The Likeness: A Novel

Written by Tana French

Narrated by Heather O'Neill

New York Times bestselling author Tana French, author of the forthcoming novel The Hunter, is “the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years” (The Washington Post) and “inspires cultic devotion in readers” (The New Yorker).

“Required reading for anyone who appreciates tough, unflinching intelligence and ingenious plotting.” —The New York Times

In the “compellingˮ (The Boston Globe) and “pitch perfectˮ (Entertainment Weekly) follow-up to Tana French’s runaway bestseller In the Woods, Cassie Maddox has transferred out of the Dublin Murder Squad—until an urgent telephone call brings her back to an eerie crime scene.
 
The victim looks exactly like Cassie and carries ID identifying herself as Alexandra Madison, an alias Cassie once used as an undercover cop. Suddenly, Cassie is back undercover, to find out not only who killed this young woman, but, more importantly, who she was.
 
The Likeness is a supremely suspenseful story exploring the nature of identity and belonging.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Feb 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9780525635314

Tana French

Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the United States and Malawi. She is the author of In the Woods (winner of the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity and Barry awards for Best First Novel), The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbour (winner of the LA Times prize for Best Mystery/Thriller) and The Secret Place. She lives in Dublin with her husband and two children. She keeps a website at www.tanafrench.com

Reviews for The Likeness

[Sheri Humphreys · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Getting into the undercover situation and the four people she was watching went a little long for me. It was a good read.

[joligula · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The likeness by Tana French is not a bad book. Well written, interesting story and maybe a little bloated. After reading several of her books I have begun to notice some hints of formulaic writing…..millennials all sitting around smoking, drinking, arguing etc. This gets kind of annoying. I have every intention on reading the remaining books in her catalogue…since I already bought them. But to me they are starting to just come across as weak. But Dear Mrs. French. I have not given up yet.

[gwendydd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With the millions of murder mysteries that have been written, it's quite a feat to do something fresh and creative. In this book, Cassie, who used to work first as an undercover cop and then on the murder squad but now works in domestic violence, is called to a murder scene and is surprised to see that the victim looks exactly like her. Not only does the victim eerily resemble Cassie, but she goes by the same name as Cassie's undercover persona. When the investigation turns up no immediate leads, Cassie takes the daring move of impersonating the victim and infiltrating the household where she used to live to try to solve the murder.

In the hands of a lesser writer, this ridiculously contrived scenario would feel preposterous and could never fill 500 pages, but French is very talented, and makes this scenario not only feel plausible, but fascinating. The mystery is more about the victim than her killer, as Cassie tries to understand who she was and why she stole this identity, and also questions her own identity as she slides in and out of her role. This is a very engaging read!

[cgalvin-774225 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Jesus Mary and Joseph. The Secret History meets Irish Gothic Noir.

[markm2315 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was going to begin this brief review with Despite an unbelievable premise, but this is an excellent and thought-provoking thriller and I think it finally overcomes my reservations.

[laytonwoman3rd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A page-turner that kept me trying to read way past my bedtime, even when I was falling asleep. This second novel in the "Dublin Murder" series features Detective Cassie Maddox, who agrees to return to undercover work when a woman's body is found in an isolated cottage. Not only is the woman dead, but she is a dead ringer for Cassie, AND she's been using an identity that Cassie invented for herself in a different undercover operation years earlier. Who was she before she took on the Lexie Madison identity, and how did she end up here, bleeding out from a small stab wound, and what's with those four misfit housemates of hers up at Whitethorn--can Cassie really convince them that she is Lexie, recovering from that stabbing, and keep it together long enough to find out who wanted to kill her? It's great stuff, skillfully handled, if a bit wordy at times.
Read and reviewed in 2012

[jfranklin592262 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first book in this series ticked me off so bad I almost gave up on reading the rest........the books ending was ambiguous to say the least....but, I loved her writing style so much I decided to give a few others I already had a go. I haven't stuck to a certain order.....that isn't nessesary for this series and I chose to pick one that sounded really interesting.....now I've gotten hooked.

Tana has a tendency to add paranormal elements to her work.....this is something I appreciate deeply, as it isn't often seen in this genre.....that said, I wish she would either give it substance or forego it altogether.

The story here was a bit outlandish.......but still a great page turner.

[patl_53 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love how Tana French writes characters and dialogue. More specifically, I *love* her characters. Really feel for them.

This book (and the first in the series) do really well as audiobooks, too. You know how you have a good audiobook when you take the long commute home, or you sneak away for 10-15 min at work here and there to finish up the book? That.

[beentsy_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book even more than the first. A ridiculously improbable situation and yet, such a compelling story. The characters were amazing and so well fleshed out I just lost myself in this book every time I opened it. Tana French's writing is really quite wonderful.

[elisabethzguta · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this author's first book, so picked up the second. This one was good but too often the repeating of what was going on inside the main character's head was too much. It made the plot drag. I did enjoy the new characters who were co-owners of the house and the friendship angle brought into the story. However, I didn't like the pace. Overall not as good as the first book in the series but good enough for me to try book 3 in the series.

[jarichardsonsmyth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a strange read – but in a lovely way!! I have just finished it and I have so many questions, and so many feelings.

First, the characters.

French’s first person narrative is incredibly seductive – I read a lot of first person narrative fiction but rarely do I lose myself completely in the character. In The Likeness, I was literally lulled into becoming Cassie / Lexie. I lived at Whitethorn with Abby, Rafe, Daniel and Justin. I became invested in the house, and in the friends. Each of French’s characters are richly drawn, flawed and beautiful, and each makes perfect sense.

Second, the story.

Plain and simple, this was a really good story. Some parts moved quickly, and some, like when Cassie in Lexie at Whitethorn, moved slowly, creating this hazy, languid narrative – kind of like when you see movies or commercials where someone in running in a field slowly, running their hands through wheat or flowers, with the sun shining brightly behind them and obscuring part of them, soft slow music playing. Like that. But in a house where you drink, hunt for treasure, sand some floors, go to school…

Third .... then that would be giving you spoilers.

I highly recommend this book!

[judygibson-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was my first book by this author, recommended by Anne Bogel on her podcast What Should I Read Next (episode 176). One of my favorite genres is mystery and action novels and I was confident this would be a good one. But the brilliance of the writing took me by surprise. Every nuance is completely filled out, not just enough to keep the story moving along, but with enough detail to explain why it has to exist and enough background to understand why the main character Cassie saw it that way.

The story, so complex and tricky in detail, such great psychological motivation on all sides. Wonderful characters, interesting setting. The only thing I really didn't get was why Cassie disobeyed orders and protocol throughout by not telling her superior things she had found out. Well, I guess I understand, she was enchanted by the group of friends, but still, she was a good cop, and there was a good chance she'd be killed by the murderer. .

Tana French is now on my list of Must Read Everything authors.

[bookczuk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another compelling Tana French story. 2022 read.

[josephking6602 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Way too long; i couldn’t finish it. Ilost my curiosity over ‘who-done-it’

[lisa2013_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I forgot to mention in my review of the first book, In the Woods, about how much humor there was and how needed it was. This book also has that same wonderful humor. It’s a brilliant book. Great story, particularly great characters, pheromonal ambiance and gorgeous writing.

One of my pet peeves with mystery novels is when a main character makes stupid choices and Cassie does that here. Examples: not telling the team that she found Lexie’s diary, not revealing all sorts of things she should have shared and not just to her boss but also to her love interest. The extent she goes to with Daniel to protect all four of them is crazy, not having her gun AND her mike on her almost all of the time is crazy. I love Cassie and I think I sort of even understand her but I got incredibly exasperated with her.

The characters are complex. The story has a lot of suspense all the way through. I felt very sad at times. I did love the ending. Most of the way I was galloping through not wanting to stop and wanting to know what would happen and that whole time I was worried about what I would find to read next and wondering if it could possibly hold my attention as well as this story.

There were a lot of very long chapters but as the book went on many of the chapters got shorter and the book became harder and harder for me to put down.

I appreciated the way it was wrapped up well but not too fully. I was grateful that we learned so much about the dead woman. I would have liked to know more about Daniel’s background.

I feel like an idiot but I’m not 100% certain who stabbed her and who was the father of her baby. Anyone know for certain? I know I must have missed the clear reveal. I think I know but I’m not sure. This is one reason why I still prefer paper books. It would have been worth it to flip pages to important passages to see. With the e-copy it just wasn’t worth it to try. I might be able to find out in reviews with spoilers or from doing an online search. This is embarrassing that I am not sure.

A few quotes that I liked:

“I found out early that you can throw yourself away, missing what you’ve lost.”

“I wanted to tell her that being loved is a talent too, that it takes as much guts and as much work as loving; that some people, for whatever reason, never learn the knack.”

“the kind of intense secret life that a lot of orphans and onlies have”

I simultaneously read the e-book and audiobook editions. I love the audiobook narrator and love her Irish accent for Cassie and her voices for the others too.

I think I liked this book more than the first book.

4-1/2 stars

[ffortsa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Second in the Dublin Murder Squad series, and maybe just a little less believable. Six months have passed since the events of [In the Woods], and yet Cassie Maddox is convinced to go undercover, impersonating a murder victim who looks so like her that her colleagues think it IS her at first. But can her uncanny impersonation reveal the killer? And what temptations will she face? Interesting for a near-Stockholm syndrome plot. And once again I was up reading past 1AM.

[drmom62 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Tana French paints incredibly vivid characters & drama with her words. However, I agree with other reviewers that she is somewhat long-winded and tighter editing would make a better book.

[thewanderingjew_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Likeness-A Novel, Tara French, author; Heather O’Neill, narrator
This very engaging novel has a cryptic theme. Does everyone have a double? Is it possible to truly step into the shoes of our lookalike? Kathy Maddox is a police officer. In a past undercover investigation gone wrong, she had created the role of Lexie (Alexandra) Madison, a fake persona, in order to infiltrate a drug ring. When a young woman, coincidentally named Lexie Madison, turns up dead, she appears to be Kathy’s double. Who is the person who is now playing the role of Lexie Madison? Did her murderer think she was actually the Lexie Madison of that undercover drug investigation? Was it a case of mistaken identity or was this just a random murder, and if so, why?
Kathy’s boyfriend, Sam O’Neill, is on the murder squad. He had quite a shock when he found the body of this young woman, and at first, thought it was the woman he loved. Then he wondered, why was this woman murdered? Was Kathy safe? Frank Mackey was another investigator there. He worked with the Undercover Division. He wanted Kathy to recreate the role of Lexie Madison in order to find out why she was murdered, who was the murderer, and what was the dead woman’s true identity? Sam thought it was too dangerous and didn’t want her to do it, but Kathy thought if they might be after her, she should do it, and she believed she could safely step into the role, solve the murder mystery, and restore her reputation. She was wired up, after she had supposedly recovered from her critical stab wound, and she moved into the old house that Lexie and the four roommates now owned and occupied.
The house was inherited by Daniel March. He gave an equal share of it to each of them, and they slowly began to restore it. They had little money, so it was a slow process, but it seemed like a happy, joint venture. At first, however, Whitethorn House was in a state that could only be described as dilapidated. It was decaying and had quite often been the victim of vandalism. Why didn’t Daniel include his cousin Ned, who had wanted to sell the house and develop the land? Why did John Naylor want to frighten them away? Why didn’t the village of Glenskehy welcome them? Who was the mysterious “N” that was acquainted with Lexie, and why did they know each other? So many questions arose, so many missing answers were sought.
The other roommates, in addition to Lexie, were Justin Mannering who was very emotional, shy and also gay, Rafe (Raphael) Hyland who was quick tempered, Abby (Abigail) Stone, who seemed to be the calming element in the group, the one to turn to when things got out of hand; she was the only other female in the quintuplet of roommates. All five agreed that there would be no talk of their pasts, and all were connected in some way to Trinity College. It turned out that Lexie had multiple identities and personalities. She was a chameleon.
Who was the real Lexie and what motivated her was one of the main themes of the mystery. Another concerned moral questions. Was the investigation ethical? Would it turn up the answers sought? Would it fail or succeed? The book is long, and in many ways, it needed some editing since it seemed as if several of the tangents could have been books on their own. Who was sabotaging the group’s efforts? Who else wanted the house and why? What was troubling Lexie? What was she planning secretly? Were there any romantic involvements in the house? Did they really get along? Was one of them the murderer? Were they all innocent? Lexie was not a straight arrow. She was an enigma, but each of the characters carried their own secret burdens and were misfits of sorts.
There is a great deal of misdirection in this novel, and there were a bit too many twists and turns. Grudges and hidden secrets dominated the narrative. Deception was a common trait of several characters. Daniel seemed to be the one who was the level-headed, intellectual leader of the group, always ready with a solution or a plan for one. Is he always really cool, calm and collected, always sure of himself and his plans, or is it an act? Abby adored him. Did Rafe and Justin also adore him? What about Lexie? Although they appeared, on the surface to have the perfect arrangement, happily living together in harmony, were cracks in their relationship developing?
While the book is exciting, parts of the story were overdeveloped and some characters were underdeveloped, like Naylor and Ned. The investigation alone, with the role of a double, was enough to make the book completely interesting, so for me, a little too much time was spent on the tangents that soon became tedious. They often took over some of the narrative and distracted from the main plot. Frank’s love life seemed to be a trivial addition, and Lexie’s past became too convoluted.
Still, in the end, the story captured and held my interest. Did the killer really want to murder Lexie or was it simply an accident? Did Kathy/Lexie lose sight of her purpose, at some point, in her desire to merge with the group? Did she run the risk of betraying the very law enforcement group she was working for? Was she compromising the entire investigation or actually solving the mystery? The novel knits together many disparate themes.

[travelgem · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thought the first quarter of the book could have been condensed. It almost lost me. In my opinion, the point could have been made in a much shorter version. That being said, I ended up loving this book. The characters, including the House, were interesting and they, along with the plot, kept me reading and truly enjoying the book. Congratulations to Tana French.

[sbenne3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A well written book about solving a murder through undercover work. It is more than a mystery or thriller though because it revolves around some pretty interesting and well developed characters. It is a long one and there were a few things in the plot that I didn't think wrapped up very well. But all in all would recommend if you like a thriller with not much violence and lots of character writing.

[reading_fox · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this. Once again Tana has managed to capture the joy of friendships. And unlike the first book the narrator is someone with whom you can empathise and engage. The situation is incredibly contrived, but allowing that one off is interesting problem and well investigated.

Cassie has left Murder squad and gone to work in a less demanding and potentially more rewarding Domestic Violence. But one day she gets a call from her boyfriend (still in Murder) who sounds incredibly panicked, asking her to come out to a remote ruined cottage in the countryside. There she finds her old Undercover boss, Frank, and a body - which looks almost exactly like her. What's even more astounding is that all the ID they can find, states that the victim had been living under one of the IDs Cassie had used whilst undercover - a completely invented person who'd only been around for a couple of months, has somehow come to life and then been killed. Frank comes up with the cunning wheeze - since they nothing about the girl's history, or what led her to be there, Cassie could re-invent her Lexie persona, and they'd tell the everyone she'd just been in a coma, and had now recovered.

Cassie is less amused by this idea, and Sam quite angry, but in the end they can't get any further information and run with it. Cassie goes to live with four pHD Students as Lexie. She quickly belnds in with their tight-knit community and slightly quirky lifestyles. They are insular, with a 'no pasts' rule that bonds them tightly as a unit, but frustrates Cassie's search for who and why she was killed. However cracks start to appear in the façade and she knows if she takes a few risks and pushes a bit the answers will appear. Neither her boss nor her boyfriend are too impressed, but there's little they can do without compromising her position, and she's still the best lead they have.

Some of philosophising is little weird - although that probably makes sense from the students point of view - but they never seem to realise just how privileged their situation is.

Great fun, cleverly written the camaraderie of the friends is a joy to read.

[samsattler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don’t think I’ve ever reacted to a crime novel before the way that I reacted to Tana French’s The Likeness (the second book in the author’s Dublin Murder Squad series). Almost from the beginning of the book, I found its basic premise to be implausible, if not impossible. There was simply no way that I could ever convince myself that an undercover cop could investigate a murder by moving into the victim’s home — especially when the home’s other four residents knew the victim so intimately — and pretending to be that dead woman. After two false starts during which I frustrated myself for a month, I finally put the book aside at page 140 for almost three months before finally picking it up again. And that’s when something funny happened. About a dozen pages later, I realized that French had finally quit trying to convince me that such an investigation really could happen, and was ready to tell me the rest of the story. That shift in emphasis let me finally suspend my disbelief long enough to lose myself in The Likeness for the first time. Now what I find most unbelievable is how much I ended up loving this novel and its characters…all of them.

Detective Cassie Maddox thought she was forever finished with murder investigations after what happened to her on her last one. But now, just six months after leaving the squad, Cassie has been called to the scene of a murder by her boyfriend Detective Sam O’Neill, who is still a member of the Murder Squad. When Cassie looks down at the dead woman, she immediately knows why Sam called her there: the victim could be Cassie’s identical twin.

And that gives Frank Mackey, Cassies former undercover boss, an idea: What if they pretend that the victim somehow survived long enough to make it to the hospital? What if a few days later, the “dead girl” comes home to live with the people she lives with and claims that she doesn’t remember a thing about the incident that nearly killed her? What if the other four people living in the house fall for the charade long enough for Cassie and Frank to figure out which one of the four murdered the dead woman? And what if they don’t?

Even Cassie and Frank are a bit surprised when she seems to have successfully passed herself off as the dead Lexie. But they know that it will take only one little slip, one oddity out of character with the real Lexie, to expose Cassie to whomever killed Lexie. But instead of being overwhelmed by the precariousness of her situation, Cassie reacts in a way no one could have foreseen. She finds herself enjoying the lifestyle and the people she’s living with so much that she begins to protect some of their secrets from her boss. What could possibly go wrong now?

Bottom Line: The best thing about a Tana French novel is the characters she creates. French does not write short books (this one is 466 pages long), and that gives her the time needed to create very real, if often eccentric, characters. The reader is given all the time needed to learn not only the basics about each character, but all the little things about them that make them individuals: their petty rivalries and jealousies, their pasts, their fears, their hopes for the future, and where all the scars are hidden. I only reluctantly climbed into their world this time around, but I’m very happy that I made it. Don’t make the mistake I almost made by giving up on The Likeness too soon. Keep turning those pages.

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

On the whole, I feel like Cassie was smarter and more likable as a side character in the last book then she was as the main character here, but, that's not everything. I also really think the entire book would have been stronger edited down some. But overall I found it interesting and it was easy to get into. And I particularly enjoyed the last quarter or so, when everything comes together. Also it was nice to have a narrator who actually did the Irish accents.

[indygo88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cassie Maddox, previously working on the Dublin murder squad in Tana French's first book of the series, is now an investigator in domestic violence. The work is somewhat routine and predictable, but she's fairly comfortable with her new placement and in her relationship with Sam O'Neill, who still works the murder department. But then a young woman is found murdered, and this young woman not only looks identical to Cassie, but was using Cassie's previous alias (Lexie Madison) from her previous undercover days. Curious and also itching for a little more excitement in her work, Cassie agrees to go undercover as Lexie in order to discover the murderer.

As others reviewers have alluded to, the premise of this novel (basically assuming the identity of someone else and assimilating oneself into their lives without them becoming any the wiser) is a bit farfetched. But if you can get past that, it's an intriguing plot line and fun to explore. I enjoyed this novel and liked the way the mystery gradually unfolded, though I think I liked French's first book, In the Woods, a bit better and I think that was because I really missed the character of Rob Ryan and the relationship he and Cassie had in that one. But overall still a good read. I am ready to go dive into book #3.

[usuallee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you can get past a plot that is absurdly far fetched to say the least(that a cop looks/sounds/acts enough like a dead girl to fool her close friends/roommates, then it is a good literary mystery. Sequel to the far superior In the Woods. Freench is a terrific writer.

[katybee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Second in the Dublin Murder Squad series. Well-written mystery with a detective named Cassie Maddox as the main protagonist. I think that reading the Dublin Murder Squad series in order provides a great psychological background for each subsequent book. (Cassie plays an important part in the first novel of the series, "In the Woods".) An interesting view of how bad decisions play out in a detective procedural.
Due to a group of closely-connected graduate college students at the core of this novel, it's reminiscent of Donna Tartt's 'Secret History' in many ways.

[ldvoorberg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Better than book 1 in the series! Granted, the protagonist here seems very different when you view events from her perspective, but I think that's half the point. Regardless, this is a great goth-esque whodunit with good psychology and what it might be like to literally live in another person's shoes. Really liked this one, engaged to the end.

[eas7788 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

MILD SPOILERS Best part is the depiction of the close friendship and how she is sucked in. I liked how desirable being part of the group was at first and then the shift. Ending and solution were mostly satisfying. Compelling protagonist.

[juju2cat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good solid book but I miss the Cassie/Rob connection. I feel the book was too weighed down with the small town politics issues.

[pgchuis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The set up for this story was excellent, but the idea that Cassie could succeed at her undercover mission was a bit out there. Then hours into it she started concealing things from Frank, her handler, and gradually (and for reasons I didn't buy) she concealed bigger and bigger things. This was beautifully written, but very long, and I fear for Sam - I think Cassie will break his heart.