The resemblance: A decent debut novel

I picked up The resemblance at my local library having not previously heard of author, Lauren Nossett. The premise and setting intrigued me, given my own academic background. I was interested to read this debut novel from an academic-turned-novelist with a PhD in German literature.

The resemblance | Published November 2022 | Read October 2023

The novel is set on the University of Georgia Athens campus, where Detective Marlitt Kaplan, whose mother is a professor of German at the university, is first on the scene when a male student is killed in a hit-and-run accident. As the novel progresses, Marlitt uncovers the horrific side of fraternity life and the lengths the brotherhoods will go to to protect their societies and members. Marlitt has her own past traumatic experience with a fraternity that propels her to solve the case that also clouds her judgement along the way.

Overall, the book is a good debut for Nossett and she sets up Marlitt well for a first novel. There is sufficient depth and nuance to Marlitt for readers to connect to her. The campus setting and set up of the case are an intriguing enough draw for the reader. The themes are perfectly clear - hazing, bullying, power, and misogyny. Nossett is somewhat heavy-handed with these themes, though, rather than making strong statements about the desire for conformity and need to belong that characterises fraternity membership. The pacing is a little uneven, although the story is still suspenseful. I also think the implausible ending lets the book down after a promising start. I'd still like to read more of Marlitt's stories, with perhaps a little less stereotyping and more complexity to the characters involved in the crime. It would also be nice to see a more thought-provoking approach to the books' themes and messages.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐