Reviews

The second book in the Dublin Murder Squad mystery series. Cassie Maddox is called to a crime scene and finds a dead woman who looks exactly like herself, living under an identity Cassie created when she was working undercover. Frank, her former boss in the undercover unit, wants to hide the fact that the victim is dead and send Cassie into the victim's home to find the killer, and to discover the true identity of the victim.

kirstie4's review against another edition

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3.0

The first 400 pages of this novel I enjoyed, even though it gave me 'The Secret History' vibes. I was intrigued by the concept and was hoping that Tana French wasn't going to take it down the obvious path.
Unfortunately that's exactly what she did. A disappointing ending and I was left disliking Cassie Maddox just as much as I did in the first novel.

erickibler4's review against another edition

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4.0

The premise of this book is wildly implausible, but intriguing nonetheless. Once you buy into it, it’s pretty exciting. The middle part is kind of slow, but the last 50 pages or so have you rushing to the end like a freight train.

I couldn’t help being reminded of Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History”, which to my mind is a better book, and one of my favorites. Both books revolve around a group of friends studying classics, and the groups’ “leaders”, Henry and Daniel, are very similar.

Still, French’s book, with it’s doppelganger gimmick, is a very different read.

frumpburger's review against another edition

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4.0

A bit of a self-involved aside prior to writing the review: because of my small time literary pretensions, and as the daughter of a man who devours detective novels like nobody's business, I have historically not fancied myself someone who goes for the crime novel/detective novel/thriller. I mean, perhaps I devoured The da Vinci Code and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--but that doesn't mean anything, does it?

I was the literary equivalent of someone actively pursuing their first homosexual affair while still telling their partner, "But I AM straight." That is, until I met Tana French. And Tana French, she turned me out.

Tana French is SUCH a good writer that even when there's implausibility in her plot--and this novel is a perfect example, as were both In the Woods and The Secret Place, both of which feature slight illogicalities (I think I invented a word?) that you notice but don't really hold against her--that you have to momentarily put the book down and ask yourself, "Could this ever happen?" No. It could not. But I was so anxious to find out what had happened--in a terrible way, where I wanted to finish the novel to get the terrifying final reveal out of the way--that I think French must be doing something right.

tegidemrys's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kshanahanyu's review against another edition

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4.0

This solidified for me my love of Tana French's writing. It was better then Into the Woods which was great to begin with. Part of what made it better was the character she chose to focus on. Cassie is just more likeable and the ending was a lot better. It was also really interesting to see the shift of Cassie as supporting to main from book to book and to see some of the events from the previous book in a new light in this one. Liked it a lot. Would recommend for anyone interested in a good mystery.

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