May Book Review

This month’s review is by Catherine Adde

In the Woods

by Tana French

The Sierra Madre Library has had in the past an adult mystery reading program, and so I wanted to read this tense page turner from a talented voice and relatively new mystery author.

One summer day in the 1980s on the outskirts of Dublin, three children disappear into the woods. Although one is found, what has happened to the other two? Fast forward to the present day and Detective Rob Ryan is called upon to investigate a child who is found placed on an ancient burial stone. Are the two cases connected in any way? Reader, you will not find this out until the end, and I believe a few things are left unanswered for a sequel.

Some authors are good story tellers but not such great writers (Dan Brown, John Grisham) however some are blessed with both talents. The latter is the case with Ms. French who is an outstanding writer, descriptive, without being over the top and weaves an intriguing story as well. With taut pacing and the right amount of suspense, psychological character studies (including some pretty creepy families), and interesting subplots within the police department’s investigation, I enjoyed escaping for a while with this ‘who-done-it.’ (I’ll never tell!).

CALL # STATUS: In the Mysteries Section

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