The Likeness

Much better than In the Woods

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.

12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

Gripping, Througout

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.

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Fantastic

I loved The Likeness. It has a story that keeps you entertained for hours. I also recommend In the Woods.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

What a disappointment

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 10 people found this review helpful.

A great read!!

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!

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

See Your Own Corpse!

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.

A brilliant psychological suspense police procedural

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.

Loved the story

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.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A snip snip here, a snip snip there

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.

Original plot with intense character development. Unique writing style.

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.

Great Read

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.

French Keeps Getting Better

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.

Excellent suspense novel

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.

Tana French is my new favorite author!

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.

I'm not a big crime/police novel fan but this one is different.

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.

Well-Written and Entertaining

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 1 people found this review helpful.

another Edgar for Tana French?

The extraordinary follow-up to Tana Frenchà Edgar-winning ¿In the Woods,Å¿The Likeness beautifully combines the narrative and the lyrical, interspersing moments of transcendent illumination with leisurely confident story-telling that doesn let you go for a moment. The language is wonderful, the characterizations are complex and believable, and the suspense builds to a climax that surely will soon be incorporated into â⿬ſa major motion picture. French credits her readers with intelligence and taste, letting this book be read on many levels, from dramatic mystery to speculation on subjects like the guts and work that being loved take the thought that in life you take what you want and then pay for it (though you dont know in advance what the price will be) the changing nature of social subversion (which used to be expressed through discontent and now takes the form of contentment) what happens to people and societies when group memory is lost. A wonderful mystery, but not just a mystery. Highly recommended.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best Contemporary Mystery Writer. Period.

Tana French's meticulous prose will sweep you from the first chapter to the last and leave you begging for more. This book proves that In the Woods was only the beginning for this gifted storyteller.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved this book

Ms French continues to grow as a writer. Kept me up to late on a work night. I have to limit my reading of her books to weekends.

Liked it, but frustrating

I really enjoyed this book. I was intruigued by the premise that a look-a-like could look and act so much like another person that she could take over her life. However, I was constantly looking for clues as to how she came to look like the victim. Unfortunately that question was never even a curiosity for any of the characters or apparently for Tana French. It was an important part of the mystery of the book and never answered. Very frustrating! Better that readers know up front that it won't be resolved.