In the Woods

Book one of the Dublin Murder Squad and I can see why it elicits such devotion from fans. French certainly delivers a gritty crime novel that kicks off when 12 year old Katy Devlin is found dead at an archeological dig, displayed on an ancient sacrificial altar. But it's intertwined with the investigating detective's history there. 20 years ago Adam Ryan was discovered nearly catatonic backed up against a tree his nails digging into the bark, his shoes filled with blood and absolutely no memory of what transpired those few hours before that led to the disappearance of his two closest childhood friends. It's been a closely guarded secret and now as Detective Rob Ryan he can't help but wonder if the two cases spanning decades might not be related or at least shake some memory of his past loose.

Police procedures, red herrings, mythic woods, partner tension, physiological toll - it's all there and written far better than any genre fiction needs to be. French ratchets up the tension and you're never certain where the story is going to take you next.