The Likeness

Aberdeen, 1841. Woodcarver John Grant has an unusual new commission - creating a figurehead to feature onstage in the melodramas of a newly-arrived theatre group. Simultaneously, he’s also trying to unravel the mystery of the death of a young woman.

His loving relationship with Helen Anderson, which began in The Figurehead, has grown stronger, but conventional marriage holds no charms for her. And yet they do want to live together.

The story’s various threads create echoes between the stage fictions, Helen’s involvement in her father’s business, a sea voyage, and John’s investigations. In the end, both the mystery death and the romantic dilemma are resolved, but in unexpected ways.