The lack of resolution in Rob's story can be seen as a detractor but I liked it. It worked well as a parallel and counterpoint storyline, mixing in Rob's head to create a compelling, interesting story that I enjoyed very much. Rob's fractured psyche and desire to discover what exactly happened to him as a child twenty years earlier was a great subplot. One thing I really liked is how Rob's distant past and his present met, how it sent him for a tailspin. Of course, this falls apart soon enough, and while I understand why the author made the choice, I didn't particularly like it. I was delighted by the platonic nature of their friendship, as I find partners who get romantically involved to be a stale narrative. Their friendship and working relationship was a bright spark, bringing a clever, affectionate air to the otherwise sombre novel. My favourite and least favourite parts of the book were the same: the relationship between Rob and his partner, Cassie Maddox.

One of the best part of mysteries is trying to guess who did it and seeing if you're correct at the end. I guessed the killer by the third chapter, but that didn't really detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I thought that meant I was in for an unreliable narrator, but I found Rob to be a straightforward narrator, relating the story with an earnest vulnerability. My quibble was that early on in the narrative, our main character, Rob, admits that he lies. That's a reasonable complaint, though it didn't bother me particularly much. Most complaints I've seen about the book is that they don't like the ending, as the mysterious disappearances of three preteens that Into the Woods opens with is not solved by the end. What nobody except his partner and best friend know is that Rob Ryan is from that small town and twenty years before, as a twelve year old, he had been involved in a mysterious incident that found him terrified, amnesiac and covered in blood and his two best friends lost, never to be found. Detective Rob Ryan and the Dublin Murder Squad investigate.

There's a murder in a small town in Ireland, a young girl's body is left at the site of an archeological dig. Into the Woods was absolutely riveting and enjoyable, but ultimately left me feeling mildly unsatisfied. I've seen this book recommended everywhere - the whole series, actually - so I decided to pick it up.

Book in the woods by tana french