A Rookie Murder Mystery: Book Review of The Resemblance

 

The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you to Flatiron Books and GoodReads Giveaways, who provided me with an ARC of The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett, which I received in exchange for a fair and honest review.

As the only female detective on the police force in Athens, GA; Marlitt has been relegated to safe investigations. When she steps onto the crime scene of a hit-and-run on the University of Georgia campus, she is determined to make the case hers, and it is an intriguing case from the start.

Jay Kemp was a member of an exclusive fraternity at UGA--until he was run over by his own car with someone else at the wheel. And according to witnesses, that someone else looked very much like Jay—and he made no attempt to slow down, instead accelerating with a smile on his face.

As Marlitt investigates the crime, she becomes convinced that it was no accident, and somehow, Jay’s fraternity is involved. Her suspicions and her fervor to solve the case are fueled by a resentment towards fraternities she developed while she was in college.

Pursuing the case in unorthodox ways, Marlitt's actions quickly come to the attention of influential people, including the president of the college, whose son just happens to be a member of Jay’s fraternity. When Marlitt is warned that she must not investigate the fraternity, but focus only on the murder, she goes even deeper into her determination and her resolve to find the killer at any cost.

Marlitt is an interesting case study of an only child. We meet her just before the accident, in her mother’s office on the UGA campus, where she spent a good amount of her childhood watching her mother speak with students and colleagues, often feeling lonely as the only kid in the room. She felt isolated from her peers and her father’s extreme anxiety about Marlitt’s safety isolated her further. Longing for a sibling, Marlitt has found companionship and a sense of family in her partner on the force, Teddy, who comes from a loving family. To her, Teddy is the brother she never had, and they spend time together outside of work, with Teddy’s girlfriend as part of the crew.

Although Marlitt lives in the same town with her parents, she rarely visits them and feels the burden of their worries for her. When Marlitt is forced to go home, her discomfort levels are palpable.

Would I teach this book? Female cops as narrators offer a lot of opportunities for plot and insight. The Greek system can be intriguing because it is so secretive. And, of course, a look alike murderer and victim? Yes, please. Nossett has a good imagination. However, it feels like there is some polishing that could be done with the plot.

First, Marlitt has to recuperate (I won’t reveal from what) and she is “better” way too quickly. When she decides to make some moves without the blessing of her boss, she seems to have no concern that what she is doing might actually harm the case rather than help it. The sequence of the events gets a little fuzzy at times, too.

This is Nossett’s first novel, and it is a good first round. The Resemblance is a fun and intriguing read.

View all my reviews