By Tana French, 2008
Summary: Detective Cassie Maddox has given up on the murder squad after a particularly traumatic case and moved over to domestic violence. Then her doppelganger - a woman whom Cassie has never before laid eyes upon - turns up murdered in a small shed in the Irish countryside. Turns out, the murder victim had been using Cassie's former undercover identity prior to her death, and living with four other post-grad students in an aging estate not far from the place she turned up dead. Rather than alert the four roomies to their friend's murder, Cassie decides to pose as the victim and move into the cottage to try to solve the mystery of the woman's murder and identity.
Summary: Detective Cassie Maddox has given up on the murder squad after a particularly traumatic case and moved over to domestic violence. Then her doppelganger - a woman whom Cassie has never before laid eyes upon - turns up murdered in a small shed in the Irish countryside. Turns out, the murder victim had been using Cassie's former undercover identity prior to her death, and living with four other post-grad students in an aging estate not far from the place she turned up dead. Rather than alert the four roomies to their friend's murder, Cassie decides to pose as the victim and move into the cottage to try to solve the mystery of the woman's murder and identity.
Opinion: Sound confusing? Parts of it are. But it's nothing compared to the first installment in French's three-book semi-series. In In the Woods, which came out in 2007, Cassie played a supportive role to protagonist Rob Ryan, another murder detective and her partner at the time. That book was more gripping than this one, and should absolutely be read first. But don't expect an ending tied up with a bow. French almost makes it a point not to answer the reader's every question.
The Likeness was almost equally as riveting as In the Woods. But not quite. I felt far more satisfied at the end of this book than I did at the end of the first. And I found it difficult to put down at night despite drooping eyelids. But In the Woods? When I was finished, it was all I could do not to tear it into little pieces and eat the thing. I just wanted more.
Anyway, I am a sucker for a well-written mystery novel. I won't have any of that Cornwell or Patterson crap. I want substance, detail, tension, build-up, and a touch of terror (I slept with the lights on at night the entire time I read this book. For no good reason. It was just that creepy to me.) The Likeness delivered all that and more. Next up is the final (I think) installment, Faithful Place, which puts one of the supporting characters from The Likeness in the protagonist's seat. Can't wait.
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