i did not expect to say this, but here it is: i really liked this book. i wasn't a big fan of french's previous novel, in the woods, because i disliked the narrator and i guessed the whodunnit almost right away. but the likeness hit the right notes for me. i've always liked cassie, the plot was a lot of fun, and the identity of lexie's killer kept me guessing all the way up to the reveal. and french's writing is so beautiful; i am a sucker for flowery, poetic prose in novels, and this one had plenty of those passages. the wrap-up was a bit too tidy for my taste, but again: this plot was really fun.

my enjoyment of this book probably has a lot to do with the fact that donna tartt's secret history is among my favorite books of all time, and the likeness drew a lot of parallels between them. a group of close-knit friends immersed in academia, steeped in secrets, and dealing with the aftermath of a murder? i was doomed to like this from the start. that said, the similarities between daniel march and henry winter, in both personality and appearance, were sometimes a little too close for me. at one point cassie observes that daniel has big, square hands, and all i could think was just like henry! "big white hands with the square nails!" i have probably read the secret history too many times.