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Last week, I reviewed the movie The BFG. Sim took us to cafe in London that specializes in cereal! Becky reviewed Blood Red Snow White and the Anthony Trollope classic, The Macdermots of Ballycloran.

Books: The Likeness by Tana French (Dublin Murder Squad #2)
Genre: mystery
Publisher: Penguin Books
Publication date: 2008

Source: library e-book

Second book in the Dublin Murder Squad series

Summary: The Likeness by Tana French follows In the Woods, the first book in the Dublin Murder Squad series. Unlike most mystery series, this one doesn’t follow a single detective through multiple cases. Cassie Maddox was a major character in the previous book, but not the point-of-view character through most of the book. The Likeness tells a story of a case she takes on while still feeling traumatized by the experiences from In the Woods.

In The Likeness, Cassie Maddox goes undercover. It’s not the first time she’s been undercover. The first time, she took on the persona of Lexie Madison. Now, a Lexie Madison has been found dead and, creepily, she looks just like Cassie Maddox. How to find her murderer? Pretend she wasn’t murdered and have Cassie live her life instead. The only problem is Lexie’s life may be a whole lot more appealing than Cassie’s ever was.

Thoughts: I was mesmerized by this story, just like I was with In the Woods. In fact, I haven’t been able to get into another novel since I finished this one — and that never happens to me.

I did have a few problem moments. Do you know how when you’re reading a YA novel, you sometimes want to shout at the young characters to go talk to an adult? That’s forgivable in YA because young readers want to see the characters solve the problems themselves. I found it more annoying when it was clear that Cassie needed to call on the resources she had as an undercover agent and didn’t do it. But, as I said, the story had me in such thrall that I got past my annoyance and moved on with the plot.

Most of the story takes place in a village in the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin. My trip to Ireland took us through that area one day and it’s beautiful! So, it was fun to picture the scenery as I read the story.

Appeal: This is a terrific mystery series set in Ireland. I suggest reading In the Woods first. The story in The Likeness stands alone, but a couple of the characters continue their development from the previous book.

Have you read this series? What do you think?