I think this could have been a really great book. The premise was great, and I think it was well-written but not executed the best. The story was really drawn out and I feel like there was no excitement until the very end...whereas most books like this have little bits sprinkled throughout, so you're left wondering if X has anything to do with Y and Z. I also thought the random discovery that she had a twin brother was very strange; I don't know if it was meant to connect Marlitt to Craig's mom, but I feel like they could have been connected well enough through losing someone they both loved...or if it was meant to explain the German-speaking, but I feel like there was a different way to do that as well. The "plot twist" of the brother ruined what could have been a better ending, in my opinion.

Marlitt Kaplan is visiting her mother a German professor at the University of Georgia. She works with the campus police. She hears a scream and runs outside to find that someone was hit by a car. A hit and run. She wants the case and starts to investigate. It brings her to the fraternities and their secrets.

As I was reading this I kept hoping it would end already. Give me the information. It felt like long circles. The ending helped a bit but it wasn't satisfying.

As someone who went to college in Georgia and participated in the Greek system, I found the premise of this book fascinating. With The Resemblance, Lauren Nossett weaves a police procedural that will keep readers up late at night.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

THE RESEMBLANCE is a story that focuses on the dark, dangerous, ugly side of university life - fraternities, brotherhood, hazing, bullying, misogyny, injustices against race and religion. It's a story of privilege, loyalties, friendship and the burning need of humans to belong. It's a story of accountability and power . . . or the lack thereof. It's a story of murder.

Detective Marlitt Kaplan is visiting her mother on the campus where she teaches when screams are heard from the street outside. Rushing out, she finds fraternity brother Jay Kemp lying dead in the crosswalk - a victim of a grinning hit-and-run driver that witnesses swear looked exactly like Jay. Marlitt is familiar with the university's dark history involving fraternities and hazing and soon follows her investigation alongside partner Teddy White right back to the Greek system and the wealthy students whose parents wield enough power to cover up their indiscretions even when they cross the line into criminal activities. The things the detectives learn sends chills through Marlitt as they're reminiscent of haunting memories and ghosts from her own dark past. Soon, she's receiving threats, and it becomes apparent that the tangled roots of brotherhood may extend beyond the campus into the police department and city where she works. The story that ensues is dark, intense and complex bordering on a commentary on the dark side of university life.

Lauren Nosett has crafted an intense, dark tale with convoluted plot lines and complex characters maneuvering their way through an age-old corrupt university system with its ugly history as ancient as Rome. I enjoyed the heroine's tenacity, strength and dedication to doing the right thing in spite of the cost to herself, but at the same time she's prone to detouring from procedure to go off on her own with indications of immaturity. The investigation into the murder case goes in several directions which may cause some readers to lose concentration; however, the author does a great job of weaving it all back together by the end. I found the commentary on university life and fraternity culture to be eye-opening and compelling. THE RESEMBLANCE is taut, sinister and educational - a unique blend of psychological thriller and police procedural.

There are many tropes within a genre, I particularly favor college thrillers/dark academia.

Th Resemblance will forever be a favorite of mine. What baffles me is that I typically don't gravitate toward police procedurals and this one is the product of what would happen If a campus thriller made a baby with a police procedural.

I absolutely loved the fraternity spin and greek life attributes to the plot. The characters were so well done I actually felt hatred and that's an emotion I don't usually bask in.

Lauren Nossett, is an author to keep an eye on. This was a stunning debut that will be well loved amongst book lovers. Word on the street is Nossett, has a sophomore novel getting ready to publish, titled "The Professor" .

Before you head on over to your favorite bookstore to pre-order The Professor, check out the teaser below for The Resemblance.

Teaser:

Never betray the brotherhood

On a chilly November morning at the University of Georgia, a fraternity brother steps off a busy crosswalk and is struck dead by an oncoming car. More than a dozen witnesses all agree on two things: the driver looked identical to the victim, and he was smiling.

Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene. An Athens native and the daughter of a UGA professor, she knows all its shameful histories, from the skull discovered under the foundations of Baldwin Hall to the hushed-up murder-suicide in Waddel. But in the course of investigating this hit-and-run, she will uncover more chilling secrets as she explores the sprawling, interconnected Greek system that entertains and delights the university’s most elite and connected students.

The lines between Marlitt’s police work and her own past increasingly blur as Marlitt seeks to bring to justice an institution that took something precious from her many years ago. When threats against her escalate, and some long-buried secrets threaten to come to the surface, she can’t help questioning whether the corruption in Athens has run off campus and into the force and how far these brotherhoods will go to protect their own.

This was a fast paced book that kept me turning pages! The setting is the University of Georgia and a fraternity guy is killed in a hit and run. As the case develops, it becomes apparent that sinister things are happening among the fraternity brothers. Wealth and privilege bring protection but Detective Marlitt Kaplan is going to stop at nothing until she brings justice to these protected students.

So I requested this one as soon as I read the description - I love college campus thrillers and anything with secret societies. But man was this a slow-moving book for me! Definitely had the cozy vibes that people are loving with mysteries right now, like The Maid, but it was almost too slow of a burn for me that just fizzled out at the end. I didn't get much relief with the ending either. I do think others will think differently though! I could see this book just not being totally 'me' as a reader, but others would enjoy it. Detective Marlitt Kaplan was a cool character, but as I was in Greek Life in college, I didn't love the negative stereotypes that came with it!

I enjoyed the premise and setting of the story. It was vivid and easy to picture. The pacing was off at times and would go down different paths that I feel like just wasted time and tried to confuse the reader. It sadly wasn't my favorite but I am glad I had the opportunity to read it.

The plot was interesting. There seemed to be an excessive amount of details so the pacing was very slow at times. It did keep my attention but I would have enjoyed it more if it was shorter.

The description drew me in, as I'm always up for anything in the dark academia realm - however, I could not get into this one. The characters were all very stereotypical, and felt very predictable yet forced. Life's too short.. had to DNF at 27%

I liked the concept of this. It was definitely intriguing, someone killed by a person that looks exactly like them. I like a storyline that deals with secret societies despite the fact that I really don't like fraternity/sorority storylines. It felt like the author definitely felt the same way as me about greek life in that they despise it. That really came out in the storyline very strong. overall, a good storyline, would recommend for a quick read.

I tried so so hard to get into this one. The fall and dark academia vibes of the cover really intrigued me, but I could not finish this one, no matter how many times I tried. This wasn't the book for me, but you may love it!

Greek Life: a good way to make friends in a new place, or a nefarious set-up for hazing, alcoholism, bullying, and sometimes death?

The main focus of this novel is a fraternity brother's hit and run, and the two detectives investigating it - Marlitt Kaplan and her partner, Teddy. We find out that Marlitt has a history with fraternity life, and it's not a good one, so as she begins the investigation, Teddy already feels as if her past is influencing the investigation. It's clear that the fraternity is very powerful, and that many people are doing everything that they can to keep Marlitt and Teddy from the truth, but as Marlitt continues to overstep her boundaries, it starts to become clear that she could be ruining her own investigation.

What I loved about this book was Marlitt. The author made her so real, flaws and all, and I loved that even when she was told to forget the investigation, to let it go, she continued to press forward knowing that something was very wrong and she was the only person who could solve it. She's a fighter and persistent, and I loved both of those qualities in her. You can only hope there are Marlitts in real life, ready to fight for those who can't fight for themselves.

This book was NEAR perfect. Unfortunately the pacing was a little off and I felt that certain things came up in the novel that were unnecessary. However, this doesn't take away from what a great novel this is, and I definitely recommend it!

Review-The Resemblance

Marlitt, a police officer, is visiting her mom, who is a college professor, on campus when a student is struck dead by an oncoming car nearby. It seems like a regular hit-and-run, until all the witnesses start agreeing on one thing-the driver was smiling. Consistently and frustratingly blurring personal and professional boundaries, Marlitt’s investigation takes her deep into the corruption of the college Greek system and just how far fraternity brothers will go to protect the Brotherhood.

This book is billed as a cross between The Secret History and The Likeness, which, let me tell you, is a very high bar for me as I love both those books. I don’t think The Resemblance lives up to that hype, but still a solid mystery/thriller that also tackles frat bros. Brahs? Chads? I don’t know. I’m old.

Thank you net galley and flatiron books for a copy of this book!

I gave this one a chance. I got halfway through and it felt laborious. I decided to give up then and try another book.

While the book was interesting and caught my attention I found that some aspects of The Resemblance weren't to my taste.

Perhaps it was the harshness of the main character or some of the external aspects of the plot that weren't to my taste but I found it kind of lost my interest at some points.

As the book progressed it did grow more interesting but then it got REALLY confusing when certain things happened (I won't share because of spoilers) and while this may have been due to listening to it as an audiobook, I just got confused about who was who etc.

Overall, not a bad book at all, but just not one that truly held my attention so much. I also felt the personal aspects of the MC's life came out a little too late - left us wondering to the end when perhaps an earlier reveal could have helped explain a few things? I also had this odd feeling like I had missed reading a book 1 but have looked and this doesn't' seem to be part of a series?

Not a bad book at all and perhaps it just wasn't to my taste but others would enjoy it.

!Note: Language in this one.


My rating: 3.5*

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Thanks to NetGalley for this gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

A fraternity brother is killed in a hit and run, and the detective on the case uncovers chilling secrets about the Greek system as the lines between her personal and professional life start to blur. I liked the character development and I thought the focus on Greek was like interesting and fresh. I enjoyed the first half more than the second, but do recommend for anyone who enjoys a detective mystery.

Read this if you like: Procedural cop thrillers, college student stories, whodunit

On a chilly November morning at the University of Georgia, a fraternity brother steps off a busy crosswalk and is struck dead by an oncoming car. More than a dozen witnesses all agree on two things. The driver looked identical to the victim, and he was smiling.

Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene. An Athens native and the daughter of a UGA professor, she knows all its shameful histories, from the skull discovered under the foundations of Baldwin Hall to the hushed-up murder-suicide in Waddel. In the course of investigating this hit-and-run, she will uncover more chilling secrets as she explores the sprawling, interconnected Greek system that entertains and delights the university’s most elite and connected students.

Wow. This was wild, suspenseful, and shocking. This had a good pace. I enjoyed the characters, especially Marlitt. I didn't love the ending and there were parts that left me with questions. The general story was great. I was shocked to see it's a debut. I highly recommend this!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Flatiron Books for the gifted e-book ❤️

This is Lauren Nossett's debut novel, and she blew this one out of the park. Fantastic writing, great storytelling. Marlitt is a police officer investigating a hit and run at a university. Witnesses say that not only didn't the driver slow down, he looked like the victim. Marlitt embarks on a quest to prove that she deserves to be on this case-even when her own life is at risk-and begins investigating the fraternity the victim belonged to. Marlitt gets a lot of pushback on this. The list of suspects is endless, and the end definitely took me by surprise. Nossett did a fantastic job of detailing her characters and telling this story. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

The Resemblance is a police procedural, with fraternities at the core of the mystery. I found this to be well-done and was quickly wrapped up in the story.

I have to say, the whodunnit was a surprise and that rarely happens to me. Despite knowing what happened, I couldn't quite grasp the WHO that made it happen, so the ending was indeed enjoyable LOL. That alone is a huge plus for me.

The main character was another plus for me. She's annoying at times, and makes questionable choices, BUT it's relatable and drew me to her even more. I love strong female leads, but I also love ones who can be strong, and vulnerable too.

If you enjoy mysteries, campus settings and police procedurals, I think this is a solid read to snatch up. I sincerely appreciate Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed herein are my own.