Mini Book Review: In the Woods

I'm a book worm and I wish that my friends and family would recommend their favorite books to me. I do read a lot but I warn you a lot of my books I pick up at the airport since I travel so much for work. I can't help it, sometimes I have to indulge in some mindless nonsense to make the 6 hr flight to California seem shorter.

In the Woods by Irish author Tana French had me so hooked I couldn't put it down and finished it in two days on my last trip out to California. The book is based in Ireland and is a fiction crime/psychological thriller. Here's a little synopsis on the book courtesy of Amazon:

"When Katy Devlin, a 12-year-old girl from Knocknaree, a Dublin suburb, is found murdered at a local archeological dig, Det. Rob Ryan and his partner, Cassie Maddox, must probe deep into the victim's troubled family history. There are chilling similarities between the Devlin murder and the disappearance 20 years before of two children from the same neighborhood who were Ryan's best friends. Only Maddox knows Ryan was involved in the 1984 case. The plot climaxes with a taut interrogation by Maddox of a potential suspect, and the reader is floored by the eventual identity and motives of the killer."

Aside from the crime/mystery part of the novel is the story of the relationship between the two detectives. It's written from the male detective's perspective and provides a detailed picture of the character's thoughts and inner workings. I was actually shocked when I realized that this novel was written by a female author because she created such a believable male voice. I truly believe this is hard to accomplish and the only other author I can remember capturing the opposite sex accurately is Wally Lamb in his novel She's Come Undone. The characters are very well developed, their relationships are complex and messy.

I give it a thumbs up and would definitely recommend picking it up.

Has anyone out there already read it? Agree or disagree with my review?

Mini Book Review: In the Woods