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Book Review of The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett 3/5

Happy Release Day!

Today I would like to congratulate author Lauren Nossett on the release of her debut novel, The Resemblance, and a big thank you to Goodreads Giveaways for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!

I’ve had some incredible luck with debut authors this year so I was pretty excited to dive into this one—any fan of secret societies would be—but, unfortunately, I may have expected too much.

Now don’t let that stop you from checking it out..
I have a feeling a lot of readers are going to going to feel differently.

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The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett

Publication date: November 8, 2022
Pages: 307
Genre: Southern Fiction, Crime Fiction, Police Procedurals, Mystery
Standalone

When Marlitt, a detective with the Athens Police Department, is the first on the scene of a hit-and-run, she has no intention of letting the investigation go to someone else. Often passed over or given ‘easy’ jobs by her overprotective boss, she plans to prove that she’s just as capable as the guys. But there’s more to the college boy’s death than they thought.

Witnesses claim the car never slowed down. The driver looked identical to the victim. And that the suspect was smiling.

What should have been a cut and dry case quickly becomes more complicated when it starts to look like the boy’s fraternity is involved. They’re lying about something, holding their secrets close, and Marlitt may be the only one stubborn enough to put all of the pieces together.

Three Stars

Characters: Frustrating.
Storyline: Had potential.
Pace: Slow. Creeping.
Writing: Descriptive..
Cover: 4/5

POV
Marlitt

A secret society.
A dead boy.
A mysterious, murderous doppelganger.
Can our protagonist trust those around her?
Can she trust herself?

I was so excited to receive a copy of this—the cover, the synopsis, all of it—sounded like just my kind of read..
But I’m sure you have some idea already that that was not the case.

I’d like to say this book started off with a bang and I guess it did.. sort of.
I hate to write an unenthused review in the first place but it feels worse somehow with debut authors.
Unfortunately, I’m nothing if not brutally honest.

There is a looooot of information—unnecessary information—about nearly everything. I don’t mind details, I love them actually, but this was too much. I rarely accuse an author of being overly descriptive but it really could have used less. I felt like everything interesting, the parts of the book that really stood out, were drowned beneath the weight of it all. I also firmly believe this is a personal problem and other readers may see it differently.. I even hope they do.

Sadly.. Marlitt required no small amount of patience from me. Stubborn and closed off, she had a tendency to make selfish choices.
And while I can respect her need to feel useful, to prove herself, and to get things done.. I couldn’t get behind her spoiled ‘it’s mine!’ mentality.

The side characters, their relationships with Marlitt, and the dynamics between each person fell flat for me so it was difficult to really become invested in—or root for—any of them. None were unlikeable or poorly written but there was no connection with them for me either.

The writing is intelligent and easy to follow but, again, I just wasn’t able to fall into the story.

In the long run.. It was curiosity that kept me coming back for more. From the very beginning you end up with questions.. Did the driver really look like the victim? How? And why was he smiling as he hit the boy? Was his fraternity involved? What is Marlitt’s problem?
I did get my answers in the end but, still, I felt indifferent.

You might think all of this would turn me off of the author in the future but I actually look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
Her writing, her potential, everything necessary to create a killer story.. it’s all there. Just maybe not with this one.
Not for me, anyway.

Next time.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my review, I hope it was helpful!
If you’ve read or plan to read this book, let me know, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Stay safe, have a lovely week, and happy reading!

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