Book Club: In the Woods by Tana French – Week 2
Hosted by The Book Wheel and Love at First Book
Welcome to Week 2: March 10-16 Ch 7-12
How’s it going so far?
If you’re here, you have read Ch 7-12 of In the Woods, 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 Ch 7-12, please! Spoilers totally allowed for those chapters, but no spoilers for the remainder of the book, please! Save those for the later posts.
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rscaglione.wordpress.com 
Okay, sooo…
I *think* I’ve figured out who Katy’s killer is, and the motive, but if French is any good I should be wrong. We’ll see.
I’m still not sure I know who killed/abducted Adam’s friends, but maybe…
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I think the killer and motive seems to be very obvious, which is why I think it’s not that.
Plus I have some other thoughts . . . like where’s Rosalind? She just disappeared. . . something’s not right. . .
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To me right now I can see two possibilities of who the killer is and what the motive is, but I agree with Rebecca that since it seems obvious to me, it’s not either of my ideas.
Yeah! Where’s Rosalind?
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She’s got to be involved. She was mentioned so much in the beginning and then disappears? I doubt it!
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I said in week one that I was afraid that this was turning into some version of The Village (the M. Night Shymalan movie), and I’m beginning to think that this may be somewhat correct. The end of chapter 12 brings up the smell of goats (“like a zoo”) and the gashes on the back of Adam’s shirt. As for the romance between him and Cassie – I dont’ think it’s going to happen. They may end up getting together for a night or something, but not anything beyond that.
The one thing that bugs me about the book, though, is that it’s not strung together very well. I forgot who was who in terms of Anthrax/Metallica, etc. and she makes vague references to the people working on the dig but they haven’t been involved for several chapters. By the time they come back (if they do), I’m afraid I won’t even know who they are or why they are important.
As a sidenote, why does the “large, earnest girl” have to be an American? And I loved the Britney/Justin reference, but not the comment that Britney is for cheap tastes. And I also enjoyed Cassie’s speeches about about the human body and money being its own ideology – being a low paid worker is morally unacceptable, but asking for a raise is being insensitive to your boss’s profit margins (or being overweight is morally unacceptable). Especially the quote that says, “it’s not that you do the right thing and hope it pays off; the morally right thing is by definition the thing that gives the biggest payoff.”
But those are topics that could take up an entire post on their own!
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I agree with that Britney comment, although I laughed about it. What caught my attention when I started reading further was also the comments Cassie made about a belief system. That Mark’s job was his “religion” and I also think that is a topic that can be discuss extensively.
I feel the book can really start picking up pace already, the character development is too slow for my taste. Usually in the beginning of the book it’s fine, but I’m ready for the book to move along! I am a very pedantic reader and I waste a lot of time going back in a book to find out who is who exactly. Good thing I’m reading on the kindle so I can search for a name to find out who exactly they are.
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Adam didn’t know the real names of Metallica, Anthrax, etc. when he was a kid, which is why he uses the names of the t-shirts they wore (at least, that’s the impression I got). So we don’t know who is who, either. So when Sandra describes the rape scene, I *think* that’s the first opportunity for us to put together who is who.
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Good point, Heather. And once Cassie passes the words on to us, now we know more or less who was who.
But Mel’s right, the character development is a little slow for my taste. Although I’l enjoying the book more now.
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Ohhhhh. That would make sense. Although, I’m still confused because the characters are all over the place and not fully developed.
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Hmmm…I don’t seem to be having a problem with the characters. The only character I forgot for a second was Simone (the dance teacher), but only because I hadn’t read the book in a few days.
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I forgot her until you just mentioned her.
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She’s not a major character (yet?), so I think it’s okay not to remember her well.
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There are a lot of characters that it can be hard to keep track. . . but I guess it’s probably realistic since in a real murder investigation I’m sure there are a lot of people involved, too!
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Strange enough, I remembered her!
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But not Jamie? 😉
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I do now 😉
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I completely forgot about her, too….
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I forgot about Simone as well.
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Britney IS cheap! Even though she enjoys Girl Scout cookies! Muahahaha!
But onto the book, ever since you mentioned it, I’ve noticed sooooo many phrases that compare Cassie to a kid.
For instance:
-“She is as absent and unselfconscious as a child”
-“She gives the impression of being . . . childishly open”
-“smooth calves muscled like a boy’s”
-“Adolescent conversations . . . Cassie and I brought out the brat in each other”
Crazy! I never noticed until you pointed it out last week!
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We can’t be friends anymore. Go Team Britney!
And yea, the kid thing is so weird. And it just keeps on happening (along with ‘she’s like family’ mentions). A romance between them would be sufficiently creepy now.
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Ew you’re right!
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I think it’s turnig supernatural, and I wouldn’t like that.
I agree with you about the large earnest girl. Why is she an American? Surely other countries have large earnest girls.
I enjoyed Cassie’s speeches too. They made a lot of sense and we could discuss them endlessly on their own!
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Agreed!
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I thought the moral comment was great insight on the part of the author. And it did make me want to go smoke a whole pack of cigarettes….but I refrained. 🙂
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I don’t think Cassie and Ryan are every getting together. I think that’s kinda the point. In fact, I’m begining to wonder if this whole story is just about their friendship and nothing else. They do have a unique relationship.
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Okay….I missed you’re post on week one. I’m so far behind cause my Library had to order the book. So…I’m not reading anyone’s posts. I’ll catch up in a few days….but so far I love it!!!!!!!!! Her descriptions, mood and word choice are amazing!
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That’s okay! Come back and chat when you’re done! We’ll be here! 🙂
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Welcome! And see you soon!
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I’m almost caught up! Loving this book!
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Good!!! 🙂 And seriously, I post this on Sunday but you have the entire week to read it, too. I just post on Sundays so that people who are ready can start chatting! No rush!
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Wow, you’re quick!
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🙂
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Well now things are getting interesting. I’m glad Adam’s memories are coming back. The scene with Jamie’s mom was very sad. I’m still curious about the link between the “old” and “new” cases. Katy’s dad is a common thread but since we’re only halfway through the book, I’m betting the link is not as direct as it currently appears.
Allison, I agree with your comment, “I forgot who was who in terms of Anthrax/Metallica, etc. and she makes vague references to the people working on the dig but they haven’t been involved for several chapters. By the time they come back (if they do), I’m afraid I won’t even know who they are or why they are important.” I had the same problem, which made it harder to follow that crucial scene with Sandra.
And what’s up with Rosalind?
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I have a feeling the two cases aren’t directly connected. Maybe they aren’t connected at all. But I’m going to save further comment in case my hunches are correct…don’t want to give anything away!
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Something is totally up with Rosalind. She’s so strange, like sexy at times, adult at times, but also like a child at times. She’s playing a role. . . but why and for who?
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I think something is definitely up with Rosalind. Is it her own doing or someone else’s or perhaps a little of both? We shall see.
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She’s involved somehow . . . I started the next section so I have a pretty strong idea of how she might be involved
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But I could be wrong!
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I think Rosalind is weird, but I don’t think she’s as weird as other people think she is. But what’s up with Jessica? SHE is really odd!
As for the who’s who, I hope that it all comes together soon. They reference people from the work site, but I have no idea who was who!
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But Jessica’s a kid with maybe some sort of mental disorder. . . so yeah, she’s strange, but Rosalind has zero excuse for her strange behavior.
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Does she? I wasn’t sure if that was fact or just assumption on behalf of Adam.
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Katy’s friends thought so, too. . . and she’s in a different class at school or was she in a pullout program? It was mentioned briefly, but I think she’s receiving help at school.
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I’m not sure what’s wrong with Jessica. Maybe it would be better stated this way. I’m not sure what has happened to Jessica that has contributed to her being like she is.
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Maybe she’s just not as strong as Katy was, and whatever is going on in the family affects her more.
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That and she’s not the ‘golden dancer’
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I’m enjoying the book but frustrated with how slowly it is developing. I am still interested but feel like it should have moved along further by now! Rosalind is definitely odd.
Thanks to Heather for explaining the names!
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I agree! It’s going really slowly till and it’s more than half over!
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The first thing I noticed was when Rob was talking about Willy Little and how Peter was a leader and had stopped them from picking on him. Then in another chapter Rob’s Mom brings up Willy Little and says that Rob himself had stopped it. What’s up with that?
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Rob did say in the beginning he was a liar. But I think he’s blocking things out and making Peter the hero.
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As I was looking at some of the other things I noticed, I realized that they may tie together. First, Rob thought he saw something shoot out of Cassies’s fireplace, “some small, black, clawed thing – baby bird maybe, fallen down the chimney?” But no one else saw it. Then he saw something crossing the road when he was driving with Cassie as the passenger and he had to “hit the brakes hard…Something had darted across the road in front of the car – something dark and low to the ground, with the sinuous gait of a weasel or stoat, but much too big for either” But Cassie didn’t see a thing. He also remembers going down the stairs of his house without touching them, really, and then finding a secret garden with Peter and Jamie that no one else ever found. All of this was starting to make me think he was going crazy, and then when he started literally losing it before and during the trial he had to go to, I started thinking, yep, he’s becoming schizophrenic. BUT then at the end of chapter 12, Cassie reports Sandra saying she heard a sound in the woods back in 1984 “like an enormous bird flapping its wings” and that “she was positive it was a voiced sound, a call” and that there was “a strong animal smell – like goats or something, or what you get at the zoo” which made Rob think of the rips across the back of his T-shirt. WHAT?!?! Some of you have mentioned that you hoped this story wasn’t going to end up being supernatural. I hope not either!
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I’m pretty sure it’s not supernatural. I did read it before but can’t remember a thing about it basically. Although if it did turn supernatural, that’s why I don’t remember it, because I can’t stand that kind of stuff!
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My bets are on supernatural now. Like ‘The Village’ – but I’ve said that a few times before. Thank you for all of the great examples! I didn’t highlight them, I just remembered the general theme!
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I still have to disagree with you. I am like 95% sure there’s no supernatural.
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Who is Jamie!? 0_o
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The other kid who died! Where have you been girlie?
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Lol !!! Omw I forgot. I remember now, the girl who disappeared. Sorry 😉
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Just another example of how hard it is to keep track of all of the characters….
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I know! But forgetting Jamie was a bit silly, don’t know where my head was. Prob lack of sleep.
I hope the 2 kids aren’t dead, although I know it’s a bit far fetch!
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Keep wishing, Melinda! Where could they have been that whole time? It would be nice if they popped up somewhere, and I guess it happens, like with the Jaycee Dugard story in the USA, where she was abducted and was rescued 18 years later.
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Yes, wishful thinking hey. I don’t know what I’m hoping for… bodies were never found. Maybe something happened to them and they are somewhere not knowing who they are
Oh well, let’s see what happens!
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I think in some way Cassie is a replacement for Jamie. A ‘non-sexual’ relationship with a girl and Sam is his Peter. 🙂 A three good friends.
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That is a very interesting parallel of Rob’s good friends from then and now.
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Interesting insight! We’ll have to wait and see. . .
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Yep!
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I’ve read through chapter 14 and it’s starting to pick up the pace, maybe. I have been waiting a long time for this story to get going. there has been a lot of buildup. I really hope Ms. French has something more in store than what my theories are because even though I try desperately to try and figure out what’s going to happen, I want to be wrong and I want the author to surprise me and take me in a direction I never thought of.
I wonder too about the Devlin ladies, the mom, Rosalind and Jessica, and whether as Rob suggested in the story whether Jessica knows more about Katy’s death because of her twin intuition.
One of my favorite quotes from this section was “Most people have no reason to know how memory can turn rogue and feral, becoming a force of its own and one to be reckoned with.” While the voice is Rob’s. as a parent, my empathy lies with the parents of the children that were lost and killed. Those what-ifs that haunt the parents and the parental guilt that comes as soon as that baby is placed in your arms for the first time. Feral is such a great way to describe the rabid, destructive path that some memories can take.
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That is such a scary thought. . . to lose a child. I don’t even have any and I still think it sounds absolutely terrifying and debilitating.
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It is, unfortunately Superhubby and I know from experience, losing our first child and only daughter. She’d be a teenager now, time hasn’t exactly healed my heart or made me forget.
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Oh, I’m so sorry, Tanya!! I can’t imagine how tough that would be.
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I agree. I want her to surprise me, but in a way that makes sense. But the more I read, the more I think I have no idea what is going on. Plus, my sister figured it out in chapter 5, and I don’t like to lose to her 😀
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I love that quote. Thankfully, like it says, it’s true that most of us “have no reason to know how memory can turn rogue and feral”. However it looks like Rob is one of those people who have a reason to know. I think rogue and feral can be used to describe Rob at times too. As I have been thinking about your post and answering it, I also had the thought that those words could be used to describe parts of this novel as well.
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You’re right. The investigation is going rogue at times, and those involved are like wild, feral animals: unpredictable.
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I know you all (or most of you) think Adam is a douche 😉 but I came across this quote that shows his softer side. I highlighted it on my Kindle, so I can remember to share it:
“I wanted, so intensely it toook my breath away, to reach out and lay a hand on her soft dark head, to pull her tightly against me and feel her slight and warm and breathing, as if by protecting her hard enough I could somehow undo time and protect Katy, too”
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Good observation, Melinda. That does show some softness in Adam/Rob. Maybe we will see some more in the reading for next week.
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Let’s hope 🙂
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Ooooh, good call. Thanks for the highlight! I guess he’s not too terrible, after all!
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Mel, that is so awesome that you shared that! I don’t like Adam/Rob/whatever-his-name-is, but I think we do forget that he’s not a horrible person or a totally unlovable human being. This makes me feel a little bad that I dislike him!
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I think deep down inside he feels bad about not remembering anything of what happened that day when Peter and Jamie went missing. That he feels if he did he could’ve helped find them, or atleast their bodies. Maybe thats one of the reasons he is the way he is.
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That’s so funny. I like him a lot. I keep watching him, waiting to find out what’s gonna happen in his head as his memeories keep changing!
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Hey. So I just finished chapter 12. Still liking the book so far but I agree that it could pick up the pace a bit. Not sure if any of my theories are right yet.. I don’t think the answer will be supernatural though. I think she’s just hinting at it to keep us guessing. Sandra was already terrified and probably in shock that day so I don’t think we can rely on her description of what occurred after the rape. Also, if it happened right after, wouldn’t Adam, Peter and Jamie have heard the noise/ smelled something weird as well? They had just started running away right? I’m not sure how Adam got the scratches on his shirt but for all we know he got caught on a tree branch or something.
I do think we need to give Adam a bit of a break though. He went through some sort of trauma as a kid and it seems that in a way that inhibited his ability to full grow up. It’s like part of him is still stuck in the wood with Peter and Jamie. His childhood was cut short abruptly which is why I think he makes so many references about Cassie being like a child. He enjoys being around her because of that since he is still like a child himself or at least he wants to imagine himself that way. He is constantly reminiscing about his adventures with Jamie and Peter and can’t seem to let go of the fact that he is not a child anymore. I hope he figures out what happened to them so he can get some closure and finally let himself grow up.
I also agree it would be weird if Cassie and Adam got together now. I could maybe see one drunken night together that they both joke about being a mistake or something but not more than that… ok back to reading!
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You’re right, Mindy. While I’m not a fan of Adam, I do agree we’re kind of harsh on judging him without taking into consideration his trauma. It does sound like he needs some therapy because he is obsessed with Peter and Jamie. . . and it has to be tough because he was the one who survived. Kind of like HP’s guilt over being the boy who lived while his parents (and many others) were killed by Voldemort.
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I love how you managed to tie in a HP reference….
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Agreed. Perfect HP reference!
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It’s a nerd thing! 😉
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I also love how Rebecca tied in HP. I chuckled when I first saw it.
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It’s a text to text connection! (Teacher speak)
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Rob/Adam is definitely a mystery. Maybe he really does need to get past his traumatic childhood and be able to grow up. I hope it turns out to be that he is just suppressing his memories. A good therapist could really help him.
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A therapist would do wonders! Why didn’t his parents fix him up with one before?
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I can’t stop thinking about what Rob/Adam said at the end of Chapter 7. “…but some part of me believed, unassailably and wordlessly and perhaps with a fleck of justice, that they (his parents) had sent me away because they were afraid of me.” What do you guys think of that? To me it’s sad either way. If it was true, how horrible it would be for his parents to have reason to be afraid of their own child. If it was not a valid belief on his part and there was no reason for it to actually be true, how horrible for him to think that his parents were afraid of him.
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It seems to me like everyone involved would have benefitted from open, honest communication. That’s what he’s missing, which is why he feels that way.
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