Tracy B. (tracybrown) reviewed on 6/9/2009

I have not read "In The Woods" by French, so coming into the scene with "The Likeness" allowed me to have no expectations. Immediately the premise of the book captured my imagination and I enjoyed the style and pacing of the story to the point that I turned down other activities while on vacation last week.

Pluses: Sharp dialogue, absolutely exquisite descriptions of the "house characters", and French beautifully conveys the longing of main character Cassie/Lexie. The world French creates inside the house is surreal, but again, the reader may find it inviting to picture herself as a part of the group living there. French does a great job of creating longing in the reader too.

Detractions: Bogs down a couple times... but my suggestion is to push through it. French eventually moves the story onward. Main character Cassie is sometimes a bit over the top - but what do I know? I don't hang out with Irish female detectives. Still, French could have toned her down a bit and she still would have had a great main character - and more believable.

Noteworthy: Although on one hand it's nice to have "all" the questions answered at the end (well, MOST of the important questions anyway), the author spoon feeds a bit too much in those last 30-40 pages. Still, it's hard to ding French for answering the reader's silent wondering. But I found the revealing ending to be a bit reminiscent of a Murder She Wrote TV scene. (Oh, I happen to like Murder She Wrote, but this isn't the same thing, so I wish French would have been a bit more tight-lipped.)

Result: Highly recommend to those who loved the movie Dead Poet's Society, the book "The Light of the Evening", and who can handle a little bit of the creep factor.

I have already ordered French's first book, "In The Woods".

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