The Likeness by Tana French

All of y'all know I am a sucker for a good series, but Dublin Murder Squad is my first murder series, if you can call it that. From my understanding, only one character carries over in each book and I have been told the books can be read out of order (minus The Secret Place and The Trespasser). I am not certain how true that is yet, because the events in The Likeness take place in the months after In the Woods, but now we are getting into semantics and until I read the next one, Faithful Place, I will not know. Anyway, The Likeness is pretty great.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

Cassie Maddox left the Dublin Murder Squad after the last case with her partner Rob, when their air tight friendship imploded and Rob screwed up everything. She is now working in DV (domestic violence) and has started a relationship with Sam O'Neill, the other detective from the last case. Everything seems to be returning to normal when Sam calls her one morning and is clearly flustered, and tells her to come to his crime scene...discretely. When she gets there, she find Sam, Frank Mackey, her old handler from her undercover days, and a victim that is the spitting image of Cassie. The vics ID says her name is Alexandra Madison; Lexie Madison was the name Cassie used in her undercover case. It is up to Cassie to figure out who this new Lexie is and where she came from. Returning to undercover, she plays Lexie and gets close to her friends and, possibly, Lexie's killer. Hopefully Cassie can figure it out before it is too late.

For me, the plot of The Likeness is just as intriguing as In the Woods. Cassie and Frank made up Lexie so that Cassie could learn about a college drug ring. When "Lexie" was stabbed, she disappeared again, just like any alias would. What is even more interesting is that the victim looks exactly like Cassie, who is orphaned and has no siblings. These things are just more than mere coincidences and just like Cassie, I needed to know what was going on. Everyone has a doppelganger, but that does not mean you have the same name.

(Source: Giphy)

As for who killed Lexie, it seemed pretty obvious that it was one of the roommates. Daniel was to obvious murderer, but after Abby lets it slip about Justin's crush on Rafe, and Rafe saying that Lexie was pregnant with his baby, I am pretty sure it was Justin who did it. He was the nervous wreck through the entire book. I also think he may have blocked out that he was the one that actually stabbed Lexie, but has his assumptions that it was him.

"My throat closed up tight till it ached even to breathe, and I shouted through it, 'I was pregnant!'

They all stared at me. It was so quiet all of a sudden, and their faces were so absolutely still and blank, I thought they hadn't understood. 'I was going to have a baby,' I said. I felt light-headed; maybe I was swaying on my feet, I don't know. I didn't remember standing up. The sun streaming across the room turned the air a strange, holy, impossible gold. 'It died.'

'That's not true,' Daniel said, bu he wasn't even looking to see how the others had taken it. His eyes were fixed on me.

'It is,' I said. 'Daniel, it is.'

'No,' said Justin. His breath was coming as if he had been running. 'Oh, Lexie, no. Please.'

'It's true,' Abby said.She sounded terribly tired. 'I knew, before any of this even happened....'

Rafe said softly, almost gently, 'You bastard fuck.' He was standing up, in slow motion, with his hands curled in front of him as if they were frozen there.

For a second, taking in what that meant-my money had been on Daniel, no matter what he claimed to Abby-used up all my mind. It was only when Rafe said again, louder, 'You fuck,' that I realized he wasn't talking to Daniel. Daniel, still framed in the doorway, was behind Justin's chair. Rafe was talking to Justin...."
'My-Oh, God. That was my child. Dead. Because of him.'" (pp. 427-428)

Rafe would not be attacking Justin unless Justin had done something, I don't know, like kill Lexie.

(Source: Giphy)

Overall, the book is amazing. It is a great follow up to In the Woods. Just like in the last book, there is great character development and the plot keeps you guessing. I cannot wait to dive into Faithful Place.

Rating: 9/10

Author: Tana French

Series: Dublin Murder Squad (Book 2 of 6)

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery

Dates Read: March 26-April 1, 2019