The Likeness (Crime/Mystery/Thriller)

The Likeness by Tana French

Following up In The Woods, Ms. French brings us a new murder to solve from the perspective of Det. Cassie Maddox. A young woman, bearing not only an eerie resemblance to Det. Maddox, but also the name of an alias Det. Maddox used while working undercover, is found dead in an abandoned cottage. To solve this bizarre case, Det. Maddox goes undercover once again, slipping into the shoes and the life of the murdered woman in an attempt to solve the murder from the inside out. Lots of twists and turns develop; I was very much on the edge of my seat and left guessing to the end.

Though I was disappointed that some unresolved issues from In The Woods were not actually resolved in this follow-up novel - this isn't a sequel in the sense that it continues the story from the previous book; rather, it's an entirely new case with some of the same characters from the previous book - this was another book I could sink my teeth into and that had me turning pages late into the night.

Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys mystery/thrillers.

In the Woods (Crime/Mystery/Thriller)

In the Woods by Tana French

Until I read the The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy last year, it had been years since I had read anything from the thriller/mystery genre, and I was reminded how much I enjoy it.

In the Woods takes us to modern day Dublin, Ireland, where Detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox, both rookies on the Murder Squad, take on the investigation of the brutal murder of a young girl. Twenty years before, Detective Ryan had ventured into the woods with his two best friends, and only he came out alive, his friends gone without a trace, and his memory wiped clean. Can the two events be related? In trying to solve the murder of the young girl, Det. Ryan attempts to delve into his own past and struggle to resurrect his memory of the day his friends disappeared - and the process takes a great toll on him.

Although I found the relationship between the two detectives unlikely, and aspects of the story somewhat unsatisfying, all in all, this was a book that I could sink my teeth into. The author has a gift for luscious descriptions and creating scenes that come alive. Full of suspense, it had me on the edge of my seat. I've always been extremely fascinated by forensic science, and this story is full of it. Much of it is disturbing; a lot of people talk about Alice Siebold's The Lovely Bones and the graphic nature of the young protagonist's murder and how repelling it is; if one is familiar with that book and has steered clear of it because of the content, this may be a book to steer clear of as well. However, if you like a good mystery/thriller, I highly recommend this one.