The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to @netgalley, @flatiron_books, and @readingwithbowie for the ALC! All opinions are my own.

I thought this was a really solid mystery! I LOVED the college setting, the sinister Greek life, and the MC being a detective. It had just enough spookiness and suspense to keep me hooked without being a full-on thriller. It was absolutely PERFECT for October. The audio narrator wasn’t my absolute favorite but I didn’t feel like it detracted from the book or made me less likely to read. There were a few plot decisions that felt odd (but also kept me on my toes so no real complaints 🤷🏼‍♀️). Overall a very enjoyable book that I recommend to anyone who loves dark academia, crime thrillers, or anything else related to those genres! I am very much looking forward to reading more from this author! (Hopefully books with a similar vibe!!🤞🏻)

Content Rating: R for some graphic descriptions of hazing/assault

Synopsis:

Never betray the brotherhood.

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 police work 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 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.