Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Likeness

The Likeness was my first book by Tana French, even though it is actually the second in a series. It opens with Detective Cassandra Maddox (I confess a fondness for the name - had my mother had her way it would have been mine) being called to a murder scene where the victim looks exactly like her, and bears the name of Lexie Madison, an entirely fictional alias Cassie once used on an undercover assignment. To take advantage of this somewhat unbelievable coincidence Cassie is persuaded to go undercover once more and, claiming to have been only injured, take up Lexie’s life in an effort to discover exactly who killed her and who she really was.

What I enjoyed most about the book was the eerie atmosphere - the almost gothic vibes from the house, compounded by the attacks against it, and the claustrophobic closeness of Lexie‘s friends, all very idiosyncratic PhD students sharing an isolated run down mansion one of them had inherited.

I also appreciated some of the issues which were raised, if not necessarily covered in great depth - the continuing resentment against the British colonialism in Ireland, material vs spiritual wealth, art, the factors that make a good life, class, and the rural-urban divide.

I had mixed feelings about Cassie. While I loved the badass side of her personality, and the nature of her relationship with her former boss Frank, her deliberately violating protocol and taking unnecessary risks irked me. Why put yourself in danger for no good reason? Possibly if I had read the first book in the series I might have had more insight into what drove Cassie’s behaviour.

I did find this book a little on the long side but it mostly held my interest. While I enjoyed the reading experience it wasn’t enough to convince me to join the Tara French fan club.

Content Warnings

piscero's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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nixicat1's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

_bellakoepp_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

If you like a slow burn mystery, this is the book for you. Satisfying ending, good characters.

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zzelda's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

it is interesting how i have read both the first and second book and dislike the main character the most - probably because i can see how stupid they are being and when it is a crime novel, its A BIG DEAL hahaha. but overall, a good crime novel, super interesting and engaging. i liked the concept of a look-a-like and i actually liked that not perfectly wrapped up ending

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katrinarose's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Much better than the first book, and better than The Secret History (they have similar tropes/stories), but still fell a bit short for me. The unrealistic premise didn’t bother me, but I felt a bit cheated in the end finding out the full story of what happened to Lexie, as I guessed the gist of it from the beginning. Also, the back cover made the book sound much more of a psychological thriller than it was. I really liked the intense and complicated relationships between all the characters but overall it’s not something I’d highly recommend to someone.

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