The Likeness

By: Tana French

Narrated by: Grainne Gillis

Length: 21 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

Still traumatised by her brush with a psychopath, Detective Cassie Maddox transfers out of the murder squad and starts a relationship with fellow detective Sam O'Neill. When he calls her to the scene of his new case, she is shocked to find that the murdered girl is her double. What's more, her ID shows she is Lexie Madison - the identity Cassie used years ago as an undercover detective.

With no leads, no suspects and no clues to Lexie's real identity, Cassie's old boss spots the opportunity of a lifetime: send Cassie undercover in her place, to tempt the killer out of hiding to finish the job.

©2008 Tana French (P)2016 Hodder & Stoughton

Good Story. Wo Sind De Anderen Bücher?

What did you love best about The Likeness?

Didn't enjoy it as much as In The Woods but it's engrossing and exciting. This one required the listener to suspend disbelief a little further.

Any additional comments?

Since it's part of a series, I'd like to hear them all. It drives me nuts that Audible only has some of the series and not the whole thing. Not even in order either. Unless you're prepared to learn German, good luck ever moving on to book 3. Or 4. If you don't care about continuity though you can listen to book 5.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Cops with morals

The first few pages of the book had hooked and I wanted to find out who this "Lexi Madison" person was. Unfortunately, this excitement and interest in the mystery evaporated as the head of an undercover branch for the Irish police came up with a wild, cruel idea. Since this happens very close to the book it's not really a spoiler. Two of the three police are of the "ends justify the means" type.

In the end they ruin four people's lives and don't get more then a smack to the fingers and a wink while being told not to do such things again. This turned me off.

If you're looking for gold, this is it!!@

This is a wonderful story that peers into the hearts and relationships of 4 lost souls and a young policewoman trying to regain her soul.
The narration had just the right touch.

too ling

the author didnt know how to finish the book.... the last few chapters are futile and tiring

Not as good as Book 1

After listening to Book 1, I couldn't wait to read the next book in the series but was disappointed. First, it was a different narrator, with a completely different accent, which made it very hard to connect with the Cassie in the second book. She sounded completely different and it felt like it was a different character.
Second, the character of Cassie was not consistent with her personality established in the first book. Third, there was little continuity between the two books. Finally, the story bogged down in the middle and the "detective" aspect of the series seemed to be forgotten. It seemed to take forever to get back to the original premise. I did finish the book, but it was a difficult slog. I would be hesitant to read book 3.

Breathtaking!

Another fantastic story.. Very original characters that make you want to hear more of their story.

Decent book

The premise of this book was very promising, but fell a bit short for me. It definitely slowed down in the middle, and wasn't as exciting as it could have been. I like my mysteries to surprise me but unfortunately this one kind of bored me. The narrator was great though!

Great suspenseful novel

I read the previous , Faithful Place. I really enjoyed it and liked its hero, Frank. Frank is a small part in this book. I also liked the previous narrator. At first I was not wild about the narrator but she grew on me and was perfect for this novel. I am now a fan of this author. This story is different and suspenseful. The characters are well developed and interesting. I encourage others to jump in and try this novel out.

The ending saved it

Not the best of her books, with a strange and improbable story, but the last 2 hours or so saved the book for me.

I sewed us together at the edges with my own hands

I rate this as one of Tana French’s best books, it can stand on its own because of mood and setup.

It is a better book than The Secret History by Donna Tartt and that was a good book, they share some of the setting, mood and some of the social concerns, but the Likeness comes on top because it is less laden with angst and more dynamic. Beautifully written with great characters that jump off the page and a small town that is like every small town, full of secret, full of perceived history and real history.

One of the things that impressed me most was that it felt like it all was happening suspended from shared time in its own universe, without losing credibility. The pace is perfect and the psychological pressure on Detective Cassie Maddox is presented with realism and feeling for her and her likeness.

If you like Tana French this is not a difficult decision, she always delivers more than a thriller, deeper than just a message book or a formula; this is real writing for our times.

16 of 24 people found this review helpful

Awesome

Could not put this audio book down. Fantastic narration and excellent characters. Can't wait for number three.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

Tourette's Wins

The narrator did a stunning job of this story.

The author's tourettes had tourettes. At the begining of the story every 5th word was a swear word sometimes more often even that that!

Seriously, the amount of swearing that took place at the start of the book told me that the author desperately needed to fill her publisher subscribed word count.

As the content increased in quality the amount of swearing dropped in frequency.

Conversely, the reverse was also true, as the story thinned or weakened the swearing rose.

There were quite large chunks of story that were rich and deep and engaging that proved that the author is no idiot but it also left me wondering why she wrote it the way she did.

if you ditched the swearing you could easily lose a tenth of the written content of the book but I believe that the book would also increase in quality. Both in having a tighter storyline and less wastage in fluff text.

Summary, gripping story ruined by all the ''filler nonsense'' and sheer volume of bad language

Loved it

Brilliant book. I came in on he second one wondering if it would matter that I didn’t know the characters but it didn’t.

Going back to get the first one. Now.

Brilliant brilliant book.

Long and Labourious

A long story that didn’t need to be. Supposed to be dealing with post-grads but written as if they were 6th formers. The basic story is tenable but over written and over long. The narrator struggled well and the ‘phone call narration ended up being disrupted of the flow. Lots (and lots and lots) of ‘f’ words which became tedious in the end.

Perfect

Would you consider the audio edition of The Likeness to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version but I cannot imagine any better experience than listening to Grainne Gillis bring this wonderful story to life.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cassie because she empathises with the character she plays whilst undercover, I enjoyed her responses to pretty much everything.

What does Grainne Gillis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Grainne Gillis is a wonderful narrator, her range of accents and voices was brilliant, far better than my own mind would have conjured, she brought all the characters to life in a way that I've rarely experienced with an audiobook.

Any additional comments?

This book could not and should not ever be abridged in any way, it is a perfect length for the story.

Impossible

Though the storyline was wholly unbelievable Tana French gave it credibility . I could not put it down . At times the suspense was unbearable . I was totally involved in the drama .

Good readers, very impressive.

Overly descriptive in some locations. Interesting, rushed ending. Will try another by same author

Could not stop listening

What made the experience of listening to The Likeness the most enjoyable?

I must admit at first i thought Tana was going to be one of these writers that has to describe every little thing but after we got passed the murder at the beginning it just got better and better. I think the combination of a good writer and good narrator made this an enjoyable book to listen to

What about Grainne Gillis’s performance did you like?

I like the face she did not annoy me as a reader

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If it was possible i would have

Any additional comments?

This was my first Tana French book and before I'd even finished the book i wanted to buy more

Fascinating tale

I lost far too much sleep because I couldn't resist hearing "just a little more." Characters were fascinating and the interactions within the house intriguing. Lexie was both central and peripheral. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.