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!

The protagonist was hard to like and distracted from the story. She was over the top in her dislike for certain people. Too many stereotypes without depth, I guess. The mystery and story didn't sem as important and the message against frats and hazing, which isn't bad but I would have loked the mystery take a front seat.

Not bad, just wished for more.

This book was incredibly different from what I expected in the best way!

Detective Marlitt Kaplan is investigating a less-than-average hit and run. When talking to witnesses, she discovers something odd about the unknown suspect, he looks just like the victim. This sends Marlitt into college Greek life as she fights to uncover secrets, lies, and corruption.

I loved the setting of this book and the voice of the main character. The twists and turns kept me turning page after page! I typically don’t particularly enjoy police procedural style mysteries so for me to enjoy this so much is really telling!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flat Iron Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett is the author's debut novel. I will read more by this author. The author really shows how power and money can make people greedy. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and liked the author's writing style (it held my interest). The university setting was great. The storyline is captivating, and the reader gets a glimpse into Greek life in college.

I would recommend this author and this book. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

#NetGalley @Flatironbooks

LOVED this one. It's such a page turner and while I wouldn't say it's "fast paced" it's such a well done slow burn. And it was more believable that way, while STILL having twists and turns until the very end. If you're someone who has been impacted by greek life/fraternities in a negative way, this one might be hard for you. The author explores their dark side with no apologies and the main character (who I loved, major Mare of Eastown vibes) is ruthless in the pursuit to take them down and expose them. As someone who is often disgusted by that culture, I loved this book. Amazing debut novel!

I was so excited when I was approved for this arc and it did not disappoint!
I loved the college atmosphere and the plot super interesting. It kept me invested from beginning to end!

What a wonderful read. The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett:

Marlitt Kaplan is a detective that is on a mission to find a hit and run driver that struck dead Jay Kemp, a student at the University of GA while at a crosswalk. With a mission to find the driver of the car, Marlitt also has a deep pain from the past that haunts her so she feels the need to expose a fraternity that Jay was a part of. In the process Marlitt is attacked which left fascial scars but that does not stop her from trying to expose this fraternity's secrets. Marlitt finds out some of her own family secrets along the way that has answered a lot of her lingering questions.

This is a new author for me and I have thoroughly enjoyed this read. Thank you FlatIron books and Lauren Nossett for the advance digital copy for my honest review.

Oh my gosh, my new favorite hero! Marlitt Kaplan is a university drop out, daughter of a professor and police detective skating on thin ice with her boss. When a frat brother is killed in a hit and run at the University of Georgia, she grabs the case immediately hoping to reinsert herself into her job and the good graces of her boss.

The driver cannot be identified, but he resembled the murdered fraternity brother and seemed to be driving his car. What can this all mean? Add in a. frat with many secrets to hide, a powerful university president and some internal police politics and you have a fast moving, complex police procedural that you will not solve until the end! I hope, hope, hope that this isn't the end of Marlitt, Lauren Nossett's debut book was amazing! If you like police procedurals, academic-based mysteries, complex and strong female heroines,n The Resemblance is for you! Thank you Lauren Nossett for making me fall in love with police novels again!
#Flatironbooks #TheResemblance #LaurenNossett #NetGalley

The Resemblance
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 11/8/22
Author: Lauren Nossett
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pages: 320
Goodreads Rating: 3.99

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Flatiron Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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. 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. 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.

My Thoughts: What initially drew me to this book was the cover, it is so mesmerizing. For this being Nossett’s first debut fiction work, it was amazing. I really fell in love with Marlitt and was transported into her world, riding along on this investigation. The premise of this plot was fantastic, money makes people powerful, and power makes people greedy, selfish, and deceitful. The old adage rings true that money can make any issue go away. The story is a slow builder, but at the same time, a page turner, with an explosion of an ending. The characters were well developed with depth, they were mysterious, creative, and likable, as well as relatable. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, twisty, and kept me engaged from cover to cover. This book publishes later this year and this is one that I would preorder as it is sure to be a highly anticipated novel.

Nossett's fictional debut shows just how dangerous it can be for college students to try to fit in with a fraternity.
Thank you Flatiron for the Advanced review copy.

Combine a college university setting with a police procedural and you’ve got this book! I don’t seem to tire of either theme and was pulled in by the setting and the uniqueness of the main character.

I felt that the writer created an atmosphere beyond the word descriptions. Introspective and slightly melancholy, there was an unexpected emotional flavor that I couldn’t identify but appreciated.

My only issue is that the story veered off on numerous tangents and lessened the impact of other promising aspects.

Thank you to Flatiron Books, NetGalley, and Harriet Nosset for my electronic advance review copy. Due to be published on November 8, 2022.

The Resemblance, by Lauren Nosset, is a police procedural that focuses on the hit and run death of a Fraternity brother at the University of Georgia. Detective Marlitt Kaplan, who doesn’t hold Greek life in very high esteem, obsessively immerses herself into the investigation, which is complicated by the fact that all witnesses agree that the driver and the victim appear to be the same person.

Campus Greek life, with its elitism, secrecy, and rituals, is a popular, but satisfying plot line, and I always find them fascinating. This story was intriguing and kept me interested in finding out if my theory was correct. I was partially correct, and left feeling like I still have some unanswered questions.

There was a random side story going on throughout the book and it’s is explained in the end; however, it wasn’t necessary to move the main story along and while it does tie in with the central theme of brotherhood, I’m still a bit puzzled by its inclusion, so I might have to think on it a little more.

Overall, this was a good read. I’m a big fan of campus thrillers, especially twisty ones with secrets and rituals, so I was pretty excited about this book, and it delivered. I’m always game to read a campus thriller and this one definitely didn’t disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review

While I thought that the premise of this book was interesting, I felt as though it was a tad too long and I really couldn’t connect with any of the characters. Marlitt kept doing things that were wrong and I didn’t not feel the sympathy for her that I think I was supposed to when she got in trouble for it. The mystery was confusing, and while I enjoyed the solution once we got to it, I didn’t totally love the action of getting there. Overall an interesting premise, but I wasn’t always desperate to know what happened next.

Marlitt is a detective who is the first to arrive on the scene of a hit and run accident, or was it truly an accident? That’s what she needs to figure out. I really enjoyed this story! I couldn’t put it down; I was invested from the beginning!

When I began The Resemblance, I was hooked. The mystery was thrilling, the characters were well written and the southern setting felt close to home. As the story went on however I began to see some cracks and the twist made sure that I did not love this book and honestly ruined the story for me.

The reason to like this book is Lauren Nossett and her ability to tee up a compelling mystery and I felt that the wind up was superb but the actual finish ruined the enjoyment and made me dislike the story.

As someone who dropped out of a frat due to a toxic environment, the commentary on Greek Life was good and probably the strongest part of the book besides the characters and by the end I only cared about out lead character Marlitt and even she was beginning to become unlikeable.

Overall I feel like The Resemblance was a cool setup that crashed and burned in the end and wasted some great potential overall.

What started off as reminiscent of part single white female/part animal house quickly shifted into a murder mystery, heavy on the feeling of loss throughout.

We follow detectives as they try to uncover both a killer and a motive in the death of a supposedly beloved fraternity brother, Jay. Everyone gets more than they bargained for as secrets unfold and you can’t help but feel for humanity in the end. The way we as a society handle crime and status, family pressures, and how we cope internally with feelings of emptiness.

Nossett nourishes this story with emotions that make up the backbone of it all. The bad guys aren’t just bad guys, there are backstories and responsibilities of others at play here. Stories to be told and she brings life to this genre.

I enjoyed this book. I’ve never been a part of the Greek system, and I liked getting a sneak peek into fraternity life.

I was quite bored with this book. I kept waiting for something to happen, but it never did.

This book also felt like the author is trying to set it up to be a series, but didn't really know how to go about doing it. A backstory was trying to be built, but the information was just being thrown at the reader with no real context.

DISCLAIMER: I was never involved in Greek life in college.
With this in mind, I did feel like the author had a personal vendetta against Greek life, and while some of the negative things may be true, it felt like an unnecessary overgeneralization.