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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Heather reviews The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad #2) by Tana French


Book/Author: The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad #2) by Tana French
Publishing Info: Viking Adult, 2008
How I got this book: bought it at Borders
Why I read this book: I read the first book and loved it.
Rating: 4 stars

Summary (from Goodreads): Six months after the events of In the Woods, Detective Cassie Maddox is still trying to recover. She's transferred out of the murder squad and started a relationship with Detective Sam O'Neill, but she's too badly shaken to make a commitment to him or to her career. Then Sam calls her to the scene of his new case: a young woman found stabbed to death in a small town outside Dublin. The dead girl's ID says her name is Lexie Madison (the identity Cassie used years ago as an undercover detective, and she looks exactly like Cassie.

With no leads, no suspects, and no clue to Lexie's real identity, Cassie's old undercover boss, Frank Mackey, spots the opportunity of a lifetime. They can say that the stab wound wasn't fatal and send Cassie undercover in her place to find out information that the police never would and to tempt the killer out of hiding. At first Cassie thinks the idea is crazy, but she is seduced by the prospect of working on a murder investigation again and by the idea of assuming the victim's identity as a graduate student with a cozy group of friends.


My thoughts: I read Tana French's In The Woods a few years ago and I absolutely loved it. I final got the chance to pick up the sequel this October and was not let down. French has a gift for creating suspenseful situations. I'm not usually too interested in murder mystery novels but this series has me hooked. I will definitely be putting the third book, Faithful Place on my wishlist for this holiday season. The Likeness starts out with a bang as detective Cassie Maddox is called to the scene of a murder where the victim is shockingly identical to her. Thus begins the undercover operation to discover who killed this mysterious doppelganger.

This book took me longer to read than I would have liked but it was not for lack of interest. I was itching to pick it up at any free moment I had. The relationship development between Cassie/Lexie and her roommates was so descriptive and interesting to me. They were SO close, I was holding my breath so many times because I was worried that she would be discovered as an imposter. As the story unfolds, the secrets slowly pour out of the walls of their old house. 

The one thing that really bugged me about this novel is that Lexie had stolen the identity of a false identity made up by Cassie years ago. It was never addressed how exactly Lexie came upon that identity or how it was possible they could look and sound so much alike but not be related at all. Other than that, The Likeness was a great psychological thriller that definitely messed with my mind. Even if you don't typically read mystery novels, I would suggest stepping out of your comfort zone with this. I doubt you will be disappointed!

5 comments:

  1. Love this book! I'm a big Tana French fan in general and really looking forward to her next one :)

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  2. I loved "In the Woods," too...so much so that I've been nervous to read the sequel. Thank you for setting my mind at ease. ;)

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  3. I love Tana French, and I think her books just get better and better. You will love Faithful Place!

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  4. Never heard about this writer before but i love mysteries so I'll have to look her up. Thanks for the recommendation. :)

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  5. I loved In the Woods too, so I was super excited for Cassie's book. I decided to listen to the audio a few weeks ago, but after three hours (which is a serious investment!) I lost interest. I do want to read the book though, so I'll get to it one of these days...

    I totally agree, though, that I thought the whole idea of her taking over Cassie's faux identity was strange, even in the part I read. Plus I didn't believe Cassie's ability to actually move in and take over Lexie's life was implausible. However, French is such a great writer and plotter that I need to give this one a second chance. Thanks for the info/review!

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