Helpful Score: 6
'The Likeness' is the second story by Tana French to feature the character Cassie Maddox. Because of this, I suggest you read her first story 'In The Woods' before you read 'The Likeness'. You won't be lost if you don't, you'll just have a better understanding of what Cassie is going through and why she makes the decisions she makes. With that being said, I really liked this story: the character development is great, the story flows well and just like in French's first book 'In The Woods', the story itself seems very real even though the odds of the events happening are slim. I couldn't put this book down and personally liked it more than 'In The Woods'.
Helpful Score: 3
in both this book and her other book IN THE WOODS - there was a murder, but both were unlike any other murder mystery I have read. Very different without being very wierd. I enjoyed each a lot
Catherine C. (c-squared) reviewed The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad, Bk 2) on + 181 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I couldn't put this book down. I think I read the last 200 pages in one sitting. I've never considered myself a big mystery fan -- after my childhood obsession with Nancy Drew cooled -- but I've been reading more lately & this was definitely a worthy read. I'm looking forward to reading more by French.
Cassie, a troubled Irish cop, is called to the scene of a murder. The victim looks just like her and is carrying ID for an invented identity (Lexie) she used as an undercover officer. No one knows that she's actually dead, so Cassie goes undercover to try to find out who the woman really was and who killed her. The only part of the book that annoyed me was how long French drew out Cassie's decision to go undercover, especially considering that bit is given away on every book blurb I've read.
Interesting plot, great character development, loved the Irish setting & language (liberal use of f-bombs included), and overall writing style.
Cassie, a troubled Irish cop, is called to the scene of a murder. The victim looks just like her and is carrying ID for an invented identity (Lexie) she used as an undercover officer. No one knows that she's actually dead, so Cassie goes undercover to try to find out who the woman really was and who killed her. The only part of the book that annoyed me was how long French drew out Cassie's decision to go undercover, especially considering that bit is given away on every book blurb I've read.
Interesting plot, great character development, loved the Irish setting & language (liberal use of f-bombs included), and overall writing style.
Helpful Score: 1
There are no car chases or trail of bodies in this murder mystery. Set in Ireland, Tana French tells a story rich in character. She provides deep insight into the psychology of her well developed players and brings the story along at her own pace. It's like being told an old story while sitting by the campfire.
This is Tana French's followup to In the Woods which I read and enjoyed a year or so ago. This one is told by one of the police detectives from the prior novel, Cassie Maddox, who transferred out of Dublin's Murder Squad after the events "In the Woods." But a young woman has been murdered and this woman bears a striking resemblance to Cassie. When the cops see the murdered corpse of Lexie Madison they also see an opportunity for Cassie to pretend to be Lexie to try to get the killer to expose him or herself.
Cassie as Lexie moves into Whitethorn House, the mansion the victim shared with four other post graduate students (Daniel, Justin, Rafe and Abby); she informs them that she was fortunate to have survived the assault. As Cassie investigates each of her roommates, she finds she likes each of them because they are so different in personality. She really seems to fit in with the bunch and wonders if one of them could really be Lexie's killer. Or could it be someone from the nearby small village who seem to dislike the residents of Whitethorn House stemming from the days when it was the home of the lord of the manor? Another possibility is Daniel's cousin Ned who feels he should have inherited the house and is itching to make it into apartments or possibly a golf resort.
First of all, the premise of this book was very far-fetched and unbelievable. I didn't buy that Cassie could pass for Lexie and not be discovered by her four roommates who knew Lexie intimately. However, putting this aside, I did enjoy the story and the relationships between the roommates. Cassie seems to fit in and at many points wishes she could actually stay there and live with the other four as a "family" which is what they were trying to do. I also enjoyed French's writing, however, I did think the book could have been shortened by quite a bit. Overall I was kind of mixed on this one but I do have some of the subsequent novels in this series and I'm sure I'll be reading them at some point.
Cassie as Lexie moves into Whitethorn House, the mansion the victim shared with four other post graduate students (Daniel, Justin, Rafe and Abby); she informs them that she was fortunate to have survived the assault. As Cassie investigates each of her roommates, she finds she likes each of them because they are so different in personality. She really seems to fit in with the bunch and wonders if one of them could really be Lexie's killer. Or could it be someone from the nearby small village who seem to dislike the residents of Whitethorn House stemming from the days when it was the home of the lord of the manor? Another possibility is Daniel's cousin Ned who feels he should have inherited the house and is itching to make it into apartments or possibly a golf resort.
First of all, the premise of this book was very far-fetched and unbelievable. I didn't buy that Cassie could pass for Lexie and not be discovered by her four roommates who knew Lexie intimately. However, putting this aside, I did enjoy the story and the relationships between the roommates. Cassie seems to fit in and at many points wishes she could actually stay there and live with the other four as a "family" which is what they were trying to do. I also enjoyed French's writing, however, I did think the book could have been shortened by quite a bit. Overall I was kind of mixed on this one but I do have some of the subsequent novels in this series and I'm sure I'll be reading them at some point.
I don't usually read mysteries but I picked this one up cause it takes place in Ireland, a place I would like to visit. I really really liked the story and have recommended it to people and they have said the same thing about it. Give it a try!
Just a quick sentence or two+ here....
This is one my favorite books I have ever read in my life! Bar none! Though it *is* really best to read the first book, In the Woods first, just so you get many references. I didn't know & read this one first and had to quickly go back & immediately read In the Woods -- but then I had the sheer pleasure of reading The Likeness again. And since then, though I am in total awe at all of French's writing, this remains my go-back-to, comfort zone book. I've probably read it five times now, and am never tired of it. Not a proper review, but it captures what her writing does to one.
This is one my favorite books I have ever read in my life! Bar none! Though it *is* really best to read the first book, In the Woods first, just so you get many references. I didn't know & read this one first and had to quickly go back & immediately read In the Woods -- but then I had the sheer pleasure of reading The Likeness again. And since then, though I am in total awe at all of French's writing, this remains my go-back-to, comfort zone book. I've probably read it five times now, and am never tired of it. Not a proper review, but it captures what her writing does to one.
Instantly became a big fan of Tana French after reading "Faithful Place." Sharply drawn characters, precise writing, taut suspense. Not your typical mystery novels.
The premise of this book is ridiculous and unbelievable, but the writing is so good you can actually overlook that and just enjoy the plot and the characters. An undercover policewoman impersonates a dead woman and joins a household of the victim's friends to determine whether any of them or someone else killed her. Tana French is an excellent author and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Terri R. (emeraldmagick) reviewed The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad, Bk 2) on + 31 more book reviews
Excellent follow-up to 'Into the Woods', is it as good? In different ways yes... each book has it's own intensity, messing with your head nad keeping you guessing.
Miss French's writing is once again, brilliant :) She pulls us in from the get-go, the premise is a bit far-fetched but she writes everything so well and makes each of the characters so compelling that you overlook that and are caught up in the story.
Abby/Justin/Rafe/Daniel/lexie... that group was it's own universe, they really cared about and would do anything for each other. You see them as this hazy, mystical, slightly out of reach entity of sorts... almost does't seem quite real. Time seems to slow down or not exist for them at times, an idyllic (for them) paradise where all you have/need is each other.
Everything changes when Lexie is stabbed, the outside world comes to them... in the form of the police, and "Lexie coming home."
Cassie has her own reasons for doing this and it made me worried for her from the beginning... would she be able to get through this mind-game of a case? There were times I wanted to shake her for some of the actions she did, even though I knew she couldn't help falling under the spell of Lexie's friends and the house.
Sam was in the background alot but still present, Frank (love that Bastard, you never quite know what cards he has up his sleeve or what's going on in that head of his) ran the show, more delighted I thought at first by the prospect of pulling off this crazy scheme than solving the case. As the story went on, you can see how dedicated he is to finding out what happened to Lexie but he keeps alot of his thoughts/cards close.
The process of finding the killer isn't quick but there's so many layers to the case, we unpeel one then there's a few more going off in different directions. Even at the end, I wasn't quite sure what to believe.
I wanted hug those people at the end, hopefully they'll be alright. For me though, there was a feeling throughout the book, of little cracks from the beginning. Cassie's telling the story after it already happened but it doesn't lesson the foreboding and tension you feel slowly building (even the house seems to holding it's breath).
Just like Knocknaree, Whitehorn has it's own sturdy character, at times it seems to breathe and laugh with the occupants... I could picture myself sitting there with everyone, watching them at play and at work, thinking/wishing I could spend a few days there :).
We get mentions of Rob in the story, but nothing major... Cassie seems ready to move on from him and everything surrounding Operation Vestral, and I wish her all the luck and happiness in the world.
Sam I like now more, he seems worthy of Cassie to me. A stand-up, honest guy :).
Would recommend, though if you just stumbled across this one now.. I would suggest reading 'into the woods' first, there's no HEAVY spoilers for the first book, but some things are talked about from there.
Miss French's writing is once again, brilliant :) She pulls us in from the get-go, the premise is a bit far-fetched but she writes everything so well and makes each of the characters so compelling that you overlook that and are caught up in the story.
Abby/Justin/Rafe/Daniel/lexie... that group was it's own universe, they really cared about and would do anything for each other. You see them as this hazy, mystical, slightly out of reach entity of sorts... almost does't seem quite real. Time seems to slow down or not exist for them at times, an idyllic (for them) paradise where all you have/need is each other.
Everything changes when Lexie is stabbed, the outside world comes to them... in the form of the police, and "Lexie coming home."
Cassie has her own reasons for doing this and it made me worried for her from the beginning... would she be able to get through this mind-game of a case? There were times I wanted to shake her for some of the actions she did, even though I knew she couldn't help falling under the spell of Lexie's friends and the house.
Sam was in the background alot but still present, Frank (love that Bastard, you never quite know what cards he has up his sleeve or what's going on in that head of his) ran the show, more delighted I thought at first by the prospect of pulling off this crazy scheme than solving the case. As the story went on, you can see how dedicated he is to finding out what happened to Lexie but he keeps alot of his thoughts/cards close.
The process of finding the killer isn't quick but there's so many layers to the case, we unpeel one then there's a few more going off in different directions. Even at the end, I wasn't quite sure what to believe.
I wanted hug those people at the end, hopefully they'll be alright. For me though, there was a feeling throughout the book, of little cracks from the beginning. Cassie's telling the story after it already happened but it doesn't lesson the foreboding and tension you feel slowly building (even the house seems to holding it's breath).
Just like Knocknaree, Whitehorn has it's own sturdy character, at times it seems to breathe and laugh with the occupants... I could picture myself sitting there with everyone, watching them at play and at work, thinking/wishing I could spend a few days there :).
We get mentions of Rob in the story, but nothing major... Cassie seems ready to move on from him and everything surrounding Operation Vestral, and I wish her all the luck and happiness in the world.
Sam I like now more, he seems worthy of Cassie to me. A stand-up, honest guy :).
Would recommend, though if you just stumbled across this one now.. I would suggest reading 'into the woods' first, there's no HEAVY spoilers for the first book, but some things are talked about from there.
French never sold me on the the extremely implausible premise.
I finished it, hoping that she would pull some rabbit out of the hat, and there would be more to it than it appeared on the surface -- and there wasn't ...
I finished it, hoping that she would pull some rabbit out of the hat, and there would be more to it than it appeared on the surface -- and there wasn't ...
LOVED the story! Highly recommend this one.
Another good murder mystery with French's detective, Cassie Maddox. In it, Detective Maddox goes undercover as the victim of a killing because she is the splitting image of that victim. Good story!
Very good, could not out it down. Only wish there was more of Detective Ryan. Make sure to read Into the Woods first!
Another excellent entry in the Cassie Maddox series by Tana French. Maddox is called back the to Murder Squad when a murder victim is found that looks identical to her. In order to find out who killed her, Maddox assumes her identity and moves in with the victim's 4 roommates, who were told the victim had been in a coma. What follows is an interesting novel as Maddox tries to keep her cover intact, while getting to know the hidden side of the 4 roommates.
Well worth the read.
Well worth the read.
not as good as I thought would be
This is the second in a wonderful series of mysteries that take place in modern day Ireland. The characters are full of life and likeable, but not perfect. Each book features a different detective in the squad and the mystery in which they are involved.
I really liked the first Dublin Murder Squad book. Ms. French seemed to be on the way to being one of my favorite authors. So I was looking forward to The Likeness, I loved the premise, and the first 300 or so pages were very good, for the most part. I found the book about 25% too long, the last 100 pages or so could have been done in half that. Way too much rehashing of what had happened in the past, and some of the characters who live in the house are just plain annoying. I'm going to keep on with the Dublin Murder Squad series in hopes it returns to it's former glory.
I read In the Woods almost a year ago but remember highly enjoying it and thinking it was a fairly quick read. The Likeness on the other hand was much slower and a book that would normally have taken me a week and a half to read took almost a month.
French continues following the life of Detective Cassie Maddox a few months after when In the Woods ends. However those months and the changes in Cassie life during those months are not explained well and distract you from the primary plot of a murder involving a woman named Lexie Madison who look exactly like Cassie.
The primary plot of Cassie going undercover as Lexie, living with Lexie's roommates and trying to discover Lexie's killer and her secrets is intriguing. But the secondary plot of Cassie's life, especially her recovering her normalcy after In the Woods overshadows what could have been a good mystery novel.
French continues following the life of Detective Cassie Maddox a few months after when In the Woods ends. However those months and the changes in Cassie life during those months are not explained well and distract you from the primary plot of a murder involving a woman named Lexie Madison who look exactly like Cassie.
The primary plot of Cassie going undercover as Lexie, living with Lexie's roommates and trying to discover Lexie's killer and her secrets is intriguing. But the secondary plot of Cassie's life, especially her recovering her normalcy after In the Woods overshadows what could have been a good mystery novel.
I have read 2 books by this author now and have loved them both!
"The Likeness" is the 2nd book in a series - both books were hard to put down. I find that many authors who write a series will spend a lot of time in the later books describing what happened in the earlier stories which makes me crazy - if you are reading books in a series, read the 1st ones 1st! I'm saying all that to say that French does not write her sequels that way - she puts in some reminders and or references, but they are not a rehash of the old stories and that makes me love her writing all the better :)
This book continues following the police career of Cassie Maddox as she becomes involved in a new case involving the death of a college student. French does an excellent job of helping you get to know the characters - the good, the bad and the ugly. While I had a little bit of trouble buying into the plot premise, once I let go of my hang ups the story sucked me right in and I never looked back.
Her 3rd book is on its way to me and I won the 5th as a First-Reads winner. I'm excited to see what she will she will come up with next :)
"The Likeness" is the 2nd book in a series - both books were hard to put down. I find that many authors who write a series will spend a lot of time in the later books describing what happened in the earlier stories which makes me crazy - if you are reading books in a series, read the 1st ones 1st! I'm saying all that to say that French does not write her sequels that way - she puts in some reminders and or references, but they are not a rehash of the old stories and that makes me love her writing all the better :)
This book continues following the police career of Cassie Maddox as she becomes involved in a new case involving the death of a college student. French does an excellent job of helping you get to know the characters - the good, the bad and the ugly. While I had a little bit of trouble buying into the plot premise, once I let go of my hang ups the story sucked me right in and I never looked back.
Her 3rd book is on its way to me and I won the 5th as a First-Reads winner. I'm excited to see what she will she will come up with next :)
I really liked "In The Woods", but this was even better. French has written only 2 books and both are amazingly rich in detail and description. I enjoyed a fantastic movie in my head as I read - would have liked to have known those five (six) people. Great character development in both books. Sure didn't notice any excessive language, though.
Lynda C. (Readnmachine) reviewed The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad, Bk 2) on + 1444 more book reviews
Cassie Maddox thought she had retired from undercover police work, until a body turned up wearing not only her undercover alias, but her face as well. Twisty and intriguing work, though the climax is awfully long and drawn out.
Readers should be aware that this book contains quite a bit of foul language including the "f bomb". Slow to start, but overall a good read.
Thought the book was good, not great; an okay read but not one I'd want to read again.
I thought this was going to be great like her first, but I really didn't like the main character in this book. She was a part of 'In the Woods' and I liked her in that, but she got on my nerves badly in this one!
