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Most Helpful Favorable Review
11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
Very good book
This was a very good book that kept your interest throughout. The only criticism I have is that there were some issues that seemed paramount to the story that were never resolved. I hate when authors do that!
posted by 1837634 on August 29, 2009
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8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Good beginning then downhill all the way
The first part of the book is what draws one in. Then the investigation pretty much goes nowhere, or in circles. There is an old mystery and a new one and both seem to be related. The old, and more intersting one, is never really solved. The new one is solved almost...Read More
The first part of the book is what draws one in. Then the investigation pretty much goes nowhere, or in circles. There is an old mystery and a new one and both seem to be related. The old, and more intersting one, is never really solved. The new one is solved almost like an aside. I came to dislike the self-centered, whining protagonist and felt badly for his partners. I would not recommend this book as a good read.Show Less
posted by Anonymous on August 4, 2008
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Anonymous
Posted August 29, 2009
Very good book
This was a very good book that kept your interest throughout. The only criticism I have is that there were some issues that seemed paramount to the story that were never resolved. I hate when authors do that!
11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted August 4, 2008
Good beginning then downhill all the way
The first part of the book is what draws one in. Then the investigation pretty much goes nowhere, or in circles. There is an old mystery and a new one and both seem to be related. The old, and more intersting one, is never really solved. The new one is solved almost like an aside. I came to dislike the self-centered, whining protagonist and felt badly for his partners. I would not recommend this book as a good read.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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MFAMZ
Posted May 20, 2010
I will start off my review with another review listed on the back of the book "Even smart people who should know better will be able to lose themselves in these dark woods."-Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review. I guess I'm not
smart because I did not get lost in the woods and prefer the books that smart people know better not to read. My comment to Ms stasio is that the book's plot could not be further from your typical whodunit. The authors over use of detail and metaphors was a destraction, and had only built up my anticipation for an extordinary twist, sadly this book was as twisted as I-95.
7 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
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descriptive - may contain spoiler alerts
I have to agree with many reviews posted. The book was overly descriptive about irrelevant details, whereas one of the biggest mysteries was never resolved (perhaps a sequel). The back story was just a red herring for the main event it seems, and was poorly intertwined. The fact that the ending wasn't a "happy" one made for an interesting read. I found myself liking the main character all the way through until the end, where the arguments between him and the female main character were borderline ridiculous. Could have been written better. All in all, interesting concept, and may be next time, less time should be spend on description of nature as oppossed to actually addressing the story. I can usually get through such a book in 2 days, this took nearly a month.
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted September 8, 2008
Mixed Feelings
I really enjoyed this book. Characters well developed, good plot. As to the resolution, I am of two minds. The allusions to 'something' in the woods was never resolved which bothered me more than the fact that the dissappearance was not explained, either. I am a sophisticated enough reader to understand when something is meant to be left to the imagination. But it would have been helpful to have some explanation.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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TWG
Posted May 6, 2010
Good first novel
I really enjoy the author's writing style. I was drawn into the story almost immediately. However, there is one really disappointing thing in this book. Let's just say, a major piece of the story line is left unexplained. She seemed to have nailed setting up the story and building the characters, but the climax and finish were a bit lacking, in my amateur opinion. However, I did find myself enjoying the main characters enough to want to run out and get the second book...so hopefully that says enough about this book and the author's potential.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Peeling an onion. . .
I come late to Tana French, but no less eagerly. Her writing is lyrical, methodical, and evocative of all great Irish storytellers. Sure, no one does it more hauntingly than they, and Tana French should stand proud. I read it first for hunger's sake, and then again to savor the nuances, the twists and the deliciously hidden bits that seem so obvious. Sometimes in going into the wood, we can't see the forest. . . well, you know the rest. The story's end does not disappoint: it's all there---a dark, quick shadow.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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I just don't understand!
I turned the page and expected another chapter, but I was disappointed. The book was done. I felt completely dissatisfied. What I thought was the biggest mystery of the book remained unsolved, while the mystery that I considered the secondary story was solved and wrapped up tightly in a bow. The sad thing about this was that I was really enjoying this book. I want to slap the author for not giving me what I wanted. However, I'd recommend this book because I'd like to know what others think of it. Did I miss something? Was I in a fugue....???
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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lisam
Posted July 31, 2010
I Also Recommend:
Disappointing!
I agree with many previous reviews, the descriptions were sometimes tedious and excessive. I found Rob, in the end to be whiny and annoying. The basic plot started out intriguing and then there were so many unfinished angles it lost its "thrill". I ended up finishing it only to be disappointed-what did happen "In the woods"? I can't believe we will never know. In an effort to find out, I started her second book, no mention of the woods but I am finding it to be a much better read-Cassie is a great character. Overall this one was very disappointing.
3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted October 7, 2008
You'll hate yourself for wasting your time!
What a colossal disappointment! The only reason I stuck with the somewhat predictable story was to get some resolution on the tragedy of the character's childhood....it never came! The plot is good, but predictable and the author is far too wordy for my taste. Don't waste your time on this one!
3 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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nookaholic
Posted June 21, 2010
Disappointing
I really thought this book was going to be great but was disaappointed overall. The character development was fabulous however, the story line lacked the same magic. I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book so much that I just couldn't put it down. As the story moved along though, instead of gaining momentum it simply fizzled out. So too, did my interest.
LOVED the charaters. The story, not so much.2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted May 12, 2010
Interesting Read
The title and the haunting-like cover art of this book, "In the Woods," leads the reader to expect a sort of thriller. After reading the synopsis on the back cover, the reader is further intrigued by the idea of a psychological thriller to be unwound. However, the book takes the reader on a road of discovery along with the main character to solve a murder of a little girl that brings on suspicions of a link to a twenty-something-year-old case of three young children, where two mysteriously disappear and only one survives, the main character. The survivor, Adam Ryan, assigns himself to the case of the murdered girl to somehow solve his own forgotten history of that nightmarish day in the woods.
Although the book's plot offers a few unexpected twists and turns in relation to the case of the murdered girl, it is more of a study of the main character and how he grew up dealing with this horrific event that stained his life and his search for answers. To some, this book may drag a little with irrelevant details, but it provides the reader of a clear picture of every step of the main character's thoughts and reasoning.
This book does not necessarily end the way the synopsis leads one to believe, but it is an interesting journey with the main character in attempting to fill a void in the memory of his own past.2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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MJinPA
Posted May 5, 2010
I Also Recommend:
Thrilling Debut Mystery Novel
This novel's first chapter features one of the very best opening paragraphs I've ever read - and I've read great books like a fiend for the past 39 years. Tana French's writing throughout is superlative. Very descriptive, evocative prose. Funny, too.
The two detectives, one of whom narrates the story, are terrific characters - especially likeable and engaging - and I got very caught up with the two of them. Some of the other characters are particularly good, and often amusing, without crossing the line into caricature. The story is well-paced and detailed - so suspenseful that I found it nearly impossible to put down.
My only complaint is that occasionally, during the first third of the story, the narrator makes self-referential comments that interrupt the flow and would do better to have been edited out. Here are two passages whose final sentences feel too self-conscious and interrupting to me:
1. "One of them ... had got bored and started melting stuff onto a broken CD with a lighter flame. The result ... was surprisingly pleasing, like one of the less humorless manifestations of modern urban art. There was a food-stained microwave in one corner, and a small inappropriate part of me wanted to suggest that he put the CD in it, to see what would happen."
2. "[One of the characters] struck me as the type who would say just about anything if he thought it would make you happy. I wished I had thought of asking him whether the guy [a suspicious-looking person] had been wearing stilettos."
Those small flaws aside, the novel is absolutely terrific. A real page-turner. If you enjoy a good mystery as well as beautifully descriptive writing, this is for you. After reading this and French's _The Likeness: A Novel_, I'm very much looking forward to _Faithful Place: A Novel_.2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted July 20, 2009
No idea how this could be a bestseller
I picked this book up yesterday and after the first page I forced myself to read the first chapter to at least give it a chance. However, I think that is all I can force myself to read; I am bringing it back today. I agree that it is overly "wordy"/descriptive and sounds like this author was just plain trying to hard.
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted January 22, 2012
Beautifully written, but Disappointing characters & Key plot point left unanswered
Although beautifully & lyrically written in parts, no likeable characters. As others have noted, one of the two major mysteries is not solved in this book.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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DBlade
Posted June 20, 2011
A total waste of your time
In addition to being highly overpriced in the e-book version the plot line has so many holes an elephant could fall through them. It appears to be a case of the author writing the story from front to back with no actuial idea of how the story would end and then being unwilling to correct the numerous flaws in the plot line. Just to mention one, the detectives not investigating the sheds at the very start is absurd !
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Ridiculous
This book sounds very good and I would buy it if it wasn't so highly priced. Why is the paperback less than $10.00 and this ebook price $15.99. AND it is not even lendable. This is getting so bad.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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globaldominationmachine
Posted February 9, 2011
I wish I could have back the hours I spent reading this.
What is the point of this book?
It goes off on several different unfulfilled tangents. Some ideas are explored but never resolved. It's like the book has multiple personalities that only show up for a dozen or so pages then vanish. And it's not even like the personalities we meet are even that interesting.
The book suffers from over explanation/definition. Why do we need to spend an entire page describing the color of something? I get that the flower is purple, ok?
The main character is kind of like that jerk neighbor you refuse to get to know better because what you do know makes you think he's an effing a-hole.
The only likable character in the book constantly gets screwed over and ultimately winds up fading into some kind of idiot backdrop and removes any sympathy you had for them anyway.
But the ultimate sin of this book is that the main hook(the main character's past) is never explained. It's what lures you in. And you get little hints along the way of what MIGHT have happened. But nothing is ever resolved. And without any resolution to it, there is no book. What's left without that resolution is just a crap episode of CSI... well... that implies that there are good episodes out there somewhere. But whatever.
So again, what's the point of this book?
Answer: there is none. It's a turd. Don't waste your time.1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Shadows in the Branches
This book came highly recommended by a friend and I must say it was a very enjoyable read. Cassie, Ryan (aka Adam) and Sam the three main detective characters are really brought to life during their investigation of a child murder on a archeological dig. The book was not predictable until the last 20 pages and it still managed to sneak in a few unpredictable ties in the end. I really enjoyed the use of culture (Irish) intermixed with American Pop Culture. Tana's writing style focus's more on her characters and their process and evolution through the store she is telling. It is a nice change from other authors who try to do everything and end up doing it weak. I am more of descriptive reader, loving scenes, places and environments; yet I really enjoyed this change of pace. Tana is so good with her character development that each of them become their own scene, place and environment to the story. On a personal note, I hated how Cassie, Ryan and Sam ended up at the end, it felt like Cassie was made cheap, Ryan was abandoned and quiet Sam won the grand prize. However, to have this one flaw out of the entire book is amazing. Highly recommend and I look forward to reading more by Tana in the future. A-
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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goguins66
Posted July 11, 2010
Had some problems, but I'll give her another try
I've read a lot of first novels, mainly after the author has written 30 or more and I have to play catch up. Few authors hit a home run right out of the box, and Ms. French is included. The most frustrating was the way the author seemed to tease the reader, saying "I know what you think is going to happen, so I will make the opposite happen and they will be surprised with my genius!" Well, the first couple of times she used this tactic made the storyline interesting, then it simply became annoying. There seemed to be more motivation to outwit the reader than to grow the characters in a logical and enjoyable way.
I did, however, find much of the writing witty, descriptive, and a promise of something to come. I just started The Likeness, and hope I won't be disappointed.1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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