4.5/5 stars.

The second in the Dublin Murder Squad series, this book is told from the point of view of Cassie Maddox who we met in In The Woods, and takes place a few months after the end of that story. I liked this one more than the first, the story kept me really gripped throughout and the psychological aspects were even better. The story hinges on your ability to accept the coincidence of a detective and a murder victim being doppelgangers, something not everyone can get past, but it didn't bother me at all, it was simply a plot device to get Cassie into the unique position of infiltrating someone's life so thoroughly, something that was fascinating to witness so I can forgive a slight stretch of credulity.

Cassie is a much more likable character than Rob was but she frustrated me just as much, I wanted to slap her upside the head for most of the book, with her irrational decision making and her getting far too emotionally involved with the people she's investigating. It never crossed over into making me not like or sympathise with her though, she was suckered into the idealism and magic of the dreamlike life she found herself in, she got swallowed up by it and was in far too deep to see it. The four students she goes to live with, and Lexie the murder victim, were all really intriguing characters, seemingly so wonderful and clever and their lives so whimsically perfect, but it was clear that there was something more sinister hidden beneath the surface, I both loved and hated watching their world come apart at the seams. The ending was much more satisfying than that of In The Woods, the whole book was just that step up, and despite its pretty whopping page count I flew through it. Definitely becoming a bit of a fan of Tana French. On to book three...