The Likeness: A Novel

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Customer Reviews:

Thriller of the year [Posted on 2008-10-29]
With only two months to go in 2008 Tana French's "The Likeness" is odds-on to be not only the thriller of the year, but maybe the best book of the year. Featuring Detective Cassie Maddox from Ms. French's debut Edgar-winning novel "Into the Woods", and again set in the outskirts of Dublin, it is both exquisitely written and utterly compulsive; you find yourself putting off things that must be done for just another half-an-hour's read. Once you get past the desperately unlikely premise that an undercover cop is such a ringer for a murdered girl that she can be re-introduced into a hermetically-sealed group of PHD students without detection, you simply have to know what led to the death and who did it, and you have to know NOW. Slightly reminiscent of Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" the quality of the prose, the skill of the characterisation, the compulsive arc of the story, the best heroine in contemporary genre fiction, this is a must-read. But don't expect to get anything done for four days after you start it.

Even better than French's first book [Posted on 2008-11-01]
Several months ago, I read French's first book, In the Woods, and I thought that it was absolutely gripping as a mystery, with interesting characters and flowing language. Well, The Likeness is even better.

Picking up after the events in The Woods, The Likeness is told from the perspective of Cassie, a detective in Ireland who has left the murder squad after the previous book's events, and now works domestic violence cases. She doesn't think she can be drawn back in to work on murder cases, let alone undercover work, until a murder victim turns up with a bizarre connection to Cassie. This happens in the first pages of the book, and absolutely hooked me right from the start.

Cassie goes undercover with a group of suspects, graduate students who live together in a large, old house, and insinuates herself into their lives. Is one of them a killer? If so, can she figure out who? Does she want to figure it out? And... will she blow her cover?

Pick up this book, and you won't want to put it down until you have all the answers. I can't recommend this highly enough.

Lyrical prose and engaging characters [Posted on 2008-11-19]
Tana French's sequel to The Woods is an equally well-written novel with a more satisfying resolution. The characters are masterfully drawn and draw you into their unique world. Ms. French's mysteries are a delightful change from the best-seller norm, because they extend beyond the entertainment plane into the realm of literary works. You can't wait to get back to the story, but don't have any underlying guilt that you are leaving your intellect behind as you do.

That said, I miss the flawed, but interesting, Rob Ryan from the Woods. And Cassie's periodic references in this book to their easy and charming camaraderie prior to the break-up of their partnership reinforces that feeling. Perhaps, when she has fulfilled her creative urges to tell the stories of other characters, Ms. French will give the damaged and self-destructive Rob a repreive and return engagement.

Until that time, I will be happy to enjoy the experiences of other members of Dublin's finest, as crafted by this gifted author.

Boycott Kindle [Posted on 2008-12-01]
I'm livid! When I was one of the first Kindle purchasers, I was assured that no downloads would cost more than $9.99. Now that they have sold thousands of their machines, they go back on their words and start to raise their prices. I'm TIRED of being taken advantage of. From this point on, I will no longer download, or buy ANYTHING from Amazon. I made a verbal complaint, and was totally blown off. If thousands of us call them on this deception and boycott them, maybe we can force them to honor their commitments. How about it?

Gorgeous writing, flimsy plot [Posted on 2008-12-02]
Likeness is one of those off-kilter books that you love to read because the prose is stunning, but which fails completely as a novel. In order for French's plot to work you have to believe: 1)that an undercover cop could pass herself off as another person to a group of people who knew her "double" intimately, 2)that a person can go from being a hat designer to a PhD student in one year (transcripts? application process? recommendations?),3) that grad school students act like 15-year-olds (well, OK maybe that's not so far off the mark),4) that a trained undercover cop would keep important evidence (the diary) from her superiors, etc. etc. etc. I simply did not buy any of it. There were problems with the writing as well. I found the trendy post-modern "quotes" (Star Trek, Alice's Restaurant) disruptive. And those endless ambiguous, interrupted conversations hinting at dark secrets got old after a while. I wanted some resolution. Even the relationships between the characters were unconvincing. Was Cassie actually supposed to be in love with Sam? Why did Cassie want to be Lexi? Why did the villagers care so deeply about a woman who had died almost a hundred years earlier? In short, the premise was implausible, the book was over-written, and the psychology shaky.
French is a fabulous writer. I'm hoping that her third novel will be a charm.

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