Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack)'s Reviews > In the Woods
In the Woods
by
by
Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack)'s review
bookshelves: z-read2018, mystery-suspense, wonderful-writing, 2-star, favorite-characters, favorite-friendships
Jan 30, 2018
bookshelves: z-read2018, mystery-suspense, wonderful-writing, 2-star, favorite-characters, favorite-friendships
I.... have no fucking clue how I felt about this book. Because, hey, beginning? Awesome.
Ending? Trash heap that ruined the book for me.
Let’s talk.
The first half of this book was - honestly - excellent. You can read a thousand reviews talking about it, so I’ll keep it short. The writing is honestly stunning, much better - in my opinion - than Gillian Flynn or Paula Hawkins’ styles. I had no clue where the mystery was going. And the lead characters, Rob Ryan and his partner / best friend Cassie Maddox were super compelling - and no romance, bonus point! I especially adored Cassie fucking Maddox; her backstory with a friend from college honestly broke my heart. All the ingredients for a perfect book. Maybe even a five. I like the characters and I like the writing, so I should have liked this book, right?
I am going to try to explain this as spoiler-free [and what spoilers exist are noted] as possible: the ending of this book is maybe one of the most unsatisfying things I have ever read in my whole life. I am not kidding when I say it was such total trash that it ruined the whole book for me.
Not. One. Thing. Is. Resolved. Rob Ryan’s character arc? Flop. My wife Cassie Maddox’s character arc? Long sigh. My favorite pair of besties? I don’t want to talk about it. Mystery? Fine, sort of chilling, but also 1) not really a mindfuck and 2) has shitty connotations. The commupence? Non-ex-is-tent.
And the worst part? The mystery from twenty years ago that causes this entire fucking BOOK and that was way more interesting than the normal mystery? Literally no fucking resolution. Who did it? How did they do it? What is up with that hair clip in the forest and the blood inside Rob’s shoes? NO ONE FUCKING KNOWS. I’m sure this is framed in the minds of many readers as some kind of deeper meaning about memory. You know what I thought, honestly? Tana French wrote herself into a corner with a fucking ridiculous case and then ran out of time on her deadline and decided to leave it open.
How not to write a decent crime book 101.
And…….. so the only actual thing that is wrapped up is the current case, which is the only thing in this entire goddamn book that wraps up and I still don’t like it. It’s tagged. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. (view spoiler)
And also, there is so much weird misogyny. I’m chalking this up to “this was written in 2006” but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care. Rosalind is the epitome of an I’m Not Other Girls character to the point where she actually says that line. And Cassie’s ending… is so shitty. Again, MAJOR SPOILER: (view spoiler) Because what’s the point of a female character if they’re not contributing to the manpain?
The two stars rather than one is a reflection of me loving the beginning. The ending of this book can go die in a hole. That is all I have to say.
Dublin Murder Squad: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 [TK] | 6
Blog | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | About |
Let’s talk.
The first half of this book was - honestly - excellent. You can read a thousand reviews talking about it, so I’ll keep it short. The writing is honestly stunning, much better - in my opinion - than Gillian Flynn or Paula Hawkins’ styles. I had no clue where the mystery was going. And the lead characters, Rob Ryan and his partner / best friend Cassie Maddox were super compelling - and no romance, bonus point! I especially adored Cassie fucking Maddox; her backstory with a friend from college honestly broke my heart. All the ingredients for a perfect book. Maybe even a five. I like the characters and I like the writing, so I should have liked this book, right?
I am going to try to explain this as spoiler-free [and what spoilers exist are noted] as possible: the ending of this book is maybe one of the most unsatisfying things I have ever read in my whole life. I am not kidding when I say it was such total trash that it ruined the whole book for me.
Not. One. Thing. Is. Resolved. Rob Ryan’s character arc? Flop. My wife Cassie Maddox’s character arc? Long sigh. My favorite pair of besties? I don’t want to talk about it. Mystery? Fine, sort of chilling, but also 1) not really a mindfuck and 2) has shitty connotations. The commupence? Non-ex-is-tent.
And the worst part? The mystery from twenty years ago that causes this entire fucking BOOK and that was way more interesting than the normal mystery? Literally no fucking resolution. Who did it? How did they do it? What is up with that hair clip in the forest and the blood inside Rob’s shoes? NO ONE FUCKING KNOWS. I’m sure this is framed in the minds of many readers as some kind of deeper meaning about memory. You know what I thought, honestly? Tana French wrote herself into a corner with a fucking ridiculous case and then ran out of time on her deadline and decided to leave it open.
How not to write a decent crime book 101.
And…….. so the only actual thing that is wrapped up is the current case, which is the only thing in this entire goddamn book that wraps up and I still don’t like it. It’s tagged. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. (view spoiler)
And also, there is so much weird misogyny. I’m chalking this up to “this was written in 2006” but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care. Rosalind is the epitome of an I’m Not Other Girls character to the point where she actually says that line. And Cassie’s ending… is so shitty. Again, MAJOR SPOILER: (view spoiler) Because what’s the point of a female character if they’re not contributing to the manpain?
The two stars rather than one is a reflection of me loving the beginning. The ending of this book can go die in a hole. That is all I have to say.
Dublin Murder Squad: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 [TK] | 6
Blog | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | About |
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In the Woods.
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Reading Progress
June 16, 2017
– Shelved
January 30, 2018
–
Started Reading
February 8, 2018
–
75.0%
"this audiobook is so long but so fucking great. I’m excited to finally finish!! buuuuuuut I also still have five hours left. send help."
February 11, 2018
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 77 (77 new)
message 1:
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Vanessa
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rated it 4 stars
Jan 30, 2018 10:32PM
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ALSO I JUST SAW YOUR SOLE YOUTUBE VIDEO AND YOU'RE SO PRECIOUS MAKE MORE
I was like SHE HAS A BOOKTUBE???? and then I see....one video, but you were so precious and eloquent just like in your GR reviews and gnkgdmlgdk;gdk;fd :')
it seems so weird to me that no one else noticed?? idk
i do like her writing a lot - I think i'll try a couple of her other books. this just did not work for me ://
Bruce wrote: "Excellent review. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who was bitterly disappointed by the way it ended."
thank you, Bruce! I'm somewhat surprised the ending isn't more controversial - love for this one seems pretty universal.
honestly i don't think i remember reading this book well enough to answer <3
That being said, if you loved Cassie (I do too) I super recommend the next book – THE LIKENESS. It's her POV, I read it first, and I loved it a lot more. I came back to read IN THE WOODS because I was always interested in the backstory alluded to in THE LIKENESS, but it's 100% Cassie's story and I think deals with some of the qualms you have about her arc here (I agree, it is.......... not my favorite).
The Likeness
RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT?? it's so deeply unsatisfying on like.... all points, and it just feels lazy as hell