The Likeness
Ratings146
Average rating4.1
A fascinating portrait of a woman deconstructing herself, and nearly destroying herself in the process. Not as startling as [b:In The Woods 237209 In the Woods Tana French http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1194628861s/237209.jpg 3088141], the denouement came far too early and tension slipped. Regardless, this work solidifies [a:Tana French 138825 Tana French http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243599201p2/138825.jpg] as a talented author of very profound psychological “thrillers”.
i dont even know where to start i feel fucking crazy. the way tana french makes you feel like you know her protagonists so thoroughly that finishing the book leaves you with kind of grief like saying goodbye to a friend. the prose here is so beautiful that at times i had to stop reading and just let what i'd read sit with me.
“Do you see now why I believe in miracles? I used to imagine time folding over, the shades of our future selves slipping back to the crucial moments to tap each of us on the shoulder and whisper: Look, there, look! That man, that woman: they're for you; that's your life, your future, fidgeting in that line, dripping on the carpet, shuffling in that doorway. Don't miss it. How else could such a thing have happened?”
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I think it was only in that moment I believed she was dead, this girl I had never seen alive. I'll never be free of her. I wear her face; as I get older it'll stay her changing mirror, the one glimpse of all the ages she never had. I lived her life, for a few strange bright weeks; her blood went into making me what I am, the same way it went to make the bluebells and the hawthorn tree.
I don't think you will find a thriller as exquisitely written as this. If you told someone the outline of this book it would sound quite boring, 5 students living in a house one gets stabbed but who did it,3 cops, couple of other minor characters. The scope of it seems so small and yet its 693 of wonderfully written, intricately plotted brilliance. Every raised eyebrow and creaking floorboard, its all important, it all means something. Huge step up from the first book.
For a novel based on two wildly improbable coincidences, this sustains interest pretty well over nearly 700 pages. Like her first novel, In The Woods, French draws you into the story, and what begins as an investigation becomes a forensic examination of relationships and their dynamics. By a third of the way in, I'd forgotten this was a murder investigation. It's quite a skill, but the appeal is different from a more typical thriller. The suspense and whodunnit elements take a backseat to the interpersonal details of interactions at a granular level. Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.
Fantastic! The story is captivating and the writing is beautiful. The ending brought me to tears. My fourth book in the Dublin Murder Squad and favorite, hands down!
3.5
Gorgeous writing, really beautiful, but it somehow didn't meld well with, what in my mind should've been a straight up procedural. For one thing, the whole thing is pretty preposterous, so the less time we spend on it the better as far as believing in the doppelgänger contrivance on which the plot hangs. Secondly, when the reader (myself) hates the victim, kind of strongly dislikes the good guys, i.e. the police, and is rooting for the suspects? You've got problems. Thirdly, it shouldn't have taken me a month to read this, but was interest was easy swayed by any new shiny thing. Not a good sign. shrug
Anyway YMMV and as I said the writing is worth the ride.
There were moments that grabbed a hold of me and hooked me right in, but then about two-thirds of the way in I just didn't care who killed Lexie and I wanted this to be over. Cassie lost her mind and became so obnoxious and the Fab four were just as insufferable. And it seemed like the book was never going to end. Nothing surprising was revealed but the case was more or less solved and yet there were still more chapters. Ugh.
Enjoyed book two of the series, now on to book three: [b:Faithful Place 7093952 Faithful Place (Dublin Murder Squad, #3) Tana French https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1291165900s/7093952.jpg 7350661].
Beautifully written with an intriguing cast of characters. Reminiscent of “The Secret History” with an obsessive group of university students living together in an old mansion when one of them is murdered. Though the initial premise is unlikely (a doppelgänger detective!!) once you accept the possibility, Tana French invites you into a house of obsession, secrets and red herrings. The mystery aspect will hook you, but the remarkable prose will keep you there.
The ending left me with too many questions. Both books I have read of hers have done that and I like to understand the characters better and the end of the book. Just not for me.
This book was wonderful. Every time I opened it I felt like I just fell right through the pages to stand next to the characters. I felt like I could hear the music, taste the wine, feel the sun and rain. The mystery was there but not overly present, if that makes sense. It drove the story but that wasn't the sole focus.
Go. Get it. Read it. Then come back and tell me thank you.
Good writing. Tana French manages to create a police procedural with overtones of a gothic novel. She creates characters with flaws that she can exploit to produce gripping drama. I would give the book 4 stars if the plot were not implausible in several ways. In spite of that, a well-crafted, enjoyable book.
This book was just OK for me, admittedly, crime/thriller novels are not really one of my favorite genres, but I had heard a lot of praise for this author, so I thought I would give it a try! I found it a bit slow going in the beginning, but around page 150 it started to pick up and kept my interest for the rest of the book. The storyline on the whole was just so implausible and that really distracted me through the whole novel..I wanted more “WHY” and it just never came. I kept reading and reading and waiting for that moment when the sky becomes clear and the angels sing and you gasp and exclaim “aha! So that is why or what happened and ya, it never came. All that being said I did enjoy this author's “writhing” the dialogue was fast paced and witty and flowed beautifully making it a very enjoyable book to “read”. I have the author's other book on my reserved list with the library so I will also give it a read and see if I enjoy it more. :)