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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
This book was recommended to me because I really liked The Secret History (my fav book of 2022 and of all time) and while this book didn’t necessarily live up to the hype it was still very good. The basic premise was that this police officer Cassie and her boss agreed to make this undercover persona (lexie) and during the case Cassie ended up getting really hurt and quit the murder section of the police station. Now five years later they find a girl dead and her boyfriend who works in murder, Sam, calls her to come look at the body. She found this odd considering she doesnt work in murder anymore, but she goes and sees that the girl that died looks exactly like her, like her almost identical doppelganger, and te funny part is that this girl was under the identity of lexie, the fake identity that the police station made for an undercover case that cassie had previously used. After some major convincing to find out what happened in te case Cassie agrees to go undercover to live in the house with lexies previous housemates and find out what happened and who stabbed her (wasn't a fatal stab wound, but it punctured her lung so after she passed out she died). Now to not make this review to long im going to briefly describe all of the housemates and they do really give the who secret history vibe. Lexie joined the group later (like richard) but overall the group was very secluded from the rest of the town and their fellow college students.
Daniel: her inherited the house and made it so that all of the housemates were on the deed, he is arguable the least social, and very very serious, a Henry, if you've read the secret history you might say.
Abby: the only girl in the group other than lexie, she isn’t really like Camilla (secret history comparison) she doesn't really have any outstanding character traits, shes very normal girl. I think there was something going on between her and daniel but the lines are very smudged so we don't know. She also has a rough relationship with her mom (no pasts, they made a pact to never talk about their pasts)
Rafe: he is the boy in the group with a fiery, his father is very condescending/critical of him. He definitely had some type of relationship with lexie and also justin (maybe) because he was the father of lexie’s baby (she was pregnant)
Justin: Nice boy in the group, shy, kind of soft spoken, hes gay and (he resembles francis slightly) his family shunned him because of that.
Now to give Lexie a bit of backstory, all we know is that shes been running away for awhile, she was engaged and thats how she left and adopted the lexie persona. Once she got pregnant she wanted to run again and tried to sell her share in the house, the rest of the group found out and justin nicked her with the knife and she ran out of the house and thats how she died.
Cassie during this case was starting to get attached to the group and she actually revealed to daniel that she was an undercover, but in the end daniel ends up saying he stabbed lexie (to cover for justin) and then he tries to shoot lexie so she in turn shot him.
In the end, Cassie and Sam end up together and the group that lived in the house all separated. I really enjoyed this book, wasn’t up to The Secret History level but very good and entertaining, i would have never expected Justin.
Daniel: her inherited the house and made it so that all of the housemates were on the deed, he is arguable the least social, and very very serious, a Henry, if you've read the secret history you might say.
Abby: the only girl in the group other than lexie, she isn’t really like Camilla (secret history comparison) she doesn't really have any outstanding character traits, shes very normal girl. I think there was something going on between her and daniel but the lines are very smudged so we don't know. She also has a rough relationship with her mom (no pasts, they made a pact to never talk about their pasts)
Rafe: he is the boy in the group with a fiery, his father is very condescending/critical of him. He definitely had some type of relationship with lexie and also justin (maybe) because he was the father of lexie’s baby (she was pregnant)
Justin: Nice boy in the group, shy, kind of soft spoken, hes gay and (he resembles francis slightly) his family shunned him because of that.
Now to give Lexie a bit of backstory, all we know is that shes been running away for awhile, she was engaged and thats how she left and adopted the lexie persona. Once she got pregnant she wanted to run again and tried to sell her share in the house, the rest of the group found out and justin nicked her with the knife and she ran out of the house and thats how she died.
Cassie during this case was starting to get attached to the group and she actually revealed to daniel that she was an undercover, but in the end daniel ends up saying he stabbed lexie (to cover for justin) and then he tries to shoot lexie so she in turn shot him.
In the end, Cassie and Sam end up together and the group that lived in the house all separated. I really enjoyed this book, wasn’t up to The Secret History level but very good and entertaining, i would have never expected Justin.
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
underwhelming but had a lot of potential:/// ending was what I expected and the last 30 pages tried to tie up too many loose ends too quickly- some plot points were unnecessary. I think the real substance in this book comes from the exploration of the characters and their dynamic, rather than the quality of the final mystery
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked that it had the same concept of The Secret History and that it was the people being investigated who did research on the detective under cover.
While I was visiting my sister last month she was absorbed by The Likeness. I'm surprised she even spoke to me, to be honest. Although it's really not my usual cup of tea, I took my sister's recommendation and I really, really loved this book! It was dark and gripping. The writing was amazing. I was glued to the page and skipped through 600+ pages in about a day and a half. It was addicting! The atmosphere was so compelling I felt like I was living in the book. The setting of early 2000s Dublin was super well done. It made me want to start smoking cigarettes and drinking hard liquor (like, in a good way).
Cassie Maddox was a very interesting narrator. She's super messed up but fascinating to watch crash and burn. The mystery itself was compelling as well. I guessed quite a few things pretty early but I was still hypnotized by the plot. It was dark and psychological without being too gory for me. Some of it moves slow and there's a climax, then a fall out, then a final climax which makes for a rather jerky ride to the end. I still was sitting at the edge of my seat for every second of it. Cassie makes some crazy stupid mistakes which drove me a bit crazy, but I understand how she became so emotionally involved. Whitethorne and its tight-knit occupants sounded so appealing. I too want to live in an old Irish house with a bunch of like-minded people who care deeply about me. That golden dream of platonic intimacy is truly bewitching. Minus the whole murder thing obviously.
I want to inhale Tana French's writing skills. The way she blended psychology, drama, and the occasional dash of supernatural. I was truly absorbed. Cassie's obsession with Lexie was creepily fascinating. I thought the writing reflected her struggle with identity very well. Her final decision to hunt down the murderer no matter what "because it's her job" also felt very in character. I may have been frustrated with her, but I understood where she was coming from. And seriously, if no one was going to murder me, I would be SOO into living at Whitethorne.
I was completely bewitched by this book and I'm glad I read it. It destroyed me and haunted me in the best possible way. I could pick it up and read it again this moment just so I could recapture that all-absorping atmosphere.
Cassie Maddox was a very interesting narrator. She's super messed up but fascinating to watch crash and burn. The mystery itself was compelling as well. I guessed quite a few things pretty early but I was still hypnotized by the plot. It was dark and psychological without being too gory for me. Some of it moves slow and there's a climax, then a fall out, then a final climax which makes for a rather jerky ride to the end. I still was sitting at the edge of my seat for every second of it. Cassie makes some crazy stupid mistakes which drove me a bit crazy, but I understand how she became so emotionally involved. Whitethorne and its tight-knit occupants sounded so appealing. I too want to live in an old Irish house with a bunch of like-minded people who care deeply about me. That golden dream of platonic intimacy is truly bewitching. Minus the whole murder thing obviously.
I want to inhale Tana French's writing skills. The way she blended psychology, drama, and the occasional dash of supernatural. I was truly absorbed. Cassie's obsession with Lexie was creepily fascinating. I thought the writing reflected her struggle with identity very well. Her final decision to hunt down the murderer no matter what "because it's her job" also felt very in character. I may have been frustrated with her, but I understood where she was coming from. And seriously, if no one was going to murder me, I would be SOO into living at Whitethorne.
Spoiler
The end made me cry even though I saw it coming. Yeah, I'm more upset about the house than anything else. :P In a way, I'm okay with not knowing exactly what happened. But I am left wondering if Daniel really did let Lexie die... Those clenched hands are still haunting me even if Cassie's final image of her death was actually lovely.I was completely bewitched by this book and I'm glad I read it. It destroyed me and haunted me in the best possible way. I could pick it up and read it again this moment just so I could recapture that all-absorping atmosphere.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes