, the disappearance of three children in 1984 leaves one survivor with no memory of what happened in the woods. Two decades later, that survivor, Rob Ryan, is a detective investigating the murder of a twelve-year-old girl in the same place. His partner, Cassie Maddox, works alongside him as the new case echoes the unsolved events of his childhood. The investigation links a current crime with Ryan’s concealed past, while the missing pieces of his memory complicate what he can uncover. The setup brings together a murder investigation, an unresolved childhood mystery, and the limits of what the surviving witness can remember.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers of crime fiction set around police investigations.
  • For readers interested in mysteries that connect a present-day case to an earlier unsolved event.
  • For readers who enjoy stories where a detective’s personal history intersects with the case.

Themes

Memory and its gapsUnsolved crimeChildhood and the pastTrust between colleagues

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST THRILLER OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

"[Tana French is] required reading for anyone who appreciates tough, unflinching intelligence, and ingenious plotting." --The New York Times

The bestselling first novel in the Dublin Murder Squad series, with over a million copies sold, that launched Tana French, "the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years" (The Washington Post).

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox--his partner and closest friend--find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Richly atmospheric and stunning in its complexity, In the Woods is utterly convincing and surprising to the end.
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Customer reviews

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Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.