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

In the Woods by Tana French
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book had been recommended to me by my Mum a while back and I really fancied a book that was gritty, surprising and a page turner. I must admit, upon reading the prologue I was disappointed. The author used lots of flowery language and fluff about summertime in Ireland and I like my murder mysteries to open with a body on page one. But, after the prologue the story soon got going. We are introduced to Rob/Adam Ryan and instantly he informs us that he lies. It is clear he is far from a reliable narrator.
He details us on the case of his missing friends, and the events that took place around the time. The situation is really intriguing and it's clear that the police officers at the time hadn't got a clue.
Then we are brought up to the date, Rob had relinquished his first name as a child and has now become a policeman on the Murder Squad. He and his 'more than friends, but not quite lovers' partner Cassie get the case of a murdered twelve year old in the same location as where his friends went missing.
The case is slow going, with different leads and suspects. The family are certainly interesting and not everything is as it seems. But could the two cases be related?
Tana French is an excellent writer, her characters seem full and thought out and she sets the scene beautifully. As I read I felt my feelings change, felt tense and hatred which is exactly the kind of reaction I want when reading a novel. Rob Ryan for me personally went from a character that I put up with to a character that I hated after one single event. His behaviour infuriated me, so I must admit I did rush the last portion of the book, just to finish it.
The case itself had plenty of twists and turns and I didn't figure out who the murderer was, but I was disappointed by the result. After everything that had happened it seemed a bit of an anti-climax. But what irritated me more was that the original case, of Adam's lost friends was never resolved! And it doesn't appear to be resolved in any follow-up books.
I originally gave this four stars when finishing it, but since I've delegated it to three. The ending was so unsatisfying, and the behaviour between Cassie and Rob seemed odd to me. I have a male best friend and you couldn't pay me a million pounds to touch his feet!
Overall, a solid novel, with so much promise. I really enjoyed French's style of writing, so I'm likely to pick up another of her books. As long as you can promise me that there is a conclusion!

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