4.25 STARS

I read this recently as a buddy read with my friend Spencer (thank you for introducing me to this wonderful author) Okay, like this book.. i feel like it has its flaws like every book but these flaws almost made it unbearable in a sense.

Look, why would I say that if the rating is so high? well bc this book isnt like a normal mystery thriller. Like the fast paced ones we all love so dearly. This isn't your average Freida Mcfadden book. It's a more deep and engrossing story. One that moves at a slow pace but not too slow. The author has found the right pace. Some might find it hard to get into. And i was one of these people but as much as I found it to be slow, i enjoyed picking up the pieces and having to ponder about what could come next. It works your brain and it actually gets you to want to read more.

I found the rest of the characters to be bland.. so one dimensional. Cassie was the only one with really any depth to her where I can imagine her pain and want to care. The others were just like blank faces. Its like in a dream, when you see someone in it but their face is like blurred out or whatnot. I wanted to picture these characters so badly but I couldnt :(

Overall, will this be my last book by this author? that is to be determined...

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.

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.

Word on the street was that this book wasn't any good, but I quite enjoyed it, and it's even got a pretty satisfying ending, which French's first book, In the Woods, didn't exactly have to many readers. Although The Likeness isn't a sequel to In the Woods, it's written from the p.o.v. of Cassie Maddox, one of ITW's main characters. It's not necessary to have read the first book (the case, though--"Operation Vestal"--is alluded to a number of times), but it helps add to Maddox's character development and the overall tension of the book.

French's gorgeous descriptions of the Irish countryside (not too rural: outside of Dublin) are enjoyable enough on their own--they're lovely in a mysterious and slightly dangerous way--never ever a 'tourist's postcard' way--but it's also got a full cast of nice juicy (if not altogether likable) lads and lassies (is that right?). I preferred the female point of view to ITW's p.o.v. of Rob Ryan if only because Ryan was kind of a dunderhead mid-way through the book, especially about his and Cassie's relationship. It's nice to get more of her and to see her interact with the surrounding story, mystery, and characters, both alive and dead.

It's certainly not a traditional who-done-it, but it's a mystery nonetheless, and I felt it was a pretty darn successful one at that. Enjoy!

Sorprendentemente bello, sulla scia di Dio di illusioni di Donna Tartt, con il quale ho trovato veramente molte somiglianze. Entrambi i libri trasmettono lo stesso tipo di vibe, anche se Tana French scrive una storia molto più incalzante e di intrattenimento, un’indagine che mantiene alta l’adrenalina e che porta ad una risoluzione non necessariamente scontata. Non nego di avere avuto addirittura paura in certi punti della storia (da considerare anche il fatto che spesso leggevo di sera/notte), ma ciò dimostra l’efficacia della narrazione, delle descrizioni suggestive, dei dialoghi ben costruiti e delle immagini forti, quindi posso solo dire che brava Tana! Molto bello! Leggerò sicuramente altro di suo prima o poi!