The It Girl

I generally enjoy Ruth Ware's mystery/suspense novels for what the are - clever enough and fun to get sucked into. This brand new one was sort of mediocre compared to some of her better books. The story centers on a group of friends at Oxford and the murder of the group leader - beautiful and wealthy April. Ten years later, her roommate is finally ready to reassess what might have happened that night and whether the person she accused was actually guilty.

I liked this, but the ending was REALLY predictable. I rarely figured out "who did it" before the end, partially because I don't care to think while I'm reading a mystery. I'm there to not think and just enjoy. But this one was just really obvious, and I don't think it was meant to be. show more

So, I don't know, if you really like Ruth Ware, go for it, but she has better books. show less

Ruth Ware's latest novel is an engrossing dark academia mystery that centers around the murder of Oxford "it" girl April Coutts-Cliveden. Hannah Jones became BFFs with the wealthy, clever, and sometimes cruel April, after they're paired as roommates freshman year. But, before the school year ends, April is dead, and a creepy porter will be convicted of the crime based on Hannah's eyewitness testimony.

Fast forward a decade, and Hannah is still haunted by April's death, in part because the porter has died in prison, maintaining his innocence until the end. Then a journalist contacts her, claiming that new evidence suggests the police got the wrong guy. Hannah's life is once again in turmoil. If it wasn't the porter, then who killed show more April?

I enjoyed this slow burn whodunit that showcases Ruth Ware's talent for weaving a twisty story. Though unique from her other books, I would say THE IT GIRL's atmosphere is closest to THE LYING GAME (less drama though). Not exactly Gothic or thriller, but suspenseful and keeps you guessing. Lots of red herrings and possible suspects had me changing my mind often, and I was shocked when the truth was revealed! I'll be buying a copy for my keeper shelf!

Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is a 2022 Gallery Scout Press publication.

Hannah’s testimony sends John Neville to prison for the murder of her best friend, April. Now, ten years later Neville dies in prison, protesting his innocence to the very end.

This event should put Hannah’s mind at rest. Finally, this will mean an eventual end to all the reporters hounding her and she can focus on her life with her husband, Will, and the imminent birth of their first child.

But, instead, Neville’s death triggers doubt about his guilt. When a reporter tracks her down, giving her new information about the case, Hannah can’t rest until she knows for sure if Neville was the guilty party…

Ruth Ware, with an exception, here or there, is at the very show more least a dependable ‘go to’ author for me. Occasionally, I feel like she succumbs to pressure from an editor or publisher, which is why I approached this one with a bit of caution, hoping it wasn't going to become a habit.

Thankfully, this book was really good!!

I've been suffering through a very dry spell in the mystery/thriller category this year, so I really needed this one. It’s been a LONG while since I’ve come across a new mystery that drew me in like this one did.

I loved the setting, the premise, and felt some good spine-tingles here and there, too. I loved the guessing game, and while I had some pretty good cases built up for one or two of the possible suspects, I guessed wrong…

So, there you have it. I very strong effort by Ware- atmospheric, effective, engrossing and it kept me on my toes. No book is flawless, but this one certainly deserves the 4+ stars. show less

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is a very highly recommended, outstanding psychological mystery/thriller that begs you to consider how much can you trust others as well as yourself?

Hannah Jones’s Oxford University roommate, April Clarke-Cliveden, has it all. April is beautiful, wealthy, and sophisticated. She is the ultimate "It" girl, so Hannah is thrilled when the two immediately become best friends. Hannah becomes part of a close group of friends including April, Emily, Ryan, Hugh, and Will. What she could never portend is that April would be dead before the end of the year. This event changed the entire course of Hannah's life.

Ten years later, Hannah and Will are married, living in Edinburgh, and expecting their first child. The man who show more was convicted of killing April, Oxford Porter John Neville, has just died in prison. His death brings the trauma a decade earlier to the forefront again along with reporters and media contacting Hannah. When one young journalist who is a friend of Ryan presents some new evidence that suggests Neville might have been innocent, Hannah, whose testimony sent Neville to prison, begins to question what she believed to be true about April's murder.

The plot unfolds through Hannah's point-of-view in alternating "before" and "after" chapters. The "before" chapters follow Hannah's arrival at Oxford, her socializing with her friends, and memories of Oxford leading up to April's murder. We meet the group of friends, see their personalities, and observe their interactions with each other through Hannah's eyes. "After" chapters follow Hannah in the present day, her life with Will, her pregnancy, and the growing doubts concerning what she thought was true. She becomes obsessed with trying to uncover what really happened to April.

The It Girl is very well-written, intriguing, captivating, and utterly compelling. I was engaged from beginning to end in this even paced novel. Ware provides details that bring to life the characters and settings. The alternating timelines work remarkably well in the narrative and help to gradually create even more suspense and tension. Every one is a suspect at one time or another as Hannah tries to figure out what happened and if her observations were accurate. I was engrossed right up to the denouement, which was a shocking surprise.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Gallery/Scout Press.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/07/the-it-girl.html show less

Well color me shocked. This may be the second Ware book that I have liked. The main reason why I gave this just four stars is I really didn't enjoy the retconning of one character. I won't get into it since it would be spoilers, but it just felt off based on what we read about what was going on between this person and Hannah while at school. The book does a great job of showing the "before" and "after" and even manages to do a nice job with showing the fallout from not just the media, but true crime enthusiasts when a murder happens. I had a fun time of guessing who was the person who murdered April.

"The It Girl" follows what happens to a group of students (Hannah, Will, Emily, Hugh, and Ryan) after their school friend (April) is found show more strangled and murdered while they were at Oxford. Hannah at the time was being stalked by a school porter at the school (John Neville). She sees him leaving from where she and her roommate April lived and when Hannah and her friend Hugh find April dead, they realize that only John could have done it. The main character we follow throughout via first person point of view is Hannah. We get to follow Hannah before and after and see how her life is derailed after April was found dead.

Hannah's life at times feels colorless as we follow her. She left a promising academic career and hid away after April's death. Now living in Edinburg, she hopes the scores of journalists and other true crime enthusiasts will one day leave her alone. She's expecting her first baby with [redacted] but still doesn't feel quite happy. But when John Neville, who was found guilty of murdering April dies in prison, a journalist comes along claiming he has evidence that proves John was innocent. Hannah of course goes into a tailspin. She already is dealing with lots of guilt about April, but to realize she could have been wrong about John Neville haunts her and she starts to remember what happened before and starts to get back in touch with her Oxford friends.

I think the smartest thing that Ware did in this one was for us to just follow Hannah. Her last book we had too many shifting points of view and I thought the story suffered from it. We also get to spend time with Hannah before and after. You can see how she was before April died and how much things have changed for her.

I thought the other characters were well written. Ware does a great job of bringing to life April, Hugh, Emily, Will, and Ryan. You feel at times you are back with them back in school and dealing with the stresses of exams and if that boy/girl you like, likes you too. You can even see why everyone gets pulled in by April at first, but how many people she had angered with her unending pranks and how she tended to seem to use some of them to make herself feel "bigger." I also like that there are so many potential suspects in this book. I don't know about anyone else, but my mind changed a dozen different times about who could have done it and the reason why too. There are enough threads there for you to follow and it makes sense when you get to the end I thought.

The writing was very good and so was the flow.

I thought the setting of Edinburg felt lonely the way Ware wrote it. And when we jumped back to "before" to the rooms that April and Hannah shared, it felt more real and alive. It definitely helps set the mood.

I really enjoyed the ending and the ultimate why behind everything. show less

April is the “it” girl at Pelham College, Oxford. She is wealthy, smart, attractive, talented. Hannah, her roommate, and she quickly become close friends. When April is found murdered in her room, Hannah’s statement to police helps put someone behind bars. Ten years later, that person dies in prison, still claiming his innocence. When a journalist reaches out to Hannah, now married to April’s college boyfriend, she questions whether someone else was the guilty party and sets out to answer some nagging questions.

Told in two timelines, before (the first year at Pelham for April, Hannah and a close group of friends) and after, 10 years later, it is cleverly plotted with good character development. However, it took too long to show more develop the after story. The before story where all the characters are introduced was well crafted. However, the after dragged on, especially all of Hannah’s ruminations.

Still, it was an engrossing, worthwhile read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallerybooks for the DRC. show less

I absolutely adored the rich setting of The It Girl by Ruth Ware in the fictional campus college of Pelham College at Oxford University.

Having visited Oxford in 2012 and 2018, I easily fell into the academic student vibe and wished I was among the characters fortunate enough to study there. Put it this way, I was definitely conjuring Dead Poets Society vibes as I was reading.

Our protagonist Hannah Jones is an impressive character and we pick up her story on her first day at Oxford. Later on, we find out more about her humble upbringing:

"I was the only person in my year at school to apply for Oxford. I'm the first person in my family to come here too. In fact, my dad doesn't even have a degree - he's a builder who left education when he show more was sixteen. I didn't volunteer to feed underprivileged kids in my gap year or spend my summer digging wells - I spent my summer working in a supermarket. As you may have guessed, I don't always feel like I fit in here. But I'm determined to prove I belong." Page 55-56

When Hannah moves into her accommodation on campus in Pelham College, she's surprised to be sharing a common room with April Clarke-Cliveden. April is charismatic, rich, confident, intelligent, beautiful and manipulative. April is the classic 'it girl' with a gaggle of loyal friends, Hannah, Will, Hugh, Ryan and Emily but by the end of the second term, April has been murdered.

The story unfolds in two timeframes, Before and After and both were compelling. At 420 pages in length though, I thought it was probably 50 pages too long. The After section takes place 10 years after the murder and we learn from the blurb that the man convicted of April's murder has died in prison. Hannah is married to Will and expecting their first child when this death occurs which sets off a chain of events.

Both time frames contained an element of mystery and suspense, although the ending was unexpected which is exactly what you want in a domestic thriller from Ruth Ware.

I do wonder though, if I've been spoiled forever after reading and loving my first Ruth Ware novel in The Turn of the Key back in 2019. That book went on to make my Top 5 Books of 2019 list and the ending was so amazing, it made me gasp out loud. Every time I've picked up a Ruth Ware novel since then (see my review for One by One by Ruth Ware) I'm hoping to have a similar mind blowing reading experience. The It Girl fell short of blowing my mind or making me gasp, and it won't be a contender on my Top 5 list for this year, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable 'whodunnit', that's for sure.

I recommend The It Girl by Ruth Ware to crime and thriller readers, campus novel enthusiasts and those with a special place in their heart for Oxford.

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster * show less