The Likeness - Tana French

This is the follow-up to French's debut novel, In the Woods, which I read a couple months ago at Colleen's suggestion. The Likeness focuses on Cassie Maddox, the better half of the homicide duo featured in French's first novel. The underlying premise of this novel is unbelievable. Years ago, Maddox worked undercover as a college student in Dublin named Lexie Madison. She ditches the identity when her assignment ends, but years later, a young woman carrying Lexie Madison's identification is found murdered. Madison is a dead-ringer (no put intended) for Maddox. So, in an effort to find the killer, Dublin homicide covers up the death and sends Maddox back in undercover - to live with Madison's eccentric four best mates - the prime suspects in the murder. And no one seems to suspect a thing. Maddox has trouble with a few details - how much does the "real" Madison smoke? Which vegetables does she like? And who could possibly have been the father of Madison's unborn child? Yet, despite the ridiculous premise, I found myself feverishly wanting to find out what was going to happen. French takes a bit too long to get Maddox into her undercover position, with drawn-out hemming and hawing on Maddox's part. The end is also drawn out, with the four roommates giving elaborate (read: boring) explanations for their strange behaviors. There are some books that I don't much enjoy while I'm reading them, but afterwards I think more about them and I find they served a much more important use than I'd originally believed. French's books are kind of the opposite. With both In the Woods and The Likeness, I really enjoyed myself while I was reading the books - they are suspenseful, and while reading late at night, the creaks in my own house definitely made me jump. But, once I was done with the last page, I found both strangely forgettable. That being said, for those interested in murder mysteries, you'd be hard pressed to find one better written and more enjoyable in the moment.