In the Woods by Tana French follows Detective Rob Ryan, who, as a child in 1984, was the sole survivor of a mysterious disappearance in a Dublin wood, emerging with no memory and blood-filled shoes. Twenty years later, Rob is called to a murder investigation at the same site, leading him to confront the buried secrets of his past when the new case eerily parallels his childhood trauma. He and his partner Cassie Maddox delve into a complex mystery that forces Rob to navigate fragmented memories and the unresolved tragedy of his lost friends.