In the Woods
Dublin Murder Squad • Book 1
by Tana French
Narrated by Steven Crossley
Why Listen to This Audiobook?
French gives you an investigator haunted by his own unsolved past — and makes him unreliable enough that you can't fully trust anything he tells you.
- Great if you want: literary crime fiction with a deeply flawed, self-deceiving narrator
- Listening experience: slow-burn and atmospheric — dread builds quietly over 20 hours
- Narration: Crossley's controlled, measured delivery fits Ryan's carefully constructed facade
- Skip if: the 1984 childhood mystery never resolves — a divisive creative choice
About This Audiobook
Detective Rob Ryan carries a devastating secret from his childhood that he's managed to bury for two decades while building his career with the Dublin Murder Squad. When a young girl's body is discovered in the same wooded area where Ryan experienced his own childhood trauma, the boundaries between past and present begin to blur dangerously. Partnered with Detective Cassie Maddox, Ryan must navigate the investigation while confronting fragments of suppressed memories that may hold the key to solving both cases. Set against the atmospheric backdrop of suburban Dublin, French crafts a psychological mystery that explores how the past refuses to stay buried.
Steven Crossley delivers a masterful narration that captures the haunting, literary quality of French's prose while maintaining the tension essential to the mystery genre. His nuanced performance brings depth to the complex relationship between Ryan and Maddox, shifting seamlessly between the procedural elements and the more introspective psychological exploration. Crossley's pacing allows listeners to fully absorb French's rich atmospheric details and layered storytelling, making the twenty-hour runtime feel engaging rather than daunting. The audio format particularly enhances the novel's dreamlike quality and unreliable narrator elements.
