3.5 Stars
It appears I may have kinda read this wrong, but just . . . .
I don’t know if I had a sixth sense that I would be a wrongreader or what, but I have owned this sucker in paper format where it sits prominently along with so many other “yeah I bought it but I probably won’t get around to reading it unless I’m housebound due to illness or a zombie apocalypse” selections on my bookshelves. When this popped up as a recommendation on the WRC in order for me to earn my annual coffee mug from the liburrrrrry . . . .
I put my name on the wait list for an e-copy (easier for me to read on the go/at lunch/etc.). My friend Christine’s review convinced me it really was time to stop procrastinating. So what (sorta) went wrong? Welllllllll, since this is a mystery let me give you a list that will hopefully ‘splain my reaction without offering up any spoilsies.
1. My copy was 600 PAGES long. That was reason numero uno for me not reading this sooner and I was absolutely right in my thinking that there was zero reason for a mystery to contain so many pages. A quarter of this book could have been cut without a problem.
2. Everyone else seems to really appreciate Tana French’s writing, but the flowery style interwined with Rob’s narrative in combination with this being simply a “whodunit” was jarring to me.
3. A superbadawful had happened to the leading male when he was just a kid. Somehow dude ONLY STARTED GOING BY HIS MIDDLE NAME and no one ever put two and two together that he was the kid from way back when. And he’s a cop. Please don’t ever let anything bad happen to me in Ireland if you can really become a murder detective without a better background check than this.
4. Rob and his partner Cassie were the bees knees and an example of how male and female co-workers can be equals and not fall into the sack with each other . . . until they weren’t. I literally screamed “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” and scared the crap out of both my husband and the cat. And Cassie’s wrap-up at the end????
What a cherry to put on top of that shit sundae. I just noticed that she’s the main character in the next book and there’s no chance I’ll be reading it because I lost all respect for her.
5. Apparently the whodunit came as a big shocker to a lot of readers as well, but again I was like . . . .
Maybe it’s because mystery-thrillers are my genre of choice, but there were tons of not-so-subtle hints dropped throughout the book that pointed a spotlight on the truly guilty party.
In The Woods was a decent book, but I’m rounding down rather than up because it just didn’t stand out enough compared to the billions of other murder mysteries on the market. But again, I read it wrong and if it’s on your TBR it should stay there.
Since the Winter Reading Challenge doesn't end until March, this still counts even though I already scored my mug. Yay me for being an overachiever ; )
I don’t know if I had a sixth sense that I would be a wrongreader or what, but I have owned this sucker in paper format where it sits prominently along with so many other “yeah I bought it but I probably won’t get around to reading it unless I’m housebound due to illness or a zombie apocalypse” selections on my bookshelves. When this popped up as a recommendation on the WRC in order for me to earn my annual coffee mug from the liburrrrrry . . . .
I put my name on the wait list for an e-copy (easier for me to read on the go/at lunch/etc.). My friend Christine’s review convinced me it really was time to stop procrastinating. So what (sorta) went wrong? Welllllllll, since this is a mystery let me give you a list that will hopefully ‘splain my reaction without offering up any spoilsies.
1. My copy was 600 PAGES long. That was reason numero uno for me not reading this sooner and I was absolutely right in my thinking that there was zero reason for a mystery to contain so many pages. A quarter of this book could have been cut without a problem.
2. Everyone else seems to really appreciate Tana French’s writing, but the flowery style interwined with Rob’s narrative in combination with this being simply a “whodunit” was jarring to me.
3. A superbadawful had happened to the leading male when he was just a kid. Somehow dude ONLY STARTED GOING BY HIS MIDDLE NAME and no one ever put two and two together that he was the kid from way back when. And he’s a cop. Please don’t ever let anything bad happen to me in Ireland if you can really become a murder detective without a better background check than this.
4. Rob and his partner Cassie were the bees knees and an example of how male and female co-workers can be equals and not fall into the sack with each other . . . until they weren’t. I literally screamed “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” and scared the crap out of both my husband and the cat. And Cassie’s wrap-up at the end????
What a cherry to put on top of that shit sundae. I just noticed that she’s the main character in the next book and there’s no chance I’ll be reading it because I lost all respect for her.
5. Apparently the whodunit came as a big shocker to a lot of readers as well, but again I was like . . . .
Maybe it’s because mystery-thrillers are my genre of choice, but there were tons of not-so-subtle hints dropped throughout the book that pointed a spotlight on the truly guilty party.
In The Woods was a decent book, but I’m rounding down rather than up because it just didn’t stand out enough compared to the billions of other murder mysteries on the market. But again, I read it wrong and if it’s on your TBR it should stay there.
Since the Winter Reading Challenge doesn't end until March, this still counts even though I already scored my mug. Yay me for being an overachiever ; )
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