I want so badly to like Tana French. I genuinely do. I feel like she's almost an author I love, but there's always one thing in her books that holds me back. I read In the Woods years ago and couldn't stand the ending. It wrecked the entire book for me. What wrecked this book was the premise.

Essentially, the main character Cassie is a cop who looks a lot like a murder victim. So much so, in fact, that they tell her roommates and friends that she survived the murder attempt, and Cassie goes undercover pretending to be her. For weeks. I just can't. You always need some suspension of disbelief when you read thrillers, but this was too much for me. I never for a second bought into the idea that this detective managed to fool her four roommates/best friends who she'd known for three years. Not a chance. If this was a fantasy story, sure maybe. But not a realistic fiction thriller. Doesn't matter how it's written, I could not get past that.

But the fact that I gave this three stars anyway is kind of a testament to how much I enjoyed all the other elements of the story. French writes really dense thrillers, and I love that. I love the way the story unfolds, the slow pace and the overabundance of details and scenes. I love her complex and frequently unlikeable characters. I love her writing style.

I can't recommend this book because I really can't get past that premise, but I want to keep reading her just to find a book I love. There's so much about her I enjoy, she's got to have at least one that I wholeheartedly adore.