The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett is a good book, following a police detective as she tries to discover who killed a college frat boy in a hit and run. What she discovers are chilling secrets about basement rooms in fraternity houses, brotherhood codes, and what it means to actually be a partner. The story is intense and fast paced and I enjoyed it a lot. I was a little bummed at the ending, but I found it an interesting read.
The audiobook was excellent and the narrator did a fantastic job.
Thanks to NetGalley.

At first, I wasn't sure where this one was headed...but the ride was worth it! There was a lot to unpack in the book but I feel like the author did a great job of doing so. The bottom line is that Greek Life is bullshit and should be gotten rid of, at least according to me! I did love that Marlitt never ever gave up. Not even when ordered to do so by pretty much everyone. Sadly she did so at her peril b/c she lost her friendship with her partner and probably her job. But she found out some very important things about herself and of course, solved the case. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author!
#NetGalley

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Flatironbooks and Lauren Nossett for the advance readers copy of her debut novel The Resemblance. My opinions are my own and are given voluntarily.

as a Greek life member myself, the blurb of this one instantly interested me, and I knew I needed to read it. Also unknowingly, I requested both the book and audio of this one, so I was able to do what I love and bounce between reading and listening. It gives the story so much depth and you can fully immerse yourself in the plot and feel like you're in the story.

on the campus of University of Georgia, a fraternity brother steps out into a busy crosswalk and was struck dead by an oncoming car. All witnesses agreed on two things: the driver looked identical to the victim, and he was smiling. Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene, and she quickly becomes immersed in this case, because of her past. lines start to blur between her work and her will to take down an institution that took so much from her in her younger years.

This one had so much that it hooked me immediately. I always love a good whodunnit. and this was exactly that. and what a wonderful debut novel for Lauren Nossett. I could see this becoming a series following detective Marlitt Kaplin.

the narrator was enjoyable and gave such depth to the storyline.

While I was excited about the setup/premise of The Resemblance, I lost interest about half way through. While the narrator was excellent and I would love to know the answer to the mysterious hit and run, I opted to move on from this one. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC!

Rounded up, more like 2.75 stars.
I received the audiobook from Netgalley. I loved the synopsis, but the book itself felt very drawn out. I felt Detective Marlitt was a bit rouge at times, which diminished the believability of the story.

There has been a hit and run on the University of Georgia campus. All of the witnesses say the driver of the vehicle looked just like the victim. Detective Marlitt Kaplan is the first on the scene. She immediately feels there is just something off about this case. Her superior fights her tooth and nail about her theories.

Marlitt is a tough lady. She knows the history of the crimes on campus and the problems with the Greek system. She actually has a past issue with the Greeks and she may be a tad bit biased. Now, there were several times I questioned Marlitt’s judgement. She is definitely on the right track and following her gut. But she just seems to be going against her own self, or rather, she is self destructive.

I loved the setting of an SEC university. And of course…all the fraternity secrets. Made this whole novel for me. Give me a good southern murder, and I am hooked!

I enjoyed the narrator, Saskia Maarleveld. I recently listened to another one with this narrator. She is very talented and did not try to kill a southern accent. HUGE PLUS!

Need a good mystery with a kick…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I just couldn't get into this dark academia police procedural. Not even the excellent narration by Saskia Maarleveld could save this one. Sadly I ended up DNF'ing at about 20% with this disappointing debut that had such potential but I found uninspiring. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

THE RESEMBLANCE review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🏛️Woooow this book had me invested from the jump. I started this one on a whim and couldn’t put it down. The first half in particular was so good, once I started reading I stayed up way too late because I wanted to find out what would happen next. Also books where you finally figure out the hidden meaning behind the title are the bestttt. When I got to the point in the story where it clicked into place for me I was 🤯.

🏛️Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
A fraternity brother is crossing the street on his college campus when he is hit by a car. The driver of the car didn’t slow down and seemed to be laughing as he did it. And strangest of all, the driver looked identical to the man who was hit…

🏛️I love a good detective thriller and this one was no exception! I felt like I was trying to solve the mystery right alongside the main character. The ending of this one felt a taaaad dragged out, but otherwise I really enjoyed this one! Lots of plot twists I didn’t see coming and definitely more unique than some of the other thrillers I’ve read!

Twisty and suspenseful. Issues relevant in today’s society discussed. Kept my interest. Read complete story in one day. Thanks NetGalley for the audio eArc.

I am always in for a campus thriller, especially one involving secret societies (Greek life included), murder, and twist endings. I would love to read more stories staring the main detective - I almost liked her as much as the main FBI agent in Alex Finlay's Every Last Fear. If you enjoyed Finlay's novels and The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan I would pick this one up!

Thank you so much to #NetGalley, the publishers and author for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you so much MacMillian audio and Netgalley for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. This book was great. It ticked all the boxes for me, easy to follow, good narrator, flawed heroine, tension, a little bit of trickery to make me wonder if I really did have it figured out. Jay Kemp is a college student and KO frat boy. While crossing the street, he is run over by a car, a car that doesn’t seem to slow down but speed up. Later on it is revealed that it is Jay’s car. Marlitt Kaplan is a police officer who gets to the scene quickly. As she and her partner Teddy continue to investigate, it seems that the fraternity is not all it seems to be. Marlitt is attacked and is taken off the case. She still keeps working. This seems like it should be the first in a series. I loved it. Give this book to a friend and get a copy for yourself!

I have to start off by saying I don't usually love a police based drama, but this quickly won me over. I went in for the dark academia and critique of greek like and found myself very invested in Detective Kaplan and her suspicion of the rowdy fraternity. It's obvious the author has a connection to campus life and has seen these types of stories play out over the years.

The dark underbelly of what is supposed to be the happiest time in a young person's life really brings this story together. There is so much happening under the surface in every corner or the plot, for low level cheating to visiting professors struggling to find full time work, to more serious offences like hazing and sexual assault. Nossett ties it all together in a way that is dramatic but also not that far out of the realm of possibility.

This fast paced dark academia thriller is a perfect fall read.

This was good. Like dark academia meets a police procedural. I enjoyed the story tho some was predictable. I liked the main character and found her incredibly relatable. The ending: exactly how it's play out irl. Will definitely read more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review The Resemblance.

Author: Lauren Nossett
Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
Published: 11/08/22
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

As a lifelong reader looking for unique twists and plots I try to pick up debut novels. Part of me is looking for that great aha read. I always want to encourage creative people to entertain me.

This missed its mark. It is like every other book with the tropes. I recognize the author tried, and I can't begin to imagine the hours to year(s) that went into this making. There were too many things that didn't work and too many things that have been over used to list. The ending I listened twice

Sadly, this reads like a script for D-list actors. This story type was from the 1970s.

The narration was okay, I didn't have any problems.

I will give Nossett a chance. My hope is that she connects with an honest helpful person to bounce thoughts off of. I hope she leaves out the filthy language, puts intelligence in positions of authority, while back burning corruption, hazing, and fraternities.

This was a solid 3.5 (rounded down) star read for me which means it was fine, nothing fabulous but kept me listening without getting bored. It's not a book that will stick with me but one that occupied a period of time keeping me motivated to clean the basement😂.

I generally round up my 3.5 stars and my reasoning behind the rounding down has to do with part of the story that I can't complain about because it could be a spoiler. It just bugged me enough that this one gets Goodreads logged as a 3.

One warning: If you are a stickler for proper police procedure in your reads give this one a pass.

Biggest redeeming quality: Saskia Maaraveld doing the narration. As always she did a fabulous job. 5 stars for the narration!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.

I LOVE dark academia, so when this became available as an audiobook, I was beyond excited! The narrator, Saskia Maarleveld was excellent. This story was filled with secrets and betrayals. I enjoyed the twists and the college campus setting. The collegiate Greek life is complex. I was in a sorority and there was a death on my campus that involved one of the fraternities while I was there. I was definitely able to connect to this book. Love the cover of this book and hope to hear more from this author!

Greek life on college campuses can be full of traditions and in some cases secrets.

At the University of Georgia the fraternity KPO seems to be filled with both dark secrets and deep traditions that are at risk of being exposed when one of their fraternity brothers steps off the sidewalk on campus and killed in what appears to be a hit and run.

Detective Marllitt Kaplan is the first one the scene and is determined to solve the case at any cost. When the case leads her deeper into the KPO house her past experiences involving Greek life start to make others question her need to take the fraternity down.

This thriller keeps you guessing all the way to the end as to who killed Jay, the student in the hit and run and why Marlitt is convinced it was no accident.

4/5

Thank you Macmillan audio for the advanced listening copy!

When a fraternity brother at the University of Georgia becomes the victim of a hit and run, Detective Marlitt Kaplan is forced to answer the questions: why did the driver look exactly like the victim, and why was he smiling? Marlitt is launched into a myriad of complex plots all leading up to the tragic "accident" killing this young student. But, as always, everything is not what it seems. Marlitt has to navigate the complexities of her own past, brotherhood loyalty and young adult secrets.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Marlitt's character was likeable and easy to root for. There were a few moments where I felt confused, like plot points weren't totally lining up or things transitioned too fast, and when I felt there was an excessive amount of detail, which is my reason for 4 stars instead of 5. However, I was intrigued by this one from the start and felt like Nossett wove a web that was satisfyingly difficult to untangle. Overall, I would definitely recommend this one, especially if you have strong opinions on Greek life either way.

Solid mystery. The first half was a little slow, and I couldn’t care less about the backstory. But the second half kicked into gear and went quick! It also likely helped that I already hate frats, if you like them this might not work for you.

The narrator was absolutely perfect, I don’t think they could have picked anyone better.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this twisty thriller. I had several theories throughout the book as to what happened. . . and I was wrong. So the story kept me guessing. The writing is very vivid. That basement-ugh get out of my head!
I do think there was a tangent that I wish was tied into the story better or just deleted.
I really liked the narrator. She did a fine job.
I do recommend this book if you like mysteries and thrillers.
I'm going with 3.5 stars