In the Woods
Book Synopsis:
As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children. He is gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.
Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a 12-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox (his partner and closest friend) find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.
A gorgeously written novel that marks the debut of an astonishing new voice in psychological suspense.
Full Review:
At first I wasn’t able to really get into this book. I had marked it as “Did Not Finish” in December of 2021 and finally picked it back up in March of 2022. The characters were completely well thought out and developed, from their relationships to their thought processes- I very much enjoyed their engagement.
The story itself was filled with mystery and I felt the frustration and headaches that the detectives felt when diving into the case and exploring what avenues it could lead to. The twist? Chef’s kiss. The twist after that? Heart wrenching. Not chef’s kiss but still a banger. I felt all the things. Make it past chapter 3 and you’re smooth sailing through the story of Ryan and Cassie.
