I was poking around Audible looking for my next great listen when I stumbled on Tana French‘s award-winning book The Hunter about Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago cop living in Ireland. This book and its prequel, The Searcher, are both excellent. I enjoyed them so much; I listened to French’s In the Woods and was surprisingly disappointed.

What I liked about The Hunter and The Searcher

The writing is beautifully descriptive without slowing the pace of these murder mysteries. For instance, here’s a passage from page 249 of The Hunter:

The sun and the heat make the mountain feel more dangerous, not less; as if it’s emboldened, no longer keeping its risks hidden, instead flaunting them like dares. The heather on the bog rustles loudly at every twitch of breeze, making Lena turn fast for nothing; real trails and false ones look wickedly identical, twisting away among the trees; the drop-offs stand out starkly, revealed by the wilting undergrowth, too close to the path. Lena left the dogs behind because of the heat, but she’s regretting it slightly. The mountain today feels like a place where a bit of company wouldn’t be a bad thing.

 

And the characters are well drawn. Not knowing it was part of a series, I read The Hunter first. Doing this spoiled one character reveal, but I didn’t really mind. Of the two books, I preferred The Hunter‘s plot, but I was impressed with Cal Hooper’s investigative skills in The Searcher. If you’re an author writing crime mysteries, I can’t recommend The Searcher strongly enough. Also, French does a great job of portraying the male point of view (though, if you’re a man and you’ve read this and disagree, be sure to let me know).

Finally, the narration by Roger Clark is unbelievable. Clark, an Irish-American who moved from the U.S. to Ireland with his family when he was twelve, does an incredible job with both Cal Hooper’s Chicago accent and the wide variety of Irish and British accents.

What I didn’t like about In the Woods

In the Woods has a sinister premise, which is right up my alley. When detective Rob Ryan was twelve, he played in the woods with his two best friends. His friends disappeared, and Ryan had no memory of what happened. Twenty years later, Ryan and his partner Cassie Maddox investigate the murder of a twelve-year-old girl in those same woods.

I loved the chemistry between Ryan and Maddox. But (spoiler) Ryan becomes increasingly belligerent and has a falling out with Maddox. He says they aren’t partners after this case. That’s when I decided not to read more of the books in the series.

Ryan also became an extremely unlikeable character. He even admits this to the reader. His personality change made it difficult for me to finish the book.

Additionally, there are two mysteries in this book. One is solved, the other isn’t. The novel breaks its promise to the reader, which is frustrating. Since this is the first book in the series, I assume the mystery will carry forward, but I don’t like this book enough to want to find out. Also, the writing isn’t nearly as good as the other two books.

Finally, after listening to Roger Clark do such an excellent job with Irish accents, Steven Crossley’s narration disappointed me. In the Woods takes place in Dublin and throughout Ireland, but Crossley narrates with a British accent. Ryan is Irish, but had an English accent, which is explained a little too late. However, the other characters should have Irish accents but don’t.

I wanted more (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing)

While I won’t read any more of the books in the In the Woods series, I’m dying to read the sequel to The Hunter.

How this has affected my writing

I listened to The Searcher once, The Hunter twice, and now I’m reading The Hunter hardcover. I’m paying close attention to French’s descriptions and expanding on my own. Also, my protagonist in The Runner, my current manuscript, spends most of the book in the Appalachian mountains, so I’ll add more natural elements that impact his journey.

The Hunter gets 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 for beautiful descriptions and well-drawn characters.

The Searcher gets 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻  for the protagonist’s investigative skills.

In the Woods gets 👍🏻 👍🏻  for failing to fulfill its promise.

A little help!

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