And continuing with my attempt to catch up with my book reviews… Tara French’s The Likeness is the second in her series about Irish Guards, and while many of the characters are in both books, each stands alone. (I’d still start with In the Woods, primarily because The Likeness will spoil secrets in the previous book.)

Six months after a particularly nasty case, Detective Cassie Maddox has transferred out of Dublin’s Murder squad and has no plans to go back. That is, until an urgent telephone call summons her to a grisly crime scene.

It’s only when she sees the body that Cassie understands the hurry. The victim, a young woman, is Cassie’s double and carries ID identifying herself as Alexandra Madison, an alias Cassie once used on an undercover job. Suddenly, Cassie must discover not only who killed this girl but, more importantly, who is this girl? And as reality and fantasy become desperately tangled, Cassie moves dangerously close to losing herself forever.  (from the back cover)

It’s an odd situation, but even more odd is the one Cassie finds herself in after going undercover as the murdered woman. Alexandra was in an English graduate program and living with four other students in the department. And they are unnerving bunch. They’re insular, they don’t have a TV or a computer, they do everything together and, although they seem to welcome Alexandra back with open arms, one of them probably killed her.

Awesomesauce. Again, very well written, completely intriguing, couldn’t put it down. These are the most enjoyable books I’ve read this year.