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The haunting follow up to the Edgar Award-winning debut In the Woods
Tana French astonished critics and readers alike with her mesmerizing debut novel, In the Woods. Now both French and Detective Cassie Maddox return to unravel a case even more sinister and enigmatic than the first. Six months after the events of In the Woods, an urgent telephone call beckons Cassie to a grisly crime scene. The victim looks exactly like Cassie and carries ID identifying herself as Alexandra Madison, an alias Cassie once used. Suddenly, Cassie must discover not only who killed this girl, but, more importantly, who is this girl? A disturbing tale of shifting identities, The Likeness firmly establishes Tana French as an important voice in suspense fiction. And look for French's new mystery, Broken Harbor, for more of the Dublin Murder Squad.
The "expertly rendered, gripping new novel" (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)-from the bestselling author of In the Woods and The Likeness.
Tana French's In the Woods and The Likeness captivated readers by introducing them to her unique, character-driven style and her new mystery, Broken Harbor, is eagerly anticipated. Her singular skill at creating richly drawn, complex worlds makes her novels not mere whodunits but brilliant and satisfying novels about memory, identity, loss, and what defines us as humans. With Faithful Place, the highly praised third novel about the Dublin Murder squad, French takes readers into the mind of Frank Mackey, the hotheaded mastermind of The Likeness, as he wrestles with his own past and the family, the lover, and the neighborhood he thought he'd left behind for good.
Definitely this one was much better than In the Woods, at least from my humble point of view. I had trouble trying to get into the plot during the first chapters, but once Cassie's mission begins, you get into a comfortable reading pace and before you know it, you're on to the last chapter.
It is a well written story that sort of keeps with the general idea of Tana French's first novel which is an unexpected ending full of drama and that has the main character fulfilling her duty but at a high physical, emotional and mental cost.
As I said for her previous book, give it a shot, you might hate it or you might find a good story to spend a nice quiet afternoon with.
14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MJinPA
Posted May 5, 2010
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Since I enjoy knowing as little as possible before reading a story, I will not give away anything about plot or characters.
I knew absolutely nothing about this novel before reading it (I chose it because it came up on my "Amazon recommendations" list) and *loved* it. What a terrific idea for a thriller. I haven't felt so afraid while reading a book since I was a kid, and that was thrilling in itself. (Incidentally, I rarely experience books described by reviewers as "frightening" or "riveting" as such.)
At the very beginning, while a couple of characters were being established, the dialogue was not my favorite - a bit reminiscent of Jodi Picoult or other bestselling authors - but the story completely held my attention, and I think the dialogue would certainly play well were the manuscript converted into a screenplay. As soon as the initial characters were a bit fleshed out, I liked the dialogue much better. I loved the characters and grew attached to many of them. Also, unlike many mysteries with promising beginnings, which too often speed up and fall apart at the end, the pacing was pitch perfect.
Kudos to Tana French. I heartily recommend this novel.
12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.theReader278
Posted July 1, 2011
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I loved The Likeness. It has a story that keeps you entertained for hours. I also recommend In the Woods.
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 17, 2010
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The protagonist of this book is Cassie Maddox. Cassie is a detective who appears to be on a downward slide. She has lost her zest for living and her enthusiasm for her job. Imagine being confronted with a stabbed corpse that looks just like you!
This is a story with many complex layers of a mystery/thriller, intrigue, suspense that will captivate the reader. A great read!
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 2, 2009
I really liked her first book and was excited to get this second one but boy was I like BORED!! I kept thinking, read a few more pages and maybe it will get better but it didn't then I was stuck having to finish it or lay it down. Way Way too wordy.
5 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 12, 2008
Imagine for a moment being confronted with a stabbed corpse that looks just like you! Horrific vision, for sure! Cassie Maddox has been transferred to Domestic Violence cases out of Murder because she was just so traumatized by her last two large investigations. Life's been dull but bearable compared to the harrowing intensity of seeking predators and killers with twisted minds and souls. But now, Cassie is challenged by her Frank, the brilliant detective and her former superior, to investigate this case that has traumatized her with its eerie likeness. This woman and Cassie have something in common - they both used the same name as an alias, Lexie Madison. Cassie used it for an undercover job known as Operation Vestal now she's got to figure out why this dead woman used it and the real identity of this victim who was obviously killed elsewhere and then dragged into a small shack off the main roads of Glenskehy village, just outside of Dublin, Ireland. So Cassie, after much mental arm-and-brain-pulling by Frank, agrees to go undercover, enter Lexie's world of co-residents in a home they are renovating while they work in their respective Ph.D. fields. Cassie will again be Lexie Madison, a reality that haunts and disturbs every aspect of her thoughts and psyche, especially when she believes the murderer is one of her roommates! How much does this inherited house play into the questions behind the crime? How is the real Lexie Madison's background connected to the mystery? How far will Frank push Cassie in her undercover role while Sam, her lover, fight to keep her from becoming totally enmeshed in a very dangerous situation? Tana French crafts complex layers of a mystery/thriller with multiple diversions and seemingly innocuous conversations that brilliantly eventually all tie together, the reader never able to grasp the connecting threads until the very last page. This is one savvy writer to track, guaranteed to achieve success and popularity with her tales of intrigue and suspense riveting every reader and making them want more and more of the same with the uniquely different twists of each story. Just superb and a keeper! Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on July 12, 2008
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This was a great book! I really got sucked into the lives of this woman and the people she lived with. I had a hard time putting it down. I didnt relize The Likeness is a follow up to Tana's book In the Woods. There are things that are mentioned in the book that relate to the first one; however, I had no problem following the story having not read In the Woods. I look forward to reading more of Tana's work.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.When the cops see the murdered corpse of Ph.D. candidate Lexie Madison, found near Glenskehy, Ireland, they agree how remarkably identical the victim is to one of them, Detective Cassie Maddox (see IN THE WOODS). Since they could have been identical twins, in spite of the danger Cassie agrees to pretend to be Lexie in order to trick her killer into exposing him or herself.------------ Cassie as Lexie movies 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 flatmates, she finds she likes each of them because they are so different in personality. However, inside the mansion the quintet begin to argue, but Cassie wonders if the threat to her as Lexie might be from the village.---------- This brilliant psychological suspense police procedural is a strong tale because the four surviving roommates and the cop masquerading as the fifth seem genuine especially inside of Whitethorn House. The relationships between the quintet enhances the tension as Cassie and the readers wonder who of these nice flatmates is the killer, if any and when will the next attempt occur.----------- Harriet Klausner
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 11, 2013
As a writer myself, I appreciate Tana French's exquisite character development. Few mystery writers can match her. This is the third one of her novels I have read and I look forward to the rest. You don't have to be Irish to love them.
To new readers, start with her "In The Woods".
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 6, 2012
Lost a lot of sleep because I could not put it down. Never have read a plot similar, pulls you right in and keeps you there. I had to exercise all my self control to not skip to the end. Excellent reading!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 25, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Ms. French's first Dublin Murder Squad novel, In The Woods was entertaining, but this story was gripping. The characters were so interesting, I couldn't wait to see what happened next. The story brought tears, hysterical laughter, and sadness. I will read more from Tana French. I have just begun reading Faithful Place.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 5, 2012
I recently plowed through all four books in the Dublin Murder Squad Series and this one was my favorite. Not only was the story compelling but the characters were likeable. It did take a bit for the story to get going, but when it did it took off and I just had to get to the end to see the resolution. I recomment the whole series!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 16, 2010
Ms. French's second novel was definitely tighter than her first, giving the reader less plot lines to try to follow, and tying most of the drama up in the end (something In The Woods did not do). Was I hoping for some of those loose threads to be picked up in this follow up? Absolutely. But I was quickly wrapped up in the new drama following Cassie Maddox and the mystery of Lexie.
The Likeness is not the most believable of detective stories, but the author does a good job weaving a tale that helps convince you that a total stranger could replace a person if they looked enough alike. The characters were rich and interesting, mysterious and suspicious. It is generally a good story, and at times I was completely absorbed in the writing. Unfortunately there were too many times when the writing was simply too repetitive, when Ms. French is too obviously playing cat and mouse with the reader, when the conclusion is evident and you just want her to move on and finish the mess.
I couldn't help thinking that The Likeness would have been brilliant with 100 less pages, 3 less characters, and 2 less dead ends.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 9, 2010
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This author develops the interior lives of her characters in a unique way. It helps if you read In the Woods, the first novel by Tana French, where she introduces Cassie , the main character in this novel. I think she maintains suspense throughout. Everyone in our mystery book group loved her first novel and I think this one is even better.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.If you read her first book and thought the end was weak, then this one won't disappoint. I found this book better written than her first. The emotional complexities were well described and they really made you think more about a topic that you may never have thought of. Cassie Maddox was a deeper character than last time. The other characters in this book are amazing in there difference and "multi-facetedness" This is a really great read, something you can't put down. It may not be the deepest or most educated book ever, but looking into Irish culture and history and meeting the 4 main characters really makes this book a must read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I hated to Finish this book. In the woods was good, but this one I loved. I found myself wanting to be in the book! French opened up my imagination, that's impressive!
My heart was pounding during the Climax of the book, isn't that what books are supposed to do!
There are so many books that the ending just lets you down. This one didn't let me down.
Thanks Tana, for the great read, please keep writing!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The Likeness: Cassie Maddox is a detective in Ireland, assigned to the Domestic Violence Squad. But four years ago she worked briefly undercover as Lexie Madison, a college student who dealt drugs. Cassie gets a call from her former boss to meet him at a murder scene. When she arrives, she is stunned to discover that the murder victim is a young woman who looks exactly like her. She is even more stunned to find that her name is Lexie Madison, the fictitious identity created by Cassie and her then boss, Frank. This Lexie was a post-graduate student living with four others in Whitethorn House, a large estate owned by one of the other students, a very tight close-knit group of friends. Frank convinces Cassie that to solve the murder, she needs to take on the identity of Lexie once again. While Lexie's friends believe she is in a coma, Cassie uses this time to learn everything she can about this Lexie and then moves into Whitethorn House to take Lexie's place. Cassie becomes Lexie so well and becomes fascinated with her alter ego and the life/lies she was living, so much so that it becomes uncertain whether Cassie wants to solve the murder at all or to continue living Lexie's life.
Cassie Maddox was in Tana French's debut novel, In the Woods, but was not the main character. The Likeness makes many references to the first novel but it is not necessary to read it before reading this one.
The Likeness is incredibly suspenseful with a well-constructed plot. The first three quarters of the book moved along at a fast pace. The ending seemed to drag a bit, but this may have been because I was reading it a two o'clock in the morning and was very tired. But I didn't put the book down to go to bed because I had to finish it! I had no clue who the killer was and only three quarters of the way through did I begin to have suspects. Not only was this story a great mystery but Cassie Maddox is a great, complex character and I wasn't always sure what she was going to do. This is a must read and I also recommend In the Woods
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.After falling in love with the characters from In the Woods, I did not want the book to end. When I found out there was a follow-up novel, I was ecstatic! This book kept me absolutely absorbed. The in-depth character introductions and scenery descriptions make you feel as though you are actually there. I am so happy to have discovered Tana French.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I had read In the Woods, Tana French's first novel, and liked her writing style. I was on my way home from a trip and had finished the book I was reading so I picked this one up in the airport bookstore. I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it that much - just wanted something to get me through the plane ride home. Once I started reading it - I couldn't put it down. The characters in this book steal the show - the mystery storyline is just a bonus. She does a great job of involving the reader in the relationships between her players and you really feel as if you are inside the mind of Cassie, the main character. It's a page turner for sure, but it keeps you thinking. I handed it over to my fifteen year old daughter and she read it within a couple of days and liked it as well. Although there are some references to her first book, this one stands alone quite well and can be read without having read the other.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 5, 2009
This is a well-paced, enjoyable novel. Having read "In the Woods, " I was excited to see that the author had continued with the characters in this novel. I truly enjoyed the suspense, which certainly kept you quickly turning pages throughout the entire book. I'm looking forward to what comes next from this author.
1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
The haunting follow up to the Edgar Award-winning debut In the Woods
Tana French astonished critics and readers alike with her mesmerizing debut novel, In the Woods. Now both French and Detective Cassie Maddox return to unravel a case even more sinister and enigmatic than the first. Six months after the events of In the Woods, an urgent telephone call beckons Cassie to a grisly crime scene. The victim looks exactly like Cassie and carries ID identifying herself as Alexandra ...