Genre: Whodunit, psychological thriller

Synopsis: April Clarke-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 year, 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.

Content/Trigger Warnings: Alcohol usage, amnesia, anxiety/panic attacks, classism, death/murder, depression, guilt, paranoia, pregnancy, stalking, trauma, PTSD

Ruth Ware does it again. I’ve been obsessed since I read In the Dark, Dark Wood many years ago. I’m not always in love with every story, but I never have a bad time reading anything she writes.

I do also really love dark academia, and I really enjoyed the mixture of college days and current day “adult things.” The It Girl was really a great balance of mystery and that sense of “whodunit” alongside the commentary of socioeconomic pressures and life after trauma. That sense of not knowing who to trust, and not knowing how to seek help when you know you won’t be believed or supported.

There was definitely a lot going on in this novel and it really set you up as a reader to see everyone as a suspect. It was thrilling to think you’d figured it out, only to find out you were wrong and there was even more to learn.

I had a great time reading this book, and feel excited to read Ware’s backlog that I’ve just not gotten around to yet.