Reviews

The Likeness by Tana French

aanzelon37's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

peytonm's review against another edition

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4.0

The premise of this story is amazing (get ready to suspend your disbelief). A few years ago, Detective Cassie Maddox went undercover as Lexie Madison, a made-up identity. Then Lexie turned up dead in a small town near Dublin, and she looked just like Cassie. Dun dun DUN! Cassie went back undercover as Lexie to figure out who murdered her. Lexie lived with a tight-knit group of friends in one house, so Cassie had to be convincing. The housemates were my favorite part of the book. You could really feel how close everyone was, and French did an amazing job of delving into everyone's psyche. Great writing!

alexcasey's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

kolson687's review against another edition

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4.0

I found that the first part of the book dragged. It takes about 80 pages to persuade the main character Cassie Maddox to go undercover and yet you just have to read the back cover to know that she does. But once she accepts the job and enters the world of Lexie it really picks up. Love how deep the characters are drawn as well as the description of the house. I will definitely read the third in the series.

kristianawithak's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a good, captivating read, there are books that hinge on the ending and books you enjoy the ride and the ending means little. It is hard to read a 450 page book hoping the ending pans out satisfactorily. I think it could have been trimmed a little for the same pay off. French uses foreshadowing well, only toward the end and sparingly, to build up to the denouement but not announce it too early.
All in all it was great. I’ll read more by French. I’m please her Dublin Murder Squad series isn’t based on one detective but seems to be more interrelated characters and different cases.

tomato_bisque's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really think Tana French is a tier above other modern mystery writers. The two books I read are draped in atmosphere. "The Likeness" has a super interesting concept for a story. The book is less about the crime itself and more about the flaws and interactions between all of the characters. It does have a slower pace but that is something I really enjoyed. 

bestbeefarm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-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

rita_reads_books's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jen52's review against another edition

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I loved Into The Woods. I really wanted more of the same characters and that kind of story. Now I've learned that this series is different and I'm not really into continuing with it if I can't have more of the interaction between the Into The Woods characters.

tnhayes's review against another edition

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

3.0