Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
In the Woods cover art

In the Woods

By: Tana French
Narrated by: John McCormack
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

A Litter of Bones: A Scottish Crime Thriller cover art
The Sisters cover art
Stay Buried cover art
A Murder of Crows cover art
First Blood cover art
Hidden cover art
The Coldest Case: A Black Book Audio Drama cover art
Lie to Me cover art
No Mercy cover art
The Life We Bury cover art
The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1 cover art
The Dark Bones cover art
The Alienist cover art
Killer Women cover art

Summary

The inspiration for the major new BBC drama series Dublin Murders.  

When he was 12 years old, Adam Ryan went playing in the woods one day with his two best friends. He never saw them again. Their bodies were never found, and Adam himself was discovered with his back pressed against an oak tree and his shoes filled with blood. He had no memory of what had happened. 

Twenty years on, Rob Ryan - the child who came back - is a detective in the Dublin police force. He's changed his name. No one knows about his past. Then a little girl's body is found at the site of the old tragedy and Rob is drawn back into the mystery. Knowing that he would be thrown off the case if his past were revealed, Rob takes a fateful decision to keep quiet but hope that he might also solve the twenty-year-old mystery of the woods. 

©2007 Tana French (P)2008 Oakhill Publishing

More from the same

What listeners say about In the Woods

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    278
  • 4 Stars
    252
  • 3 Stars
    113
  • 2 Stars
    45
  • 1 Stars
    27
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    277
  • 4 Stars
    181
  • 3 Stars
    89
  • 2 Stars
    35
  • 1 Stars
    46
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    263
  • 4 Stars
    208
  • 3 Stars
    91
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    23

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Feeling disappointed.

My review of this novel might be unfair, but the truth is that I was unable to get past more than a few chapters because the narrator made what had been a wonderfully gentle pace of plot in 'Broken Harbour' (different narrator), deadly dull. I found myself listening out for the next cliche while wishing I didn't have to listen to the dialogue between the main character and his new work partner.

Such a shame because I adored 'Broken Harbour' which was one of the best reads I've had. Not sure that I can risk my credits on giving Tana French another chance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Strange & pointless

Was In the Woods worth the listening time?

Not really.

Any additional comments?

The premise of the story is promising, and draws you in, but then it just goes on and on, goes nowhere, and dribbles out. Although the crime is solved, the back story for the central character - i.e. the child who survived - is left hanging. While the author probably had a reason for this, it is very unsatisfying as a listener as this what hooked me in the first place. Also, the narrator is awful. Even though the plummy BBC accent is explained, it really spoils the story. Generally, the strange intonations & inflections of the narrator change the meaning of sentences, and often leaves them hanging or as if they were meant to be questions. Specifically, his characterisation of the main suspect makes him sound like a moron.This is the second Tana French book I've listened to - I kept living in hope as it went on, but I should have learned the first time. I don't think I'll listen to any more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Dire narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A more complete ending - either I missed something or the original mystery did not get resolved!
A different narrator - it was painful to listen to. The 'English' accent and intonation was all wrong and spoilt the whole book for me.

What was most disappointing about Tana French’s story?

The ending to the initial disappearance story. There wasn't one unless I fell asleep and missed it.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of John McCormack?

Anyone! But ideally the Narrator of Broken Harbour, by the same Author, which was Hugh Lee.

Any additional comments?

Please check your narrators before releasing books in Audible as this was a disaster.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not as good as later books

I was impressed by the author's more recent books, Broken Harbour and Faithful Place, but felt that "In the Woods" less good. There's an interesting detective story in it but it's slowed down by too much self-indulgent literary descriptive stuff and wallowing in the visceral effects of shocks and disclosures on the chief character's digestive and nervous systems. I kept wanting to shout "get on with the story!" As par for the course the lead detectives are damaged by their pasts that impinge on the case but it does add to the interest. As is often the case in novels the authors appears to assume that doing an under-graduate course in psychology equips one to learn about and diagnose psychological and mental illness: it doesn't. Clinical psychology is a postgraduate qualification. I felt that the psychological explanation for the actions of one of the protagonists in the murder was far-fetched. I did finish the book but have to admit it was with relief.
The narrator is good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I could not put it down

This was a refreshing book - seemingly ordinary and yet very intricate. The relationships are very believable and when it was finished I missed the characters. I also played in the woods when I was a child and it took me back there. I have just ordered another Tana French book to read on holiday.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Tana French writes beautifully

This is a great story but it is ruined by a very unpleasant and grating narrative style. The narrator’s voice annoyed me so much I just gave up in the end. Don’t the people who hire narrators listen to them????

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant thriller

This was one of the best choices I have made on Audible. Brilliantly written, excellent characters and dialogues. It was a joy to listen to, kept me on edge the whole time.



My only problem was with the narrator who was a bit annoying. I have never heard anyone speak like this. Not even the Queen pronounces individual words so carefully within a sentence, it just doesn't sound authentic. The accents are great though. When he switches to one the character suddenly comes alive and it doesn't sound like a narrator reading from a book anymore.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A good listen.

I really enjoy Tana Woods books. Well written, good developed characters and a 'must finish' feel about them. My only gripe is that I always feel the story is never quite finished - unanswered questions too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story but odd narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this audiobook for the story, but the narrator was really off putting.

What aspect of John McCormack’s performance might you have changed?

He quite often spoke as if reading items from a shopping list and his intonation was bizarre at times, which made certain sentences sound incorrect or made them hard to understand. He also mispronounced a lot of words, at once point he was describing how a character smoothed out her skirt and pronounced it as "smooth-ed" as it was two separate words. I'm sure many people did not notice or care about this but it really irritated me and it distracted me from the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it's much too long for that, but I did listen to the final few hours all in one go.

Any additional comments?

I felt the narrator did a really good job of distinguishing between characters and gave them each a unique voice. However although i will probably read or listen to more books in this series I think I would be put off from another book narrated by this person. I'm really surprised this wasn't picked up when it was being edited, it's almost constant throughout the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

absolutely terrible

complete and utter pretentious nonsense. The plot well there is no plot. The narration on this audio is the most annoying I have ever had the misfortune of listening to. I would give it 0 stars if it would allow. This is a series I can now skip.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful