It’s not easy being an author from Ireland. People want to compare you against Joyce, Wilde, Swift.

Author Tana French is a superb writer, however. This was her first book.

In the Woods is a 2007 mystery novel by Tana French about a pair of Irish detectives and their investigation of the murder of a twelve-year-old girl. The novel won several awards …

Detective Rob (Adam) Ryan is the narrator. Negative and off-putting. He made me want to quit the series. One of the most annoying characters in fiction I can recall.

His best friend and partner, Cassie Maddox, is awesome. (She trained as a gymnast.)

I’ll download book 2 in the Dublin Murder Squad series — The Likeness — because Cassie is the lead character. Rob Ryan is barely mentioned, I understand.

In the Woods is long. Too long, I felt. The plot is not all that great, either. Be warned.

You may want to wait on the BBC TV series, instead.