The Likeness by Tana French

Pages (Paperback): 512 pages

Publisher: Penguin

Released: May 26, 2009

Quick Thoughts: I was on the fence about In the Woods, it was a beautifully written novel, with an amazing lead character, but the plot was predictable and one of the plot points never gets solved. When I heard about the Likeness, I thought that the 1984 murder case would be talked about here and perhaps solved. Unfortunately, it turns out that this is a separate novel, with the lead character not being Rob *gasp* but Cassie.

Review: Did I mention that there was no Rob in this novel? No, that's not true, he's mentioned, but he isn't really there. *sigh*

Moving on.

In The Likeness, French tells the story of Cassie, Rob's former partner, taking on a special case. The murder division found the dead body of Lexie Madison, who looks exactly like Cassie. Not only that, but she is using the name that Cassie and her former boss, Frank, made up when she was undercover. Since there are no leads to the case and it seems to be going no where, Frank decides to send Cassie undercover as Lexie Madison and find out what happened. Cassie, much to the dismay of her boyfriend and fellow police officer, agrees and soon she is studying Lexie's mannerisms and speech, so that she doesn't get discovered.

In order for this to work, the police lied to Lexie's roomates, telling them that she did not die but is simply unconscious. The roommates are suspicious, but once they see Lexie (who is now Cassie) come back into their lives, they toss their suspicion aside and welcome her in with open arms. Cassie soon finds herself sucked into the lives of her roommates and actually feels happy, despite being in the same house as a murderer. This leaves her with two choices, either continue on with the case and find the killer, causing her new friends to hate her and losing her new life. Or, remaining with the friends and letting the case drag on.

The fact that Cassie is able to sneak her way into the house seems a little implausible. If the roommates were such good friends with the original Lexie, then surely they would have figured out that there is something fishy with Cassie. I think French purposely did this to show that the roommates wanted Lexie, regardless of what happened, just so everything can be the same. I understand this, but the amount of times Cassie messes up and for them to do nothing about it, just doesn't work for me.

However, one of the things I liked from the first novel does show up here. French has a way of taking likeable characters and doing a 180 on them. Even though this is a rehash of what happened to Rob and Cassie didn't fall as hard, it was still fun to read. I think I love train wrecks.

Final Thoughts: The Likeness has some good points, but the plot about Lexie is a bit too much to stomach. I know there were many readers who loved Cassie in the previous novel, but seeing her take the lead here made me realize how much I miss Rob.

I wonder when he's going to come back?

Grade: 7 out of 10

The Likeness: A Novel is available at bookstores and Amazon.

Sometimes smaller is better, if you agree, then check out the shorter version of this review at 5 Line Reviews

In the Woods by Tana French

Pages (Paperback): 464 pages

Publisher: Penguin

Released: May 27, 2008

Quick Thoughts: Can I just start by saying that this has a gorgeous cover. It's simple, yet beautiful at the same time. I love it. And that is more or less the reason why I wanted to read this book. What can I say, I'm easy to please and very shallow when it comes to book covers.

Review: One day, Adam Ryan and his two friends decide to go into the woods and play, something they usually did. Except, only Adam of them comes back and they can't seem to remember anything from that day. Twenty later, Adam, who now goes by the name of Rob, is a police officer. His past remains hidden from almost everyone that he knows and he intends to keep it that way. But when a girl is murdered in the same woods that his friends disappeared in, Rob will have to face his past whether he likes it or not.

Okay, maybe not, since the past is never solved. One of the things I really wanted to read about was his past. Two kids disappear, one kid returns disheveled with blood on his shoes, he doesn't remember what has happened and no one has a clue either. His friends remain missing and his memory does as well. This just has oodles of opportunity to make a great mystery novel. And yet, nothing ever comes from it.  The mystery surrounding the girl who died, 20 years later, is predictable and not sadly not as interesting as Rob's mystery. Even though I do understand why French didn't resolve the original murder, I still wish that there was more about it. Not everything will be solved and some things will always remain a mystery, but I still want to know what happened.

One thing I loved though is how French dealt with Rob. He went from a likeable character that you want to root for, to someone who is just wrong, stupid, and unlikeable. His fall from grace was truly a joy to read. This may sound bad, but the more he fell, the more it made me want to keep reading to see how much of a bigger hole he could dig himself into. That and the fact that Rob constantly mentions that he's a very good liar, makes me wonder if he actually knows more about what happened to his friends then he is letting on.

The other characters couldn't really hold a candle to Rob, he was by far the most interesting person in the novel and the one who I wanted to read about the most.

Final Thoughts: From what I've read and seen, this is a book that you either love or hate. I simply fall in between.I do remember one part, near the end, when Rob is telling us about what happen and how we, as the reader, are fooled. Except, I wasn't. It's not because it was predictable (even though it was), but because throughout the novel there are little hints here and there, many from Rob narration, that guide you towards the truth.

In the Woods is a beautifully written novel with a character that is unforgettable, sadly, the book is predictable and we never find out what happened to Rob's friends.

Grade: 7.5 out of 10

In the Woods is available at bookstores and Amazon.

Check out the smaller version of this review at 5 Line Reviews