I love books set on college campuses or the world of academia so I was excited for this one. Unfortunately this one fell flat for me. I just couldn’t get into the story and had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. Anyone who is a fan of slow burn mysteries or books set on college campuses should give this one a try.

Oh boy! Sadly, another one bites the dust for me. The Resemblance started off on the right foot, but after 32% in, nothing else notable occurred. I still managed to trudge on till 48% and at that point, I just ended up skipping all chapters till the end when it is finally revealed who the perp was and the motive. It was a reveal that stretches the imagination.

I feel neutral about the characters. There were so many and they probably couldn't be fleshed out as much as they should have been.

The plot should have been a simple whodunnit, but it got somewhat convoluted when tangential events entered the picture. And those events really took away from the whodunnit mystery.

I'm not sure if I want to read anymore of this author's novels, but I'll keep an open mind. For now, however, The Resemblance rates a dismal one star.

I received a digital review copy from Flatiron Books through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Marlitt barely has a chance to sit down in her mother’s office before screams from the quad draw her attention. She is up and sprinting out of the room before her mother has a chance to tell her don’t. She rushes over to the scene of the accident and asks people to move away. Being a cop, Marlitt takes control of the situation until more uniforms and an ambulance arrives. Unfortunately, the young victim is dead. Like most of the people standing around observing the accident victim, he looks like a student too. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Marlitt is elated. She is first on the scene so nobody should be able to take this case away from her.
Before the ambulance arrives, her partner pulls up. As with any investigation, Marlitt knows the first 24 hours are crucial. Interviews with the students in the area reveal a startling discovery … the observers who noticed any details all said the same thing … the car did not slow down to avoid the victim but sped up before hitting the intersection; the driver of the vehicle was smiling; and the driver looked very much like the victim. How weird! A twin perhaps? Marlitt’s investigation is off to a rocky start as she and her partner, Teddy, dive into fraternity life at the University of Georgia. Working with these pampered, privileged kids isn’t easy but Marlitt is determined to solve this case. You won’t guess who the perp is.

For a first novel, Lauren Nossett did a stellar job. I found the story mesmerizing and very believable. She had the fraternity cult-like atmosphere down pat and she did a good job of misdirection so the reader wasn’t sure who was involved. Readers who like Stacy Willingham will devour this book.

This review will be posted on November 2, 2022 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

This was a delicious simmering boil of a mystery whodunit set on a southern college campus. We follow a police detective, with a lot of personal baggage, as she investigates a hit-and-run murder. The witnesses all agree the driver looked like the murder victim. This sets up an investigation into the secretive and harmful world of Greek fraternities. This isn't a traditional mystery/thriller, so please don't expect one. It's a meditation on loss, trauma, expectations, and identity. Toxic masculinity plagues the mystery, following our characters like a storm cloud. This was masterfully written and utterly engrossing. #TheResemblance Rating: 😊 / really liked it
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This book is scheduled for publication on November 8, 2022. Thank you @flatiron_books for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This dark academia thriller was a perfect read for fall! It was a slow burn read filled with many twists. I enjoyed the police procedural process of uncovering out who did it. The book also mainly focused on the fraternity/sorority and the complexities. Unfortunately, the issues the author covered in the book about Greek life such as hazing, toxic environment, etc are very much realistic. The detective reminded me so much of the TV series - Mare of Easttown. If you enjoyed that show, you would like this read! Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

This story explores the sometimes seedy world of college fraternities.

Jay Kemp has it all.
Good looks.
Popular, the life of the party.
Social chair of the Kappa Phi Omicron fraternity.
Grades on the rise.
But in an instant, he is dead.
And what's really strange is that the driver who hit him looks just like him.

I loved the premise of this story and how far someone might go to cover up secrets. It is clear there are some shady things going on at this fraternity. As a former sorority girl, the guys behavior towards women and their hazing rituals are far from fiction. But is this fraternity covering up a much darker secret? One determined Detective Marlitt "Marley" Kaplan is hell bent on getting answers.

While I think Marley had good instincts, I don't like how authors often make female detectives so reckless. It was one thing to put her own safety at risk, but I didn't like how she put others in harm's way in order to get answers. Despite being wrong more than once, Marley does show her worth as a detective, ultimately solving a case some had written off.

Although I think this story could have been edited down, eliminating some of the slower parts, the overall theme was intriguing, and I liked how the puzzle pieces came together.

Pub date: 11/8/22
Genre: dark academia, suspense/thriller
One sentence summary: When a fraternity brother is killed by his own car, detective Marlitt Kaplan will dig deep into the UGA Greek system to uncover the truth.

The Resemblance fits well into the recent trend of "cult books" - while a fraternity is not a cult, the elements of groupthink, hazing, and secrecy make for a chilling read. I loved Marlitt as a protagonist - as she unravels the truth of Jay's death, she's forced to deal with her own past trauma and come to terms with the problems of the college town where she was raised. I think Nossett did a good job showing the systemic issues here - this is not a question of a few bad apples, but rather a poisoned orchard. This book is relatively fast-paced, with some elements of a popcorn thriller (you may need to suspend your disbelief at some points) But there is also emotional depth that comes with this investigation of campus corruption.

I think fans of dark academia will enjoy this one!

Thank you to Flatiron Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The thriller market keeps getting more crowded, I'm sure this is another title whose rites have been snatched up, probably will be more likeable as TV or Film

Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene of a bizarre hit-and-run accident on the University of Georgia campus. Jay Kemp, university student and social chair for the Kappa Phi Omicron fraternity, was struck by his own car while crossing a busy road. And if that’s not weird enough, the driver looked just like Jay and witnesses swear he was smiling when he mowed down his doppelganger. Haunted by a past that makes this case hit too close to home, Marlitt becomes obsessed with finding the culprit and exposing the dark underbelly of Kap-O, even when it puts her career and her own wellbeing in danger.

I love books that explore the complexity and toxicity of the Greek system, and Lauren Nossett’s insightful and atmospheric debut novel really hit that spot for me. Add in the police procedural aspect, and I am THERE. Nossett skillfully weaves a thriller into the exploration of the elitism, misogyny, and hazing that lurk below the shiny surface of collegiate Greek life. The campus setting is authentic and while a few twists might be a smidge over the top, the overall darkness of the plot and the characterization of the fraternity brothers ring compellingly true.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

There were a few things that immediately made me want to read this book - seemed like the perfect book for fall bc it takes place on a college campus in the south and revolves around the case of a fraternity brother who is killed.

I mean honestly you could say less and just let me look at the cover and I would decide it was a must read for me.

Overall, I liked it! The beginning immediately sucked me in. I was INVESTED.

But then something happens, and it just seemed very out there and I kind of lost interest. I feel like this is a book where too much was happening at one point that I couldn’t care about it all.

I did find all of the conversations around the Greek system at large universities very interesting!

3.5 ⭐️

The Resemblance has so many twists and turns involved in it! I was not expecting the ending at all. The book starts off with a college student getting hit, a detective is caught on fire, and ends with why the students life was taken.

An interesting mystery set on a college campus with the protagonist, Detective Marlitt Kaplan, trying to solve a hit and run. Kaplan assumes from the beginning that there is something more to the hit and run and begins investigating the fraternity the victim belonged to. Much of the focus in this book is on Greek life and the dangers of hazing and the toxic nature that can result from them. Kaplan also deals with her own biases towards fraternities due to a childhood friend who belonged to one, and this plays out in the investigation as well. The subplot around Kaplan speaking German did not make sense, even when revealed in the end. Well written, if not a tad tangential and heavy handed at parts.

This books seems like it is written by someone with ADHD that rambles, and thinks way too much. The author goes off on a tangent way too many times, which is why this book was so long. It could definitely have been shorter. The details for informative, but dang, how much can Marlit express her biasness against fraternities. I almost felt like the author must be enamored with college youth, or had some traumatic experience that she can’t let go of. The plot is good and played out well. I didn’t pick up on the final outcome until about ⅔ into the book. However, the assumption in the beginning just didn’t warrant the level of investigation to come to the end conclusion. OK, book, well written, just too much.

Such great concept and setting! I will never not pick up a mystery/thriller that takes place on a college campus and delves into secret societies (in this case, the greek system).

So it's such a shame that there's a lot I would have changed about the execution of the story.

It relies too heavily on stereotypes, leading the characters to become caricatures at times. It doesn't utilise flashback scenes to allow the reader to fully comprehend, and possibly empathise with why the MC distrusts fraternities. The reveal comes out of left field and denies the reader of any opportunities to figure out “whodunnit” for themselves. And finally, the ending is just so abrupt.

Some good bare bones of the story are present and, as a debut, this is objectively pretty decent. There was never a time when I wanted to stop reading, but there are just some things I personally would have tweaked to take this from just an okay story to a really good one.

I wanted to enjoy this one but felt the overall mystery, plot and characters hard to relate to. I can totally see the potential here though, I might just not be the target audience.

When student Jay Kemp is struck and killed, witnesses can’t shed much light; but they all agree on two things. The driver who struck him and fled was laughing – and that driver was identical to Jay.

As impossible as it sounds, Detective Marlitt Kaplan is determined to follow this investigation wherever it leads, especially when she chases the mystery to the doors of the victims fraternity and the secrets that accompany Greek life on campus. As much as she tries to remain impartial, her own past can’t help but to influence her, and it’s not long before she finds herself in more danger than she could possibly have prepared for.

Lauren Nossett’s debut novel, The Resemblance, is a strong debut. Much like Marlitt herself, the book took a little while for me to warm up to – but once I did, I was more than rewarded for persisting. The author’s own experience as a former professor is used to paint an authentic picture of a college and its inhabitants; young people on the verge of adulthood, still learning to trust their own judgement and building themselves into the adults they haven’t quite become. Simultaneously maturing and not yet all the way there, it’s a tricky phase of life and one Lauren Nossett portrays with sensitivity and insight.

Marlitt herself is a character I became very attached to – as the book goes on, and the reader is given more of her story, she is revealed as a very real character, one who felt more and more like a person I’d like to get to know. The investigation follows a pleasingly intriguing path, too, and when you marry an authentic setting to a compelling main character and a solid, twisty, mystery, you have yourself a great book, even more impressive for a debut. I’ll absolutely be looking out for more from Lauren Nossett, and I think readers will find a lot to like here.

This thriller had a solid start and a pretty interesting mystery at its core, but it lost me in the second half. The setup and setting were both great. It begins with a mysterious hit and run on a college campus that leaves the victim dead. The main character is the detective working the case. Since the victim was in a fraternity on campus, the police spend a lot of time interviewing the various other members and the people the victim interacted with a lot. I was very curious to know more about the accident and if the victim had been killed on purpose or not.
Unfortunately, the fraternity angle began to take over the story and it made me lose interest in the book. There is a strong theme in this book about the dangers of hazing and the toxic nature of fraternities. Even though I definitely agree with these concerns, I was frustrated by how the message felt shoved in my face. There were several unfocused tangents and things that happen that don't feel necessary to the overall plot, and I never connected emotionally with the main character. By the time the story resolved, I was frustrated with the pacing and the main reveal was a letdown.
This book had potential and I would probably try another by the same author, but this one was a bit disappointing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC to review.

TW for violence and bullying, especially descriptions of horrific hazing done by fraternities

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Lauren Nossett for the advanced copy of The Resemblance in exchange for my honest review.

This book had one large redeeming factors that I'll mention first: our protagonist, Detective Marlitt Kaplan, and her relentless quest for justice.

Beyond that, I really struggled to get through this one. The pacing was completely inconsistent, and it could have been at least 100 pages shorter. On top of that, I found myself really confused by a big plot point, and I don't feel like it added anything to the story at all.

I definitely appear to be in the minority on this one, so take that for what it's worth!

I had trouble following this book. Too many characters and too much back and forth in the story. It dragged on with the characters. I however did enjoy the college town setting. Thank you to NetGalley and Flat Iron Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was an excellent book. Extremely well researched and written. I’ve not read any other work by Ms. Nossett, but I feel that I can speak with some credibility as to campus life and fraternities. I worked at two different universities for nearly thirty years. The Resemblance doesn’t just resemble the fraternity way of life, it is too close to the truth for comfort. Sadly, the university’s response to fraternity hazing, criminal behavior by its brothers and the greater community’s desire to submarine these activities are frighteningly real!

I loved our heroine detective, Marlitt. She was indeed a warrior god risking everything in pursuit of the truth, not just the identity of the hit and run driver, but what lay behind that. What a complicated web was woven terrorizing pledges, pressuring them into the belief that the frat and its brotherhood was their only way of life. What means wouldn’t be used?

Marlitt’s own long buried memories play out in the background of the investigation. Traumatic events from her childhood and her own university years. These events marked her as a feeling person and detective.

Great read. Thank you NetGalley and Lauren Nossett.

Give this a try!