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The Likeness

by Tana French

The Likeness Cover

ISBN13: 9780143115625
ISBN10: 0143115626
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

 

Staff Pick

The Likeness is another masterpiece of suspense by Tana French. Reminiscent of The Secret History, this psychological thriller is wonderfully written and impeccably paced — a perfect summer read.
Recommended by Jill Owens, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The eagerly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestselling psychological thriller In the Woods.

Six months after the events of In the Woods, Detective Cassie Maddox is still trying to recover. She's transferred out of the murder squad and started a relationship with Detective Sam O'Neill, but she's too badly shaken to make a commitment to him or to her career. Then Sam calls her to the scene of his new case: a young woman found stabbed to death in a small town outside Dublin. The dead girl's ID says her name is Lexie Madison, the identity Cassie used years ago as an undercover detective, and she looks exactly like Cassie.

With no leads, no suspects, and no clue to Lexie's real identity, Cassie's old undercover boss, Frank Mackey, spots the opportunity of a lifetime. They can say that the stab wound wasn't fatal and send Cassie undercover in her place to find out information that the police never would and to tempt the killer out of hiding. At first Cassie thinks the idea is crazy, but she is seduced by the prospect of working on a murder investigation again and by the idea of assuming the victim's identity as a graduate student with a cozy group of friends.

As she is drawn into Lexie's world, Cassie realizes that the girl's secrets run deeper than anyone imagined. Her friends are becoming suspicious, Sam has discovered a generations-old feud involving the old house the students live in, and Frank is starting to suspect that Cassie's growing emotional involvement could put the whole investigation at risk. Another gripping psychological thriller featuring the headstrong protagonist weave come to love, from an author who has proven that she can deliver.

Review:

"Edgar-winner French blurs the boundaries between victim and cop, memory and fantasy, in this stunning sequel to her debut, In the Woods. Det. Cassie Maddox, a dead ringer for Lexie Madison, whose body has been found on the outskirts of the Irish village of Glenskehy, agrees to masquerade as Lexie in a police effort to identify her murderer. Cassie journeys to Whitethorn House, the rambling mansion Lexie shared with four fellow Ph.D. students and tells the friends that she survived the attack. As she probes deeper into the close-knit group, Cassie finds herself becoming emotionally attached to the stoic Daniel, sensitive Justin, gadabout Rafe and dependable Abby. But as tensions rise in the house and in Glenskehy, Cassie must decide if the biggest threat comes from without or lurks within. French cleverly subverts the conventions of the locked room mystery, ratcheting up the tension at every turn with her multidimensional characters. Readers looking for a new name in psychological suspense need look no further than this powerful new Irish voice. (July)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Police procedures, psychological thrills and gothic romance beautifully woven into one stunning story." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"French creates remarkably complex characters while gradually unpeeling the layers of her story in this rich and insightful psychological thriller. A stunner." Library Journal

Review:

"Suspense writing is clearly French's forte. Rather than employing cliff-hanger tactics, such as ending chapters with striking discoveries, French relies on more delicate revelations to engage readers all along." Rocky Mountain News

Review:

"Ms. French resists genre conventions defiantly enough to have written a long, rambling book, one that is more interested in character revelations than in 'Aha!' moments about the plot....Cassie herself remains a strong enough character to sustain interest..." Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Synopsis:

French presents the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times-bestselling psychological thriller In the Woods.
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About the Author

Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the United States, and Malawi. She trained as an actor at Trinity College Dublin and has worked mainly in theater.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 10 comments:
Northwest Tam, January 19, 2012 (view all comments by Northwest Tam)
This is a "detective novel" in the tradition of Josephine Tey's "Daughter of Time," where the crime is secondary to the characters. It is within the wants, needs, quirks, and, fundamentally, hearts of the characters that we are given the mystery and resolution. I read this book, set it down for three days, then picked it up to read again. It is achingly haunting, oddly compelling, and completely mesmerizing.
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Ghost Reader, January 1, 2012 (view all comments by Ghost Reader)
A "mystery" that totally transcends genre. Engaging, complicated characters, beautiful, evocative writing and an involving mystery that turns on character, not unconvincing coincidence. Clear your calendar, you will not want to stop reading -- to get to the solution, but mostly to see how the characters are impacted by the solution. Tana French has published 3 novels, all terrific; I can't wait for the 4th.
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OneMansView, January 16, 2011 (view all comments by OneMansView)
Identity assumption fraught with tension

Technically a murder mystery, this book is far more a finely textured portrait of Cassie Maddox, the gutsy, resilient, and resourceful Dublin detective of IN THE WOODS, who steps into a tight-knit household of grad students - living in a rural, large, old house - to unravel the mysterious death of one of them, Lexie Madison. The psychological strength of Cassie and her adaptability and imaginative strategizing when she assumes the identity of Lexie, an amazing look-a-like, and rejoins the group upon the authorities claiming that Lexie had actually survived the stabbing, are extraordinary, all the while producing a never-ending, breathtaking tension on the possibility of being found out.

Because Cassie must fit seamlessly into the group, all of her efforts in actually solving the case must be well hidden, using well-concealed mikes and making phone calls during walks in the dark, threatening woods surrounding the house, not far from the small, deteriorating cabin where Lexie was found. The group, except for Lexie – a latecomer, had met many years before as college freshmen, recognizing each other as kindred souls. Daniel’s inheritance of the old house made it possible for him to construct the isolated, exclusionary, and idyllic world for which he longed. Of course, perfect harmony among people is fantasy. Clearly the disappearance/reappearance of Lexie has shaken them, and brings to the surface submerged fault lines, alliances, and flaws, to which Cassie must be attuned. She also must be alert to every subtle clue about Lexie’s relationship with the group. For example, was she romantically entangled with any of them or for that matter what were her preferences and tendencies in regard to food, clothing, speech patterns, etc. Worst of all is the very real possibility that one of the group stabbed Lexie and that some or all of them know that.

The dialectic among the aspects of the story as they are developed and revealed – that is, the strain of literally becoming someone else, the various group dynamics, and the investigation by not only Cassie but a wholesale effort in the background – make this story an exciting psychological drama. The complications mount as it is uncovered that Lexie had a troubled past, not to mention the rural community’s literal hatred of this outsider band of brothers and sisters. The author’s prescient handling of the thinking of the characters as well as her gift for dialog brings this story to life. At times the pace slows to a crawl, but the general edginess keeps the attention. Just the assumption that someone could assume an identity among friends is quite intriguing and is handled by the author in an amazingly plausible fashion.

There are several threads of connection to IN THE WOODS, but none are essential for this story. However, Cassie’s former connection to Detective Rob Ryan still haunts her.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780143115625
Subtitle:
A Novel
Author:
French, Tana
Publisher:
Penguin (Non-Classics)
Subject:
Suspense
Subject:
Mystery & Detective - General
Subject:
Psychological
Copyright:
2009
Publication Date:
20090526
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
512
Dimensions:
8.36x5.44x1.00 in. .92 lbs.
Age Level:
17-17
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Related Subjects

Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
Fiction and Poetry » Mystery » A to Z
Fiction and Poetry » Popular Fiction » Suspense
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Fiction and Poetry » Popular Fiction » Suspense

The Likeness Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$7.50 In Stock
Product details 512 pages Penguin Books - English 9780143115625 Reviews:
"Staff Pick" by ,

The Likeness is another masterpiece of suspense by Tana French. Reminiscent of The Secret History, this psychological thriller is wonderfully written and impeccably paced — a perfect summer read.

by Jill Owens
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "Edgar-winner French blurs the boundaries between victim and cop, memory and fantasy, in this stunning sequel to her debut, In the Woods. Det. Cassie Maddox, a dead ringer for Lexie Madison, whose body has been found on the outskirts of the Irish village of Glenskehy, agrees to masquerade as Lexie in a police effort to identify her murderer. Cassie journeys to Whitethorn House, the rambling mansion Lexie shared with four fellow Ph.D. students and tells the friends that she survived the attack. As she probes deeper into the close-knit group, Cassie finds herself becoming emotionally attached to the stoic Daniel, sensitive Justin, gadabout Rafe and dependable Abby. But as tensions rise in the house and in Glenskehy, Cassie must decide if the biggest threat comes from without or lurks within. French cleverly subverts the conventions of the locked room mystery, ratcheting up the tension at every turn with her multidimensional characters. Readers looking for a new name in psychological suspense need look no further than this powerful new Irish voice. (July)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Review" by , "Police procedures, psychological thrills and gothic romance beautifully woven into one stunning story."
"Review" by , "French creates remarkably complex characters while gradually unpeeling the layers of her story in this rich and insightful psychological thriller. A stunner."
"Review" by , "Suspense writing is clearly French's forte. Rather than employing cliff-hanger tactics, such as ending chapters with striking discoveries, French relies on more delicate revelations to engage readers all along."
"Review" by , "Ms. French resists genre conventions defiantly enough to have written a long, rambling book, one that is more interested in character revelations than in 'Aha!' moments about the plot....Cassie herself remains a strong enough character to sustain interest..."
"Synopsis" by , French presents the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times-bestselling psychological thriller In the Woods.
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