3.5 stars

"It's not true you can't miss what you never had. You can; and worse, it' all rose-colored and golden because it lives in your imagination, unspoiled by the reality of hurt feelings and petty rivalries and whatever else might happen in bigger families with everyone vying for attention or control."

I was immediately hooked on the premise of this book. It very much had the vibe of the Secret History - dark academia and the chilly fall setting. The mystery itself was exciting and had me reading so I could find out just who was responsible. While the mystery had some unexpected twist and turns, the core of the book was more of a commentary on greek life and frats then on the murder itself. As much as what happened in the frat itself was important, it felt like the author was focusing more on Detective Kaplan's personal issues and past than uncovering the mystery itself.

Marlitt is the character we follow on this case. She is a compelling mc, and as she was the only female detective in their town's small police force, you can't help but root for her to be the one to solve this case. Her backstory and demons are slowly revealed as the book progresses and it's fascinating to realize why she is so determined to solve this case. However, it did bother me that the majority of the book was spent on her trauma. As detective fiction, I wanted the book to focus more the the mystery rather than the mc's backstory.

This was unfortunately, the biggest disappointment I have read this year. The premise was promising. I mean, I don't think we have seen a bigger year for dark academia books. Secret society that leads to murder? Murder mystery? You have everyone sold.

So then, what ruins a book that has such potential? For me, it was the main character. I think I would've enjoyed this book way more if the main character was not in it. Her voice was annoyingly hypocritical, judgmental, and blinded by her own ignorance. I don't mind a character that experiences growth throughout the book. A character can start off hard, judgmental and with many flaws but without growth, what is the point of the character? I mean, I'm not saying that your character has to be perfect or make a complete turn around by the end of the book. In all honesty, it just felt like the author was using her main character to voice all her own judgements and that she was making sure to check off all her political boxes.

A cop that constantly bashes other cops and calls them out on being dirty and then proceeds to do her own dirty calls? Hypocritical. A cop that bases her entire opinion of frat houses on personal past happenings? As a cop... when you are supposed to be unbiased in your line of work. Especially when it's an investigation? Hypocritical. There was not a moment of redemption for her. There was not a moment where she was not completely ignorantly yapping her mouth. Being in her head was truly one giant eye roll- page to page.

Honestly, the only thing that kept me going was the murder mystery. There was a possibility for some paranormal aspects as our murder at the beginning seemed to be killed by himself. Most witnesses accounted seeing the victim drive the car. I was hoping for the secret society to be rooted in some sort of darker society that would bring out their inner Hyde and start killing their counterparts. With higher expectations for the end to redeem it, I just ended up overall disappointed. The character was too annoying and I can't believe I finished it for that reason alone. The author was more concerned in throwing out every political aspect she was concerned with rather than telling a story. She could've done both but one took over the other.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The atmosphere of this book is perfect for this time of year. It takes place in November on a college campus giving the reader the perfect dark acadamia vibes. I love how from the beginning this book takes off and steadily continues to move. There is a moment I felt the book was lagging a bit. Immediately the direction of the book shifted and I was hit with a twist I did not see coming! This book is highly entertaining and will keep you guessing the whole way through. There is even a plot twist at the very end of the book the author throws your way. The Resemblance also hits on heavier topics as well. We see the characters struggling with identity and the lengths they feel they need to go to feel as though they belong.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and gave it 3.75/5 stars.

For full review, including synopsis and age rating, see link below.

This was one of my most anticipated reads for the year and it was such a disappointing read. I attended the University of Georgia and cringed on page 2 as the author referenced “the university’s arches”. With any research into the university’s history, she would have known that it is The Arch, singular and upper case (not the arches). Additionally, just within the first 5 chapters, I grew annoyed with the typical stereotypes of UGA students and Greek life that she built the story on. I DNF’d the book and would not recommend to anyone.

Thank you Flatiron Books and NetGalley for my advanced copay in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded up.
The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett takes an in depth look at Greek Life in Athens, Georgia. Marlitt Kaplan is a police detective who happens to be on campus when a hit and run accident happens. The victim is a member of a fraternity and it is apparent from the start that Marlitt is not a fan of Greek life.

Marlitt and her partner discover a a number of secrets in the fraternity. We also slowly come to understand why Marlitt has such a problem with the Greek life. There are a number of characters who follow stereotypes in the book, it certainly wouldn't be a hit with anyone who has fond memories of their fraternity of sorority days. Luckily, I am not one of those readers.

I liked the story and the mystery within but it seemed a little slow getting to the point. I really wasn't sure what to think of Marlitt to begin with, there were a number of times when I questioned how she could do things that were obviously against protocol, a little too much of a renegade. But, she got her man and suffered a lot of loss along the way.

There seemed to be something lacking bit I read it in three days and it kept me guessing, so those are positives!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this honest review.

A police detective who works in her hometown is in her mother's office when she hears a loud noise outside. After rushing outside, she finds that a student has been killed in an apparent hit-and-run. As the detective undertakes an investigation of this incident, it is not initially clear whether it was a tragic accident or something more. Drawn deeper into the life of the victim, it seems that both he, his friends, and others in his life have secrets that they were, and are, desperate to keep hidden ... and they are willing to go to great lengths to make sure that happens.

An intriguing mystery, full of strongly drawn characters and twists that will keep you guessing.

A mixture of police procedural and indictment of Greek organizations on campus that will appeal to many but which didn't fully satisfy, Detective Marlitt Kaplan is by. chance the first on the scene when Jay Kemp, a member of the Kappa Phi Omicron at the University of Georgia is killed in a hit and run. She has had bad experiences with frats - slowly revealed- which she's convinced are the root of all evil on campuses. Her hunt for the killer leads her down a rabbit hole, alienates her partner and others in the police force, and opens up a can of worms. She's a great character but the others felt far too trope-y. No spoilers from me. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. There are some good twists in this page turner.

This book had that great old money, elitist atmosphere, as it takes you behind the scenes into a world that few people get to see: the world of legacy fraternities, who are considered "above the law." It presents a chilling atmosphere and the author really delivers by combining a great mystery involving a member of the fraternity with more and more revelations about this fictional Greek system's inner workings. It was fascinating as the puzzle just got deeper and more complicated.

I really loved it!

Note: I say this as a sorority alumna who had a very, very positive experience in the Greek system. The key is really understanding that this is a fictional portrayal of some events that can happen in the real world (such as hazing, etc.) but that most organizations do not participate in such events.

Back to the book. there were plenty of suspects and rabbit holes to go down, which lead to a lot of guessing about what the final outcome was going to be. I did not guess what going on before it was revealed. It's really quite a doozy and I was impressed by the deep storyline the author was able to create out of a "simple" hit and run case.

I also loved Marlitt as a character and hope to see more of her in the future. She was pretty quirky, a little annoyingly overeager at times, but overall I really liked her. I hope this turns into a series with her.

Overall, this is a great mystery with a superb atmosphere, wrapped in a complex and deep storyline. I greatly enjoyed it!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the main story with the fraternity and how the hazing rolled into everything. It started off kind of slow and I considered DNFing, but about halfway through things started picking up and I needed answers. However, I felt like the epilogue wasn't really needed. I think the whole German thing could have been left out. I feel like that part really distracted from the rest of the book and, since we never really got a solid answer, just wasn't needed. I don't think the connection between that and Craig was significant enough to be a justification for Marlitt's behavior.

Lauren Nossett has joined my "author's to watch" list with The Resemblance, her debut novel.

This police procedural set on a college campus (UGA) is sure to draw your interest. Homicide detective Marritt Kaplan witnesses a hit and run accident on the campus which leaves frat member Jay Kemp dead. Kaplan and her partner Teddy White investigate his death which leads them to delve into the fraternity and its' members. All is not well by a long shot! There are plenty of secrets there to be uncovered.

The case pushes some personal buttons for Kaplan, who is still trying to get over a loss, making it difficult for her to maintain her objectivity. She's after justice, whatever it takes.

I loved the relationship between partners Kaplan and White, and all of the twists and turns the author presented. I look forward to reading her next book!

My sincere thanks to Flatiron Books who allowed me to access an e-ARC of the book via NetGalley. The book is scheduled to be published 11/8/22. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

3.5 stars

While I enjoyed this overall and did find myself engaged and excited to know what happened, this has a few head-scratching moments that were thrown it and then not completely followed through. The protagonist also had some "are you new here" moments in regards to her detective work and there were too many moving pieces, making the final reveal convoluted for me. Overall, a decent thriller I would recommend if you're a fan of the genre, but I wouldn't say it's mind-blowing.

I loved that this was set at UGA, because I am a huge Bulldog fan and very familiar with Athens, but mostly this was just an okay read. There was a little bit of history about the campus at the beginning but this was mostly about the fraternities. I enjoyed the look into fraternity hazing and found the "basement" creepy but overall the book felt disjointed. The attack on Marlitt was a bit random but I felt the reactions from the police and the university were sadly accurate in regards to who gets protected in these situations. Also, there was a scene that immediately told me who the perp was and it took Marlitt much longer to make the connection than it should have. There were mentions of things that had happened with no context and then never mentioned again (for instance, the close call with Teddy) and then there was the random Germany "twist" at the end which seemed oddly out of place. I would probably still recommend this as it was an interesting mystery but needed more cohesiveness. I did like that this wasn't your typical ending for a book like this and I will be interested to see if the author returns to Marlitt or goes with something else for her next book. 3 stars. Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review. (Go Dawgs!)

This thriller starts off with a hit & run and takes you on a wild ride. Nothing comes easy for our female detective… she has a complicated back story and a less than ideal family life, but she is determined to follow her instincts when everyone around her is sure of a dead end. I did find some areas of the mystery a bit confusing and had some unanswered questions, but in the end was satisfied at reading an original thriller.

An intriguing premise, but it's let down by poor execution of the actual plot, weak pacing, and a protagonist who's got too much going on (what was the deal with that twist at the end?) but not enough depth to hook me. Too much reliance on cliches and stereotypes, some clues that are dangled too obviously despite the protagonist not picking up on them for a long time and other revelations that are relatively leapt-to assumptions. My interest was initially piqued by the resemblance of the title, but we take too long to get back to that, while the plot twist about halfway through is just...a lot, and seriously derails the book for a long time. As a thriller, it isn't particularly thrilling, but as a whodunit, it feels a little unfair - it's more police procedural than classic mystery, but I would still have liked more emphasis on figuring out who dun it than on the superficial and rather obvious indictment of the Greek system. I spent most of the book unsure if I was meant to consider Marlitt an unreliable narrator, taking things too personally because of her own coyly-hinted-at issues with Greek life, or to take her hatred for all things fraternal (or even collegiate, to be honest) as truth. By the way it ended, I suppose the latter, but it mostly just read as Marlitt being bitter for reasons we aren't clearly given for too long. And maybe it's just me, but I still don't understand why the solution ... was what it was, even after rereading it a couple of times.

A waste of an interesting premise, ultimately.

A solid, good detective novel set in the world of academia and fraternities. A hit and run of a young fraternity brother by someone who looks exactly like him has his housemates and detective, Marlit Kaplan, stumped. As she investigates soon she finds herself the target of sinister attempts to derail her investigation. With her past also plaguing her ability to impartially investigate, Marlitt must defy the odds and identify this look-a-like killer. This was just a good detective novel. Nothing stood out to me as being super notable and other than the overdone trope of the dangers of the Greek fraternity system nothing was really negative. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

This is definitely a slow burn murder mystery. After a hit and run death on a college campus Detective Marlitt Kaplan believes that the death is more than just an accident. The detective struggles to separate the current death with one during her college days.
I really struggled to get into this story and the characters, it seemed to take until about the 40% mark before things picked up. This book focused a lot of negativity on Greek life and unfortunately fell short for me.

If you enjoy a slow burn mystery that blurs past and present, this may be the book for you.

Thank you Netgally for this advanced copy for my honest opinion and review of this book. I was not reimbursed or influenced in anyway for my review.

First Impression: Wow, Ms Nossett is one angry chick at Greeks.

The premise of this book was super promising, a college student is rundown in broad daylight by a driver in his own car by someone who looks just like him.
From there it turns into the inner monologue of Marlitt a very angry young cop. She pretty much despises all things College and/or Greek Life. She witnesses the crash and immediately begins her witch hunt to figure out which Frat Brother or Sorority Girl did it. Her whole pursuit is very juvineille and reckless.
The ending was a mess, very convoluted and confusing. Then there is the whole epilogue.......
Sorry to say this one just didn't do it! I am not even sure I Can say I enjoyed the writing. It was very long and too much of Laren NOssett's clear message thrown in the readers face.
I don't read for an agenda or bias, I read for entertainment

The Resemblance fails to deliver a compelling campus mystery. The author attempted to blend the story of a detective to a suspicious death on campus, but neither held their own enough to deliver something unique to an already packed genre.

A fraternity member is killed in a hit and run, and Detective Marlitt Kaplan jumps to solve the case. Her own loss of a friend, in college, blurs her ability to separate her case and her past. The pieces of a strong thriller are there, but nothing new is brought to the table of a corrupt fraternity system and police department.

HOLY SMOKES this book is so good! It’s so different from anything I’ve read in the thriller category. I love a good dark academia themed setting and adding the fraternity aspect was done so well. Will definitely be picking up more from this author!