In the Woods

In the Woods is a 2007 mystery novel by Tana French about a pair of Irish detectives and their investigation of the murder of a twelve-year-old girl. It is the first book in French's Dublin Murder Squad series. The novel won several awards such as the 2008 Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author, the 2008 Barry Award for Best First Novel, the 2008 Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel, and the 2008 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. In the Woods and The Likeness, the second book of the Dublin Murder Squad series, are the inspiration for the BBC and Starz's 2019 Dublin Murders, an eight-episode series.

Plot
Twenty-two years prior to the novel's events, twelve-year-old Adam and his two best friends failed to come home after playing in the familiar woods bordering their Irish housing estate. The Gardaí found Adam shivering, clawing the bark of a nearby tree, with blood in his shoes and slash marks on his back. His friends were never found and he was unable to say what happened to them.

Now using his middle name, Rob, he is a detective with the Murder Squad. His amnesia holds to the present day.

The plot of the novel circles around the murder of a twelve-year-old girl, Katy Devlin, whose case Rob and his partner Cassie Maddox are assigned to investigate. The body is found in the same woods where Rob's friends disappeared, at an archaeological dig site, and the coincidence is enough to make Rob nervous, though he insists to his partner that he is fine.

Katy's murder takes the pair along many lines of investigation. Her death might be related to her father's protests against the new motorway meant to go straight through the dig site, or one of the students on the dig might have attacked her. She might have been abused by her father or someone else in the family. She might have been previously poisoned over time. Or it might be related to the disappearance of Rob's friends.

During their investigation, Rob and Cassie spend the night together. They kiss, but do not have sex. Their partnership deteriorates and they are unable to get along the way they used to.

Rob goes back to the dig site alone, where all the students are frantically digging before the site is shut down for the construction of the motorway. He calls in the forensics team again, who discover the location of the murder in a shed to which only three people have the key. After some heavy interrogation, one of the suspects confesses, though his motive is far from clear.

It becomes clearer when the suspect mentions that he had been dating Katy's older sister, Rosalind. When questioned by Cassie, Rosalind denies any involvement in Katy's death, but she also makes a comment that Cassie is obviously sleeping with Rob. Cassie admits sleeping with Rob and promises to keep Rosalind updated on the case if she promises not to tell. Rosalind brags about the whole thing and how she got the murderer to come up with the idea. After this confession, recorded on a wire, Cassie arrests her and takes her in; but, because Rosalind was a few months from turning 18, the confession is invalid. She is released with a smug smile.

The Murder Squad Superintendent has learned that Rob is actually Adam Ryan and transfers him to menial desk work in the General Unit. He never returns to the Murder Squad. Cassie starts dating another member of the squad and eventually becomes engaged, leaving Rob heartbroken.

Reception
Thomas Gaughan of Booklist gave In the Woods a starred review and hailed it as “...a superior novel about cops, murder, memory, relationships, and modern Ireland. The characters of Ryan and Maddox, as well as a handful of others, are vividly developed... Equally striking is the picture of contemporary Ireland, booming economically and fixated on the shabbiest aspects of American popular culture. An outstanding debut and a series to watch for procedural fans." Publishers Weekly praised author French, saying she “... expertly walks the line between police procedural and psychological thriller in her debut" and that "Ryan and Maddox are empathetic and flawed heroes, whose partnership and friendship elevate the narrative beyond a gory tale of murdered children and repressed childhood trauma." Kirkus Reviews said of the novel, "When not lengthily bogged down in angst, a readable, non-formulaic police procedural with a twist. It's ultimately the confession of a damaged man."

Characters

 * "Dublin Murder Squad" (DMS) employees :
 * Detective O'Kelly - Superintendent
 * Rob Ryan - Narrator, 35 years old, Education in a boarding school in England and thus carries a 'perfect BBC accent', passed out from Templemore College, rookie with some experience (two years as floater and two years in Domestic Violence), absorbed in DMS at age 31 years. Describes himself as 'tall, bony, rangy build, fairly good-looking in an off-beat way' with the appearance of 'A brilliant maverick loner who risks his neck fearlessly and always gets his man'.
 * Cassie Maddox - 33 years old, from Templemore College as well, absorbed into the DMS at a premature age of 28 years old after being stabbed while on an undercover assignment. Described as medium height, dark curls and a boyish, slim, square-shouldered build.
 * Sam O'Neill - 'stocky, cheerful, unflappable guy', influentially promoted as a member of the squad at only 27 years of age because of his politician uncle.
 * Detective Quigley - "wackiest" in the squad, often described as a "cretin", who sounded like Daffy Duck with a Donegal accent.

Awards and nominations

 * Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author, 2008
 * Barry Award for Best First Novel, 2008
 * Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel, 2008
 * Anthony Award for Best First Novel, 2008