Each year, it seems we learn more and more about the gruesome realities of Greek life’s hazing rituals and peer pressure as more students are seriously injured—or even killed. And in the audio edition of The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett, a detective investigates the death of a college student, only to uncover layers of deadly secrets and cover-ups.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

I was really excited for this one. The plot had such promise - campus thriller, secret society, commentary on structures of power. But honestly it fell a little flat for me. Mostly because I felt like nothing happened until the very end of the book. There were some random aspects to the story (like all of the German speaking?!?) and somehow I overall just didn’t feel that invested in the characters or the storyline.

Although, as someone who was a member of Greek life in college, I found this to highlight a lot of issues within the fraternity system. I thought the author did a great job of weaving in social commentary on toxic masculinity, fraternity brotherhood, wealth and status, and abuse of power with the actual murder mystery.

Read if you like campus thrillers and stories about institutionalized

I did not get to this before the archive date. I am still planning on reading it in the next two weeks.

A college student is walking on a busy crosswalk and happens to be hit by a driver who looks identical to him. More than a dozen witnesses see the accident and report that the driver was smiling. Detective Kaplan arrives on the scene and even though she knows the college’s dark history, she does not anticipate the places that this case will take her.

What immediately drew me into The Resemblance was the premise — a fraternity brother is struck by a car on campus by a driver that looked identical to him. I also liked the way the story discussed power dynamics both in fraternity culture and the police force. Where The Resemblance fails is that it attempts to tell too many stories at once. To avoid any spoilers, I'll say that there are parts of the lead's background that are completely random and unnecessary, and the author spends too much time on it. Besides that, I do think that The Resemblance has an incredibly intriguing plot.

3 stars

A police procedural, but with weird & unrealistic coincidences. It was a very compelling story, but I felt unsatisfied with the ending.

[What I liked:]

•There are building senses of dread & paranoia as the MC’s investigation is stymied & she is endangered, which adds to the suspense & mystery.

•The MC’s backstory with her parents was pretty interesting & made for good character development.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•The thing is, it’s incredibly believable that a frat house of privileged white college boys would do terrible stuff & get away with it, because that’s definitely happened before. But the levels of conspiracy this book takes it too, especially with the switched identities, just isn’t that believable.

•I didn’t like how the MC handled her frustrations. Instead of treating her partner well, she makes rash decisions that negatively affect them both, which did not help me to like her as a MC.

CW: house fire, severe burn injuries, murder, bullying & hazing, sexual assault

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

When undergrad Jay Kemp was killed on campus, Detective Marlitt Kaplan was the first one on the scene. She had been talking to her mother in her mother’s office at the University of Georgia in Athens, where she was a professor. Marlitt had heard the collision and gone running down to the street. She found the UGA junior lying in the street, in a pool of blood.

When she started talking to the witnesses, she found that a lot of them were saying that the driver had been a young man. He had looked remarkably like the victim. He hadn’t braked. And he had been smiling when he hit Jay.

Marlitt had grown up around the university, so she knew her way around campus. She understood how the students interacted. She understood the Greek system, so when she found out that Kemp was a Kappa Phi Omicron, Marlitt wanted to dig into the fraternity. She’s heard all the stories about the problematic Greek life on campus. She’s seen it on the news. She knows about the underage drinking, the sexual assaults, the hazing. The deaths of kids just wanting to fit in and have fun with their friends.

Is that what this is, another Greek-related tragedy, or is just an accident? Marlitt’s partner and their lieutenant think that she is too focused on the fraternity, but she just can’t let it go. She questions the brothers and takes a tour of Kappa house. As part of the investigation, they look at Kemps’ phone records and laptop. They talk to his roommate and his girlfriend. They can’t find anything that directly links any of the Kappa brothers to Jay’s death.

And then one night, Marlitt wakes up to find her bedroom on fire. She is recued in the nick of time and spends time in the hospital. At first, she drifts in and out of consciousness. It takes her days before she can remember anything of what happened. She struggles to make sense of it. She thinks she remembers voices before she woke up with her hair on fire, but she can’t be sure. She was told that when she was rescued she was speaking German. Clearly, there is more going on with this accident than meets the eye.

As Marlitt struggles to recover, and then to try to get back to her investigation, she is plagued by questions about Jay, about the Kappas, and even about her own family. Will she be able to find the pieces she needs to make sense of it all, or will she be broken by this investigation and her own personal demons?

The Resemblance is the fiction debut from former professor Lauren Nossett. It is a powerful, emotional look at life on a college campus, particularly in a fraternity. It’s a smart and political look at the secret society in Greek life, and how they are often sheltered by campus and even local politics. This story is layered with secrets and betrayals, the darkness that is the worst of human nature and the way we try to protect those closest to us from that darkness.

I listened to The Resemblance on audio, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, who did a beautiful job with this story. The story itself is troubling. It’s troubling in part because it’s a mystery where the solution is unclear, where justice is not done, and where the future is murky. It is powerful, and it is a story worth spending some time with. But it is also painful and complicated and demands a lot of the reader. It’s not a light read, but it’s filled with important questions about what exactly we are teaching our kids at college and how we can do better by future generations. Dark and twisted, but also revealing and thought-provoking.

A copy of the audiobook for The Resemblance was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.

The premise of this book sounded really good.. hit and run on a college campus. Most of the book revolves around Greek life on campus, while interesting was told in a boring way. This book wasn’t as fast paced as other suspense stories so it seemed to drag a little

In The Resemblance, author Lauren Nossett creates a strange twisted story of obsession. A college student killed by a car and the car drives off. Detective Marlitt Kaplan is the first on the scene. Witnesses say the driver looked just like the dead student. What is happening here? And can Marlitt be objective with her past? And is there corruption on the college campus?
This was a very interesting story and did not end the way I expected. The audio-book narration was very well done. I would recommend this book. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Almosttt read this in one sitting, but my eyes just would not stay open for the last chapter and I wanted to remember every second. I am a huge fan of books set on school campuses so this one definitely spoke to me from the start. I loved this one’s look at sorority and fraternity life and what happens behind the closed doors of these houses. I LOVED the storyline of this, and was genuinely shocked by the ending. I could see how some may not have been shocked by the first thing, BUT the second answer at the end had me speechless. I would love to see more novels of this detective in a college setting where she seems to fit in perfectly, hopefully there is more from this author one day! Highly recommend for a spooky, academic read!

This review has been added to Goodreads, Literal and Storygraph, as well as Barnes & Noble and Amazon. This will be posted to my instagram (@busywithmybooks_) within the week.

Thank you for allowing me to listen to this story!!

I have waited a little bit to try to think and feel about this book. I feel a lot about it. There is a lot here that speaks to me. As a woman. As a former college student. As a mother. As a grandmother. This book hits this. It hits it in a disjointed way. It hits in a weirdly unbelievable way. There are things here any investigator should have noticed. I’m still not sure. I’m glad I read it. But I am in a weird limbo ever since.

Rating: 4.5

I switched between reading the physical book and listening to the audiobook. Both formats held my attention but the narrator did such a great job I ended up listening to the audiobook more. She added so much emotion to the story and really pulled me in and kept me listening to the end. This book really surprised me. I didn’t know what to expect, only that a crime took place on a college campus and the main character was the detective on the case. Honestly, I think this is the perfect book to go into blind. Just know, it can be a little slow at points, a bit repetitive, and might seem a little preachy about the Greek system but together it all works. The author did a good job of making you feel like you had it figured out when really you probably didn’t. I saw some were upset with the ending calling it too far fetched. I don’t agree. Knowing now what happened I see that there are several clues for us to figure it out and in the beginning I had the ending as an opinion. Overall, this one was a quick read for me and I would definitely recommend it. I had no idea this one was a debut! I cannot wait to read what else this author writes.

Thank you so much for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Parts of the plotline didn't make sense. Not sure why she was speaking German and that didn't get tied up until the end of the novel in a manner that didn't seem to go with the story at all.

University or Boarding School setting----check

Murder---Check

Secret Societies ( in this case the Greek System )---Check

The Resemblance had everything I love about a book considered Dark Academica, yet I still had a few problems with it. Not many, but some.

Being from a long line of " Greeks " when we attend University, I will say that the book does not look well on the Fraternities and Sororities. I think this was my biggest complaint with the book. Yes, there are bad fraternities out there. In the news, we hear the horrors of some of the houses hazing their pledges or the deaths from underage drinking at parties, but there is terrible in everything, and not all of the Greek system is bad. My family has never had a bad experience, and you never hear about the good they do in the news. And they do great things for the community. So please, if you have never experienced the system yourself, do not judge all houses on a single book.

Now off my public service announcement and on to the review...

The story revolves around a hit-and-run murder of a fraternity brother, investigated by Detective Marlitt Kaplan. As the investigation pushed forward, they undercover dark secrets and lies within the Greek system at the University of Georgia.

The book moves slowly throughout most of the story, but there are enough twists, turns, or catches to keep you interested in moving forward. I wasn't fond of most of the characters, and I believe she wrote them to be unlikeable, however, I found them very stereotypical of a lot of people's visions of a frat boy. I was also at times a bit confused about who was who, there seemed to be so many characters in the story.

The writing is good, and the story concept is well-formed. This is the author's debut, and I think she is headed in the right direction, I saw plenty of potential in The Resemblance, enough to keep Nossett on my radar. I think my biggest gripe was the story hit on a subject close to me, and I disagreed with the author's portrayal of the Greek System. That happens, and it is no fault of the author. I don't know, maybe that means it was a great book, it got such a rise out of me. One last thing- I found the ending very unbelievable.

Thank you Netgalley for a free copy of this audio book. I really enjoyed The Resemblance! It reads like more of a suspenseful mystery than a thriller and there were definitely some author opinions in there regarding Greek life, hazing, privilege, and the demands of college.
Some high notes:
-Engaging narrator. She had a great voice that matched the way the character was written. I really enjoyed listening to her telling the story.
-The November/fall vibes! They were so perfect for the autumn season. The writing and mood matched the season as well.
-Police perspective made it interesting to solve the crime with the characters.
-The inside look at some of the negative and controversial aspects of Greek life was eye-opening and very sad.
-Interesting twists and turns without needless red herrings
-First person narrative; my favorite and, in my opinion, the most intimate perspective.

Some improvements:
-It read a tad slow, but I never lost interest or momentum; it was simply a quieter and more somber read
-There was slightly too much packed into the story line; a few threads were neglected and smashed in there and didn't get full development.

This was a really great read overall. I would recommend!

This was an interesting story. Unfortunately for me, most of what I want to say about it is knee-deep in spoiler territory so I’m going to have to keep this review to the super basics.

So basics: What did I like?
- It’s super fast paced. Once it gets going it just takes off. I love that.
- The suspense was there and not just because of the pacing. The story itself brings plenty.

What didn’t I like?
- The characters. There wasn’t one that I didn’t want to slap. Not. One.
- The ending. It was so disappointing after everything that happened. At least for me. My brain took it to some WILD places that it did not go.
- The fact that it honestly felt all over the place. One case turns into more than we thought but it feels like it turns into several different cases and sometimes it was hard to remember what on earth they were even talking about.

Overall I really can’t complain. While I may have pointed out more that I didn’t care for, we gotta remember that there was that knee deep spoiler territory and most of that goes up in the what I liked category.

Thanks NetGalley for the access to this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read!

The Resemblance is about a fraternity brother who is killed in a hit-and-run. Detective Marlitt Kaplan is the first officer on the scene and the story follows her investigation. All the eyewitnesses agree on two main points. The driver was smiling and he looked exactly like the victim.

The idea the driver of the vehicle looked exactly like the victim was such a novel idea and I couldn’t wait to see which way they went with it. Unfortunately, I think that aspect was very underutilized and fell flat. It’s a shame because it’s what I thought was going to make this book really stand out.

The investigation was interesting and full of your typical cliches. Martlitt ends up getting taken off the case, of course, but that does not stop her from continuing to work the case. This is something that is overused in all media.

Following different leads and clues with Marlitt was a blast. I could not figure this one out and did not see the end coming. While the end works well since I found it surprising, I couldn’t help but wish for more from this end.

Overall this is a fun read. It may be full of cliches and not have a fully satisfying ending but the ride is definitely worth it.

The blurb looked interesting but the storyline wasn’t what I was expecting. It was a mystery but few actual unexpected twists. I’m sure this will be a favorite for some but it wasn’t the book for me.

I love books that center around academia. Add in a death that has mysterious circumstances surrounding it and you can pretty much guarantee I want to read it. THE RESEMBLANCE dives into the world of Greek life and hazing in a way that handles the subject with care, while also showing the real world implications and ease with which these events can and do happen. While this story may be fictional, the source of inspiration is very real.

Nossett does a fantastic job of mixing this storyline with details about our main character, Detective Marlitt, and her backstory. I loved the connections that were present between the two and how Nossett handled the complications that this could cause while investigating. The pacing wasn’t overly fast, but it also didn’t lull in places. Nossett also smartly adds in a few twists and big reveals just when the reader believes they know where the story is headed.

THE RESEMBLANCE is an impressive debut novel that has me eagerly anticipating what will come next from Nossett!

A huge thank you to Flatiron Books for my gifted copy!

The Resemblance is not at all the story I was hoping for, and that’s on me for not doing more research. One of the blurbs proclaimed it “a fresh, haunting take on dark academia,” while the publisher blurb claimed it is “an exhilarating, atmospheric campus thriller reminiscent of The Secret History.” I read those lines and was immediately sold. However, there’s nothing dark academia about this. There’s a murder on a college campus, yes, but that’s all it has in common with the subgenre, in my opinion. This is much more a mystery/police procedural with a campus setting than it is an actual campus novel. The comparisons to The Secret History feel wholly unfounded, as what made that book so special was the philosophy, the poetic writing, and the observations of one both inside a secret society and yet somehow on the periphery, as well as the inverted mystery where we know who did what from the beginning of the book and are endeavoring to learn the why. The Resemblance delivered none of that depth, none of those layers, and left me incredibly frustrated by the time I finally reached the end.

This is the story of Detective Marlitt Kaplin, who is incredibly eager to prove herself to her sexist boss and, when a hit-and-run murder almost literally falls in her lap while she’s visiting her professor mother on the University of Georgia campus, she’ll do anything to keep her claws in the case. I found Marlitt so intensely unlikable and unsympathetic that my feelings for her nearly devolved into hatred by the story’s end. Even when she faced horrible situations, I could find no empathy for her. For someone so determined to solve a murder, she did everything possible to sabotage herself and the case. Inside her head was an insufferable, infuriating place to be. And while her hatred for fraternities might have been well founded, her handling of that hatred in light of her job was laughably poor.

There are certain thrillers where you can see the “twists” coming from a mile off, and this was one of those for me. An oblivious perspective character (I can’t bear to call her a protagonist) who is supposed to be intelligent and good at her job completely missing clues that are glaringly obvious to the reader is always an exasperating experience, one that occurred time and again for me while reading this. I will say that there was one final reveal at the end of the book that I didn’t predict, but it also had nothing to do with the rest of the story, relating solely to our main character. I think this reveal was supposed to shine a light on the inner workings of her subconscious, but it felt like a cheap trick for shock value to me. If I were to describe this book in one word, it would be "tired." I felt like everything in this book had been done before. But better.

The writing here was perfectly serviceable. There were a handful of instances of poetic, philosophical prose, but instead of adding to the story, they threw me out of it, as they in no way fit the story being told. It felt as if the author had thought of something pretty and profound and determined to shoehorn it in somewhere, regardless of how it distracted from the plot. These instances somehow felt both pretentious and clumsy, which is a really odd pairing. But other than the aforementioned handful of lines, the writing was good enough to keep me reading, in spite of my distaste.

I ran through a gamut of emotions from the time I first started this book to the moment I finally finished it. I went from being excited, to feeling cautiously optimistic that things would improve, to viewing the book as the epitome of adequate, to being so frustrated that I was audibly groaning and rolling my eyes at every decision Merlitt made. In spite of how it was billed, I haven’t read a book less “right for me” in quite some time. HOWEVER, I would like to point out that I have a very love/hate, hit-or-miss relationship with thrillers. So, if you’re a lover of thrillers looking for something set on a college campus, The Resemblance just might be for you.

I want to preface by mentioning that I was captivated by the premise of this book. A colleges student is killed in a hit-and-run and “more than a dozen witnesses all agree on two things: The driver looked identical to the victim, and the driver was smiling." What thriller fan would not be intrigued by those few lines?

The Resemblance turned out to be more of
police procedural story that follows Marlitt, a young police officer as she investigates a hit and run that seems like it may have actually been a premeditated murder. The hit and run occurred in a small college town, and the presumed victim is a member of a
fraternity. Readers soon discovered that Marlitt has a bias against fraternities which leads her to suspect that a fraternity may be involved in this hit and run that left one of their frat brothers dead .

The story is told from Marlitt’s point view and takes the reader into Marlitt’s investigation of the inner workings of
fraternity life that include the hazing of pledges , secrecy and complete loyalty that comes once one has pledged into the fraternity. All sounds interesting, but in actuality too much time was spent exploring this aspect of the story making it stale during its midpoint .

Overall, the book was mildly satisfactory, .however fans of academia thrillers might really enjoy this one .

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld for 9 hours 57 minutes and 59 second I was very pleased with the narrator I believe she embodied her character very well . I will be looking for more books narrated by this narrator .

Many thanks to NetGalley , Macmillan Audio, and the author for the advance audiobook. In return for my unbiased review.