Book Club: In the Woods by Tana French – Week 1
Hosted by The Book Wheel and Love at First Book
Welcome to Week 1: March 3-9 Prologue-Ch 6
Woo hoo! We’re finally getting started with In the Woods! If you’re here, you have read the first part, or are currently reading it!
Please go ahead and start (or continue) the conversation! Remember to come back to continue to respond to others who comment throughout the week (and month)! Write as much or as little as you please, and don’t forget to link your own blog if you have one!
Only post about Prologue-Ch 6, please! Spoilers totally allowed for those chapters, but no spoilers for the remainder of the book, please! Save those for the later posts.
Haven’t finished Prologue-Ch 6 yet? Come back when you’re done and join in the conversation!
Didn’t sign up to read with us? Join now! Sign up here or just come join us when you want to!
Thanks for reading,
rscaglione.wordpress.com 
Reblogged this on misentopop.
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Soooo. . . I started reading this book and realized that I’ve already read it! Which could mean that I read it before and didn’t enjoy it. But then I’d remember it. So more likely, I read it and it didn’t have much affect on me. That makes me nervous since I’m co-hosting this book club!
But I’m reading it with an open mind. And so far, I’m interested. I remember little pieces as I read, but not the ending . . . I think there’s something off with Rosalind. . . And I wonder what the connection is with the crime he was involved with when he was a kid. Kind of strange.
And what’s up with Mark? He’s hiding something.
What do you guys think?
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I agree, there is something up with Rosalind, and, probably the entire family because even the twin was a little off.
And what is up with the four gashes on the back of his shirt when he was younger? I’m almost afraid this is going to turn into some monsters-in-the-dark book! (Like that M. Night Shyamalan movie, The Village!)
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From what I can recall, this book isn’t supernatural, so no worries there! But yeah, I have no idea what is going on with that. What happened back then? How is it connected to now, if at all? It seems like it could be, but maybe not. . .
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Oh, thank goodness. Supernatural stuff is not my cup of tea (unless you count Harry Potter….) but I am curious as to where this one is going! Did the Devlin dad have something to do with it years ago?
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Maybe. . . but he was a teenager, so it doesn’t sound like it. I don’t remember much, but I know they delve into that part of the plot at some point.
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The gashes in his shirt are interesting, and I am glad to hear it’s not supernatural. As far as the Devlin dad goes even though he would have been a teenager then he still could have done it. A teenager could have definitely murdered those kids. Especially if he had help.
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That is true!
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Rosalind, Rob, and Mark are all off. Actually I think all of the main characters and most of the supporting characters are off in one way or another. What a great author to have me thinking that!
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The prologue of this book gave me nightmare flashbacks of White Oleander because of the onslaught of imagery, but luckily that passed. So far, I’m liking this book. It has a weird “feel” to it, but that might because the narrator made a comment about how he was falling in love with Cassie while simultaneously saying that she looked 8 in her oversized raincoat, which creeped me out. But I do love that the author references both Law & Order and JC Penney, because they are two of my favorite things 😀
Chapters 1-6 seem to provide more background and set-up for what is to come. I’m looking foward to finding out what the link is (I’m assuming there is one) between the current murder and the murders from 20 years before!
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Good insight into the first chapters kind of “gearing up” for the story. But now we have all of the background and we need to start moving along.
I didn’t notice the creepy Cassie comment, but I wonder what is going on with the two of them. Nothing romantic yet, but do you think there will be? She seems jealous a little that he likes Rosalind, but she also seems like a super tough chick. I don’t know where that’s going yet.
We’ll find out soon enough!
Do you like it so far?
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I may or may not have finished the book already. And I may or may not have been completely, 100% right about my theory since the beginning of the book. That has never happened.
I’ll wait until everyone is further along to comment on anything else.
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Haha. I’m proud of you for finishing the book already! And not giving spoilers. I am reading along with the regular club because, as you know, I am prone to spoilers. So this way I can prevent that from happening 😀
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So, in the future, a good way to finish the book but not give spoilers by accident is to read based on the schedule and then write notes when you finish each section. Even if you read ahead, you won’t give spoilers because you already have your notes! 🙂
We’ll eventually be able to talk about everything!!! Just wait a liiiiiiittttllleeee longer. You can say this though: Did you enjoy the book as a whole?
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wow, you’re good Joy. I don’t have it figured out yet but I want to!
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i don’t have it figured out yet either, and I’m pretty sure this is my second time reading the book! 🙂 I haven’t read ahead though.
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That’s what I’m doing, although I’m slacking and actually reading on time, not ahead.
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Hahahaha!!!! I’ve read ahead in the past, and it’s usually what I do, but right now I’m on time. If I do go ahead, though, I make sure to stop at the stopping point to jot notes. Otherwise it just all blends into one story!
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I have been greatly utilizing the ‘inotes’ feature on my iPad!
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I did enjoy it. I usually avoid mystery novels because I think they rely too much on cheap cliffhangers at the end of every chapter. This book was suspenseful without a single cliffhanger.
I definitely agree with everyone else that Adam/Rob was not a very likable character. I think what sealed it was his comment about “girls who eat salads.” I really hate that attitude.
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Yeah I was a little “ugh” about that salad comment. I mean, I love a big steak, but what if I had a big lunch? Or a super late lunch? Why can’t I just order a salad once in a while?
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I order salad as a “side order”, I could never eat salad as a meal alone, unless I’ve had a big lunch 🙂
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Ugh, that is so true. And let’s not forget that the Chili’s Quesadilla Explosion Salad has more calories than two funnel cakes. So sometimes ordering a salad isn’t “ordering a salad”!
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You are so right!!! And those McDonald’s salads that have FRIED chicken on them and creamy dressing? Those are apparently just as bad or worse than the burger! Do they still make those? I haven’t been to McDonald’s in ages!
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I have no idea if they still have them. I do know that their caramel frappes are delicious AND 700 calories….
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So good! I usually get a mocha and Devin gets the caramel. . . it’s worth it. I mean, mine is sooo low fat when I skip the whipped cream! Haha! 😉
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I love the references too!
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I do like it so far. I’m not sure about whether their relationship will become romantic. It seems like the author may be trying to but not knowing how to write romance? Their encounters are just so awkward and it doesn’t fit with the tone for the rest of the book. We shall see!
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I have not read your comments because I just started reading. I just wanted to say that I’m only on page 4, and I’m already sucked in by her writing.
I love the first line of the book: “Picture a summer stolen whole from some coming-of-age film set in small-town 1950s.”
She doesn’t have to say anything else about the setting of the prologue and I can already picture everything about it. Bravo, Ms. French.
I also love that the narrator has already declared himself unreliable and that he has made evident the irony? paradox? of being a good detective:
“This is my job, and you don’t go into it–or, if you do, you don’t last–without some natural affinity for its priorities and demands. What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this–two things: I crave the truth. And I lie.”
Love it.
(I’ll be back when I’m done with this section, unless something else strikes me in the meantime.)
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Glad you like it! I can’t wait to read what you have to say when you get through the chapters!
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Good points! You know, I didn’t even think of him as an unreliable narrator. . . but you know what book it reminds me of, right? Gone Girl, since Nick does that whole “That was my fifth lie to the police” and you’re all like WHAT?????
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Well, any first-person narration is bound to be unreliable, especially when the narrator is speaking of anyone other than him/herself. There’s only so much a first-person narrator can truly know. But I like that he comes right out and says it as a reminder to readers to be careful what they choose to believe.
It reminds me a bit of Gone Girl in that respect, too.
I’m enjoying the book so far–I’m intrigued about his history and his missing friends.
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There’s definitely something there. I’m not so sure about Adam. I don’t like him but I don’t dislike him. . . I’m just iffy, like I don’t trust him.
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I’m not sure how I feel about him. I don’t dislike him, either. I really like Cassie, though.
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I like Cassie, too. She’s tough and they seem to make a good team. I also like that she’s unique and not like some classic big boobed beauty.
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YES.
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YES!
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I don’t know how I feel about Rob yet, but I definitely like Cassie.
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I am enjoying the book but do not find it as gripping as Gone Girl.
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Agreed! Gone Girl was unbelievably gripping! There were soooo many times that I jumped off the couch and stormed around the room during that book because I was so shocked that I suddenly had tons of energy! And I HAD to talk about it!
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It’s been so long since I’ve read this one that I can’t really discuss for fear of spoiling it. I will say, however, that this was my least favorite of French’s series. With that being said, I must admit that I LOVE her work. The 2nd and 3rd were my absolute favorites.
I do remember that Adam, I think that’s his name, is sorta douchey, but I think you’ll probably all gather that along the way. 🙂 Enjoy! I look forward to reading through the discussion along the way!
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He’s the one I think is kind of creepy! So that doesn’t surprise me that you think that, too. That’s the idea that I am getting from him.
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I agree with both of you. Douchey is a good way to describe him. I feel like something is a little off. . . Thanks for commenting even though you have already read! And good to know that this might not be her best, so if I enjoy this, then I’m sure I’ll love her others.
Are the same characters in the series? Like Cassie and Adam?
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I just started last night, so I cant really comment much, except that the story hooked me about 10 pages into the prologue! I will be back soon when I’ve read a bit further. I do hope Cassie and Rob/Adam get romantically involved…
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Welcome! You have all week, so no hurry 🙂 We shall see what happens!
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Allison’s right! You have nothing to worry about, Mel! You have the entire week if you want to be “on time” and if you’re late, no biggie!!! 🙂 It’s all about the discussion!
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I’m on track ! 🙂 The weather is looking bad here, cold wet weekend, so I will get a lot of reading done…
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I am enjoying the book so far. I am thoroughly convinced that Cassie may be the only non-creepy one in the book, but then maybe that’s because she’s the most relatable to me -a tomboyish, prefers comfort over fashion, spunky kind of woman :). It is an interesting mix of characters and I don’t trust the lot of them. The Devlins are an incredibly suspicious bunch.
I have enjoyed the character development and this author’s writing style. Even the way she sets the scene or provides a social commentary is eloquent and beautifully styled. One of my favorite image quotes describing the Knocknaree woods is “The wood is all flicker and murmur and illusion. Its silence is a pointillist conspiracy of a million tiny noises – rustles, flurries, nameless truncated shrieks; its emptiness teems with secret life, scurrying just beyond the corner of your eye.” I can just picture the dots in the painting that creates the image of the woods in my mind. And the social commentary on our fast-paced lives “We think about mortality so little, these days, except to flail hysterically at it with trendy forms of exercise and high-fiber cereals and nicotine patches…[versus the] Victorian determination to keep death in mind, the uncompromising tombstones. Remember: pilgrim, as you pass by, As you are now so once was I; As i am now so you will be.” So true, so true.
I’ve enjoyed the story thus far but I am really ready for it to get going. Feels like I’ve been reading for awhile and yet no closer to figuring out the mystery from 20 years ago or who killed Katy. Really just don’t see how they are connected, and yea, finding her on a dig site with a sacrificial altar thing creeps me out. (Consequently, the last book I read, Secret Lives by Diane Chamberlain, also takes place largely on an archaeological dig site. Apparently I’ve a lot to learn about archaeology).
Oh well, better get back to reading. Gonna have to read ahead because the Kindle library loan expires in 2 days and I have a looong way to go! Thanks for hosting, interesting book so far.
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I’m starting to think (because everyone agrees that Cassie is the least creepy), that maybe she’s going to end up being the creepy one! Good luck finishing before the loan expires!
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Ooooooooh Allison that’s a good thought! I don’t think she will end up being creepy, but I like that idea! That would be a twist for sure!
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I didn’t think of that either! I’m always looking for the twist but I didn’t think of that.
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(Turn off your wifi ;))
I totally agree with you and feel like I’m ready for the book to keep moving.
And you’re right, Cassie does seem to be the only likable character so far, which seems to be the consensus.
I thought that the commentary on living and dying, and the way we look at those is really interesting. We’re running around trying to find ways to live better/longer but are we forgetting to live our lives properly and appreciate the fact that we want to do that before we die? It’s an interesting concept. It kind of reminds me of an example that a teacher told me in college. He was from Turkey and he noticed that Americans have a huge fixation with exercise. But we also have a huge fixation with waste, and we’d rather drive around parking lots for 10 minutes (including the gym lots) to get the closest space possible as opposed to just parking and walking to the building. It’s always interesting to look at things from a different perspective! Thanks for bringing that into our conversation!
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I did turn off Wifi 🙂 so I still have it but got sidetracked with planning son’s birthday party. Need to get back to the book.
That is interesting what your Turkish professor told you. I love hearing different perspectives and impressions of Americans. Sometimes you need to look at yourself through someone else’s eyes to realize things about yourself you didn’t otherwise notice.
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I honestly think about that every time I’m trying to get that “close spot” to the door of the grocery store, mall, whatever.
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“Remember: pilgrim, as you pass by, As you are now so once was I; As I am now so you will be.” That social commentary caught my attention when I read it in the book too. Our lives are too fast paced. We can’t outrun mortality forever, although we certainly try to. It’s a fact of life. As soon as we are born we start dying. However, Katy Devlin and the 1984 victims died much too soon.
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It’s a different way to look at life and death. Appreciate life but understand that you will eventually die.
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I am enjoying the book so far. I do not love TOO much description as I like books to move along. This author seems to strike a pretty good balance although I am ready for more action. I agree with others that all the members of the family are off but there are no clear suspects yet. I am waiting for the connection to the past to become clearer also.
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I agree with you on the description part. That’s why I was a little thrown off by the prologue and unsure. Luckily, she didn’t keep that level of detail up!
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Hopefully there will be more action in the next batch of chapters. I do agree that it’s time for the plot to start flowing a little faster.
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I held off visiting here until I finished Chapter 6, and I just did. Like everyone else, I like Cassie and think Adam is douchey. But then he’s also severely traumatized right? So who knows what that did to him. I doubt there will be any romance between them, or at most a spark that keeps you wondering “will they or won’t they?” like Jim & Pam in The Office.
I’m enjoying the storyline so far and have no clue how the modern-day murder will unfold. I’m pretty sure there will be a link to 1984 (otherwise why would so much time have been spent setting the scene?), but I hope it’s something obscure and unpredictable that keeps you guessing until the end.
I agree with others, this isn’t as gripping as Gone Girl (it would be hard to top that), but it’s a good read so far and a nice companion to a long 18th century classic I’m reading at the same time. 🙂
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I’m glad you’re enjoying the change of pace and I also hope it’s going to pick up the pace. But it’s hard to compare any thriller to Gone Girl because, I don’t know about you, but it threw me for such a loop that it’s engrained in my memory. That’s hard to top.
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I agree. I’m ready for the pace to pick up a little bit. I think Adam is a lot more traumatized than even he realizes. I mean, no kid can go through something like that as a kid and not have residual effects, right?
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Especially when he’s refusing to discuss it!
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Great idea! I have a few other books in progress for my book clubs, so In The Woods is on my “To-Read” list.
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If you happen to start reading while we’re still talking, join in! Even if you’re “late” here, I still get the notifications and Allison and I will still discuss with you! 🙂
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I just finished chapter 6, and I must say I think this is going to be a great book. I am loving the imagery so far. The characters are interesting too. I don’t have any one in mind yet as the killer. To me, there are too many possibilites at this point. And I agree with Laura’s thought that she’s pretty sure there will be a link to 1984. I think it may be a link to the actual murderer, or it may be only that it somehow helps Rob clear out any unresolved issues he has whether he knows he has those issues or not at this point. Also, Rosalind’s phone call to Rob near the end of chapter 6 has me intrigued. I can hardly wait to find out what she wants to ask him!
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I’m curious as to whether the link is to the murderer or to adam himself. That’s a good point to bring up because it isn’t entirely clear!
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I know, right! I’m STILL wondering about Rosalind and the kooky Devlin family. C’mon Rosalind, spill what you know!
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Ugh, I know!
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She’ll do it soon, I’m sure. . . but I bet it will be shrouded in mystery for a while. . . torturing us as readers! She totally seems that way. . .
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Yeah, Rosalind is odd. . . I wonder what is going to happen with that. . .
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I eventually finished reading Chapter 6 (and beyond). Really enjoying the book so far… mystery is just my cup of tea. From the characters, I like Cassie, because I feel she is the only honest one .I’m not so sure about Adam/Rob, especially about the part that he cannot remember anything. Either he is intentionally supressing it or he is lying about it! However I won’t go so far as thinking he might be involved somehow. The air of mystery around Adam and the murders/disappearances of his two friends reminds me a bit of “Let the Right One In”. I’m not anticipating anything supernatural (by reading previous comments) or anything as gruesome, it’s just a feeling I get while reading the first part of the book.
Katy’s father gives me the creeps, I think he might somehow be involved in the crime 20 years ago as well as Katy’s murder. But we will soon find that out… and I’m dying to find out what Rosalind knows, after her call to Adam.
It’s officially Sunday here (not sure if you all are still sleeping), so I can start reading a bit further. I am reading another book for review, but it’s dragging and oh so boring – I guess I picked it up because I had to read something else or I would’ve read ahead with In the Woods. Which I don’t want to do, because I am prone to spoilers (notes or not!)
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Hahah! Well I am glad you caught up.
All the Devlin’s seem so odd. . . except for Katy and she’s gone.
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ok i was a bit behind because i got caught up finishing another book i was reading (finally finished The Night Circus Rebecca! ;)) but back on track now… I’m liking the book a lot so far. I also like that I’m hooked despite the lack of the usual cliffhanger at the end of every chapter you find in a lot of other mystery/ murder books. Even though were a 1/4 of the way through I’m not sure I have any concrete theories yet… I feel like there is still a lot about the characters we don’t know. I definitely think/ hope there is a connection to the earlier case otherwise it seems like a waste of all that time setting it up. Plus, I want to know what happened to Peter and Jamie!
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We’ll have to chat about The Night Circus soon!!!
Maybe that’s why some of us are having a more difficult time getting into the book, because it lacks the end of chapter cliffhangers that we’re usually so used to! Good point.
I want to know what happened to them, too. Strange that Adam can’t remember anything!
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Okay….So I got this far, I’m a little behind but catching up fast. The thing about this book that is amazing thus far is the wordsmithing. It’s beautiful. She grabs you up and carries you along with some awesome descriptions. I love the juxtaposition between the beauty of her writing and the harsh reality of a murder investigation. Even the rough language seems soften by the beauty of her writing.
I love it!
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What an interesting observation! I’m more of the person who never notices the beauty of the writing, I get sucked much more into the storyline. But cool to think about! I’ll try to see it more when I keep reading!
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I agree completely with your observations. The first section of the book drew me in with all of the descriptive language. I like the way you put it much better, though!
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The opening of the book was amazing! One of the things I watch out for in a book like this is if they can carry the beauty of the language through the whole book, or is it just a good opening. So far she has carried it right on through!
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That’s because you’re a writer! You totally saw that, while it went over my head.
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lol…true! But, I also felt like a total waste of a writer when I started reading this book. This is like Classic Literature and mine is like the cheesy action flick….then I reminded myself that I’m well aware of my work being the cheesy action flick and I like it that way and I love cheesy action flicks. So it’s all good!
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Exactly! Different genres! That’s what makes writing and reading interesting!
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Exactly!!!
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