Propulsive Contemporary Thriller: Read Our Review of The It Girl by Ruth Ware

Everyone wanted her life; someone wanted her dead. The It Girl is New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware’s seventh tantalising mystery.

April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford. Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It Girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends – Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily – during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.

Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide, including a murder. Because if the killer wasn’t a stranger, it’s someone she knows…

I absolutely love a novel set on a college campus, from Donna Tartt’s classic The Secret History to Diana Reid’s award-winning Love & Virtue. Now Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of seven books including The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Turn of the Key, takes us deep into Oxford University in the early 2010s. The setting and premise of this cracking thriller are vivid and believable – a group of privileged first year students become fast friends and bond over nights out, crushes and literature classes. “It girl”, April, is portrayed as an early Instagram influencer – but who wanted her dead?

The It Girl moves at a rapid pace between the present day and Oxford ten years earlier when the group of friends first meet. This format provides fascinating insight into how their relationships, and secrets, formed. This is the kind of novel where you look for little clues throughout, only to be shocked by the twists and turns that take you to the very last page.

The It Girl is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a campus story, dramatic friendships and a cracking murder mystery that will have you second-guessing yourself.

Buy a copy of The It Girl here.