Beastmomma

From goodreads: 

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. 

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Pages: 429 (paperback) 

Publisher: Published May 27th 2008 by Penguin Books (first published May 17th 2007)

Rating: 7 out of 10

Source: Borrowed from a friend 

Date Completed: January 25, 2014

The first book I finished in 2013 was Broken Harbor by Tana French which I read for the Partners and Professors book club. While I had mixed feelings about the book, others in the club praised In the Woods by Tana French. I borrowed a copy and began reading little sections here and there.  Initially, I was engrossed and then a little bit restless.  I wanted more resolution at the end, but overall I did like it better than Broken Harbor. 

My favorite and most frustrating character was Rob Ryan whose connection to the past comes up in some unexpected ways as he is trying to solve the current case.  I also liked his partner Cassie Maddox and wanted him to be less jerky to her.  

The ending was a surprise which felt like a good reward as some parts of the book dragged.