Santa Rosa Mystery Book Club & Tana French

Today's guest post is from Amy Ball as she reports on this month's selection from the Santa Rosa Mystery Book Club - The Likeness by Tana French. 


What if you saw your twin, and you didn't have a twin? And what if your first glance was at her dead body? And what if you could take over her life - would you do it?

This is the opening of THE LIKENESS by Tana French. And after an opening like that who wouldn't be hooked?

THE LIKENESS was the November book club selection for the Santa Rosa Mystery Book Club and it was an absolute hit.

Set outside Dublin, Domestic Violence Police Detective Connie is called to the scene of a murder only to find herself starting at her twin.
　　

Connie's police history is long and complex, including time in undercover, murder and now on the domestic violence squad. Summoned to the scene by her former undercover boss and her current boyfriend, she is offered the chance to go undercover as the dead victim, Lexie Madison, which incidentally was her undercover persona.


While she doesn't actually jump at the chance, she is intrigued. Lexie, a Ph. D student at Trinity College, lived with four other Trinity students in the large old mansion, in the small village of Glenskehy. As Connie integrates into Lexie's life she comes to love her "new" family, almost losing track of her goal of finding Lexie's killer.


I had not read books by Tana French before this. She slowly pulled me in until I had to know what happened next. At times I could almost feel myself in the living room with Connie as she grew to new her roommates as Lexie. Tana skillfully entrenched Connie into her new identity and I found myself empathizing with her as she struggled to get to the truth. It was a fun book to read and unlike anything I had read before. I will definitely read more books by Tana French.