The Likeness By Tana French Viking, 2008 Fans of Tana Woods’ gripping, atmospheric debut In the Woods will rejoice in the appearance of a sequel, The Likeness, also starring the endearingly flawed police detective Cassie Maddox and bringing back many of the same characters who made the first book such a satisfying treat. In this new book, Cassie is still reeling from the climactic events of In the Woods when she’s brought back into the world of murder investigation by the only thing that could: a young woman is found murdered outside Dublin, and her I.D. claims she’s Lexie Madison – which was the name Cassie used years previously, during undercover work. Add to this the fact that the murdered girl looks just like Cassie, and the plot is off and running.

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It’s an intricate, fast-moving plot, and it will keep French’s fans – and new readers – turning the pages. Some of those fans may notice what I did, a slight flabbiness creeping into the prose, a slight staleness in the descriptions, a slight stalling in the action sequences. The Likeness is a lesser book than its predecessor, though longer and more complicated. Chunks of it read like first-draft material, as in this scene where Cassie is reprimanded:

If it hadn’t been for the others in the next room, the volume [of her boss Frank’s yelling] would have been through the roof – when Frank is mad, everyone knows all about it. I did a small quick flinch and got my head at an appropriately humble angle, but inside I was delighted: being bollocked out of it as a disobedient subordinate was a huge improvement on being batted around like a suspect. Getting over-enthusiastic, needing to prove yourself after a bad slipup: those were things Frank could understand, things that happened all the time, and they’re venial sins.

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Of course, there are first drafts and there are first drafts – even a little off her game, Tana French is still a strong, involving writer. I hope for her next book she leaves Cassie with the measure of happiness she achieves at the end of The Likeness Rollin’ with the Nines release and strikes out for pastures new. A third Cassie story would be a mistake: a jolt is needed.

                                                                                                                          –Steve Donoghue