Book Review: The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett

 GOOD READS SUMMARY:

On a chilly November morning at the University of Georgia, 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. An Athens native and the daughter of a UGA professor, she knows all its shameful histories, from the skull discovered under the foundations of Baldwin Hall to the hushed-up murder-suicide in Waddel. But 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. 

The lines between Marlitt’s policework and her own past increasingly blur as Marlitt seeks to bring to justice an institution that took something precious from her many years ago. When threats against her escalate, and some long-buried secrets threaten to come to the surface, she can’t help but question whether the corruption in Athens has run off campus and into the force and how far these brotherhoods will go to protect their own.

TEE'S THOUGHTS

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.