In the Woods by Tana French

Mystery

In the small Dublin suburbs, Rob Ryan and his partner Cassie Maddox are called to the scene of a murder, where a young girl was raped and murdered. It just happens to be on the edge of the same forest where, as a child, Rob was playing with his two best friends and they disappeared while he was found covered in blood with no memory of what happened. This case stirs up memories of his childhood and that horrible day when his friends went forever missing. As Ryan and Maddox investigate what happened to the young girl, they find something amiss with the family. Is there abuse in the family? Was it one of the parents that killed the child?

This is two mysteries in one as we unfold what happened to Rob as a child and what happened to the murdered young girl. We also learn of the relationship between Maddox and Ryan, which is abnormally close for how short a period the two have known each other and how they work together. The first chapter grabs you instantly and makes you hungry to learn what happened all those years ago. I was actually more intrigued by that mystery than the child mystery, which was pretty standard murder-mystery story fare.

The ending is where this book died for me. I don't mind there not being some resolution but literally nothing was resolved in this book. There's a relationship left off the rails, one mystery is solved and the other isn't, and the one that is solved has a shitty (though realistic) ending. One of those and maybe even two of those would have been ok with me but all three was a let down.

First Line: "Picture a summer stolen whole from some coming-of-age film set in small-town 1950s."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

The Mermaid's Daughter by Ann Claycomb

Fiction

In a modern day, tragic re-telling of the Little Mermaid, Kathleen comes from a long history of women that have a strong affinity to the sea. Kathleen isn't fully aware of her history, but she does know that her mom walked in to the sea one day when she was a baby with rocks in her pockets. She suffers from the same stabbing pain in her feet and mouth that her mom did and wonders if she is bound to the same fate. Thankfully, she has two things to help her get through this pain: her girlfriend Harry and music.

Harry and Kathleen vacation in Ireland to learn more about Kathleen's family history and find out that the tragedy extends back many generations. To help Kathleen cope with this, Harry and Kathleen's father set out to compose an opera specifically for her. They wonder if they can reverse the curse in Kathleen's family and save her with music.

I really enjoyed the Disney movie The Little Mermaid but had never read Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, so I only know the child-friendly version of this story. We know that the Disney movie is a musical and it suits the story very well that this re-telling also involves music. The most enjoyable part of this book for me was when Katheleen's dad and Harry were creating the opera for her. There was underlying tension of Kathleen possibly getting worse, combined with the stress of creating and producing on an opera.

Unfortunately, compared to Arial, Kathleen was a completely selfish, annoying character. This is called out by herself and Harry throughout the novel, but it doesn't help me connect with her. By the mid point of the book I was rather fed up. I understand that she's in a lot of pain but she treats her partner like garbage when all Harry wants to do is help. I feel like this could have been toned down a bit to allow me to feel more sympathy for Kathleen rather than hating her.

Still, Harry and Kathleen's father more than make up for the dislike I had for Kathleen. That combined with the interesting story make this a worthy read.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for letting me be a part of this tour! If you're interested in picking this book up, you can get it here.

First Line: "'Kathleen,' she says, 'you are going to go mad.'"

Rating:
(4/5)

About the Author Ann Claycomb’s fiction has been published in American Short Fiction, Zahir, Fiction Weekly, Brevity, Hot Metal Bridge, The Evansville Review, Title Goes Here, and other publications. She has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has an MFA in fiction from West Virginia University. Find her on Harper Collins' bio page.

The Riders by Tim Winton

Fiction

Scully moves to Ireland ahead of his expecting wife and child, as they purchased a cottage in Ireland on whim. Scully needs to fix the house up, Jennifer his wife needs to sell their home in Australia. The Irish quickly notice a new person in the area, despite the cottage being rather remote, and Scully makes friends with Pete-the-Post who delivers his mail but also helps him with odd jobs. Pete delivers a telegram informing Scully that Jennifer has sold the house and she's coming with Billie on Sunday.

Sunday arrives and Scully travels to the airport to pick up his family but only Billie arrives. She refuses to talk about what's happened so they wait, expecting Jennifer on another plane but she never comes. Scully is determined to figure out what happened and travels across Europe with his daughter to find Jennifer.

Through Greece, Paris, and Amsterdam, we learn about Scully and Jennifer's background. Jennifer had a passion for art but no talent to back it up. Scully worked odd jobs with illegals which made Jennifer's friends look down on him.

I had a love/hate relationship with Scully. At first he seemed rather sensible and like a good dad but then he descended in to something he didn't seem to be. Chasing around Europe with a child, how is that good for your child? Eventually, Billie has to save her father from himself when he should be watching out for her. So many weird things happen to Billie, they all can be tied back to Scully's inability to parent her correctly.

I think this book can best be described as beautiful writing with no plot to back it up. There were times when I was confused about what was going on because the author was so vague in his descriptions as he went for literary beauty over comprehension. The ending left me miffed. There was a lot of build up for a big fizzle out.

First Line: "With the north wind hard at his back, Scully stood in the doorway and sniffed."

Rating:
(3/5)