First I just wanna say that the audiobook was fantastic, Heather O’Neill is an amazing narrator. Probably one of the best I’ve heard so far. 

The Likeness is a thriller, but instead of the exciting fast-paced climax and resolutions I’m used to, it was more akin to a train slowly chugging along quietly enveloping you in the story. And despite it being a murder mystery and knowing the housemates are suspects, the more I read about them the more that enveloping feeling became a sense of sadness because I really felt how much they cared about each other through it all and the hope that they were innocent even though I knew it was very unlikely. This dichotomy of feelings is something I really appreciated, and I kinda love when books are able to make me feel this way. 

I also really liked how Tana French didn’t try to outsmart readers and make the mystery too difficult to solve. I think I picked up on who the culprits were, or at least suspected, early on, a bit through picking up clues but mostly because I’ve read Donna Tart before. So this is maybe less about my intelligence and more about my experience lmao.