The likeness, while on its face is mostly implausble, was a clever and fascinating mystery.  I adore Detective Cassie Maddox and was glad to spend more time with her.  I was enamored with In the Woods and I honestly thought there was no way I would enjoy this book as much. I was wrong, and now I"m obsessed with these novels and I can't wait to dive into the next one.  Each character is developed so earnestly and then elegantly decostructed. By the end of the novel the reader knows that character so well they would recognize them in the dark.  Really brilliant, interesting and unique.

I've read a good bit of Tana French, largely out of order, and this was definitely the slowest and most cerebral of the ones I've encountered. The plot plods along, only picking up any real pace about two-thirds through the whole story. And while French's novels are always very protagonist-focused, it was disappointing to see so much of the book focus on Cassie's introspection. We spend so much time around four other characters but never get beyond some surface-level description and some throw-away dialogue. <spolier> The ending was a bit disappointing too. The people you suspect did it are in fact the ones that did it all along. No grand twist, no huge reveal, no big moment of shock. It didn't come as a surprise as much as a slow realization, like waking up out of a dream.  </spolier> The quality of the writing carried the story. But I don't think I would've finished this book if it wasn't such a fan of French's oeuvre. If you're looking for a tightly-paced detective story, try Broken Harbor instead.