I had high expectations for this award winning first novel; it had an intriguing story line but the author did not come through for me. My main issue...the author is a women who wrote from the perspective of a male detective and I could never buy it! I don't know why this was necessary when the second character, the main characters female partner played a large and much more believable part in the story. Finally, I was able to figure out the "who dunnit" long before I should have and that was disappointing. As a side note, I do this a lot so maybe this shouldn't be considered but it seemed too obvious for even for me. Caution those who may be considering it for a book club book because it may be a let down, but worth a try for a personal read.

This is a very well written novel with finely drawn characters and settings. Toward the end the focus is a police procedural which slows the book down a great deal. Many readers may be disgruntled by the unsolved older mystery in the story as I was.

I LOVED this book and it's not something that I would have normally picked up and read.

The book is written through Rob Ryan's eyes and Tana French does an amazing job with it. I loved that the book was set in Ireland...small town Ireland at that. And the relationship and chemistry between Ryan and Cassie is so great. It is a wonderful psychological thriller and I LOVE her writing. Her second book which is now out, The Likeness, takes place shortly after In the Woods and is through Cassie's perspective. I'm definitely going to be reading that one as well.

Awesome book. Was bummed when it was over. Went out and read the 2nd book "The Likeness" right away. It's just as good.

Well-written psychological mystery. Could have been trimmed by a good editor. Overall I enjoyed it, and have purchased the author's other novel, "The Likeness."

A beautifully written page turner.

I enjoyed the book until the ending when we never find out what happens to the main character. I was extremely disappointed in the ending.

I found this book very interesting. It takes place in Ireland involving two murders. One from the 1980's and one present day. The characters are likeable and there is depth to them. I was hooked from the beginning. There were some things I felt 'left undone', but am hoping this is intentional and Ms. French will address them in future books.

disappointed in the ending!,over- all the book was entertaining

I liked the book, except that I wanted to know what happened to the 2 children who were murdered at the beginning of the book. I realize this is not the subject of the story, but I think it has a lot to do with the mindset of the narrator. It kept me reading to find out what happened, then at the end, you still didn't know what happened to those 2 children.

The book was not an easy read, and I liked that. the characters were all very interesting profiles... I would read her again..

It could have been half the length. It was actually too detailed and I have never said that before about a book. It did not keep my attention. I felt my mind wandering while I read.

I could not get into this book. The ending left me unsatisfied.

Good mystery, suspenseful, kept me guessing. Will definitely read other books by the author! Characters were interesting with lots of twists and turns.

This physic mystery is hard to put down. It delves into how early experiences shape our lives and what constitutes psycotic behavior. The ending was disappointing because it didn't explain all the events which happened in the book.

Beautifully written. Intriguing story line. Unexpected ending. I read her next two books because I enjoyed this one so much.

Enjoyed the book very much.

An intriguing read. Beautifully written with very well developed characters. Much more than the typical mystery.

it was a great book, I cant wait to read the next book in this series :)

Members of our Book Club enjoyed this book, but we spent a lot of time discussing the main character (whether we liked him or not) and his actions (why was he so tired? why did he treat Cassie so poorly?). We also discussed whether or not we were able to figure out what ultimately happened. We decided we were a bit angry with the author for not tying up all the loose ends.