Bingo: Right. A current case brings the detective narrator right back to his past. As a detective he should be on the right side of things, but he has let his past affect his present and often stumbles.
In the Woods was Tana French’s first novel. It is a very good debut. But the story contains two mysteries and one of them is not solved at the end. Obviously this was the first of the Dublin Squad series and we would see characters again, including the very flawed protagonist, but I wanted everything tied up with a bow, dammit. Hence my Aaaaarrrrrggghh.
The story is told from Adam Ryan’s point of view. He’s a detective on the Dublin murder squad and is assigned to a case featuring a dead adolescent girl who was left on the alter of some ancient ruins that are being explored by a set of archeologists. The girl, Katy, was bludgeoned to death and shows signs of sexual assault. Detectives think it may be an act of revenge on her father, who is fighting large developers who want to build a motorway through the woods, which edge the archaeological site and various homes around the estate. Soon Ryan and his partner Cassie Maddox are pursuing all aspects of what is proving to be a complicated case.
Adam’s backstory is connected to the woods. When he was 12 or 13, he and his two best friends, Jamie and Pete, were the victim of some kind of crime by an unknown assailant. Adam is found catatonic with his shoes full of blood but his two friends have disappeared. The crime was never solved, and Adam changed his name to Rob to cover his identity. Very few people know who he really is, one of them being his partner Cassie.
Ryan and Cassie have an intense bond that he initially describes as brother and sister. They are extremely close, able to read each other without words and joke around, even in physical ways. Ryan often spends the night on her couch in her cozy flat. They spend nights drinking wine, talking about cases and enjoying each other’s company. The reader definitely picks up a romantic vibe, and that is one of the book’s tensions.
I severely disliked the protagonist in places but I think you are supposed to. He is damaged from the incident in the woods, and can barely remember anything that happened. He can be cold and prickly but also loving and kind. As the book went on I wanted to shake him by the shoulders and tell him to pull his head out of his ass. He’s frustrating as he barrels around revolving between keen and stupid. By comparison, I was enchanted by Cassie.
French is a strong writer, even though some scenes get a little flowery. But all in all a good book. I read another book from this series some time ago and remember liking it, but can’t remember most of it. This book dragged a little in the beginning, but got its feet and picked up just when I was getting a little bored. Recommended, but only if you can deal with open endings.
