The It Girl
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4.0 • 2.9K Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“The pages turn themselves” (People) in this white-knuckled mystery following a woman on the search for answers a decade after her friend’s murder from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware.
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.
“The Agatha Christie of our generation” (David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author) presents a “deliciously dark and utterly addictive” (Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author) mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Turn of the Key, has become a bit of a mystery superstar. In this gripping read, a young woman’s dream of studying at Oxford turns into a nightmare. Hannah can’t believe her luck when campus it girl April becomes her roommate, taking her under her wing and introducing her to a new clique of the university’s most flamboyant and elite students—including the handsome and charming Will. But that all comes to an end when April’s murder shatters the friends’ insular bond. And things get even worse a decade later, when new evidence suggests that Hannah’s testimony may have helped convict an innocent man. As Hannah searches for the truth, each shocking twist had us more on edge. The It Girl is a thriller that puts a dark spin on posh university life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This exceptional psychological thriller from Ware (One by One) probes how much one can trust others—and one's self. Hannah Jones's Oxford University roommate, April Clarke-Cliveden, is everything Hannah isn't: wealthy, sophisticated, sexually adventurous, and occasionally cruel. The two become best friends despite their differences and the unspoken attraction between Hannah and April's boyfriend, Will. Moments after Hannah sees college porter John Neville leaving their residence building, she finds April strangled. Though Neville is later convicted of the murder, the crime, trial, and subsequent media furor upend Hannah's life. Ten years later, she's living in Edinburgh, married to Will, and pregnant. Days after Neville dies in prison, a journalist emails her with evidence that calls the porter's guilt into doubt. Fearing her testimony helped convict an innocent man, Hannah feels compelled to revisit the murder with the three Oxford friends that knew April best. The memories shared by mild-mannered doctor Hugh, mathematician Emily, and Ryan, who has suffered a stroke since their college years, call most of what she's believed about April and her death into question. Alternating past and present chapters build toward a gripping denouement as nicely chosen details bring each character vividly to life. This showcases Ware's gifts to the fullest.
Customer Reviews
Plot twist
I liked the Author’s style, but the entire story hinged on an entitled woman’s perspective. I hated the main character and all of her decisions it was hard to relate. The story still had me clinging for more to find out what really happened.
Superb Suspense
Well done Ruth Ware. You have never faltered.
Hard Pass
I’m tempted to finish this book only because of the money it cost me. It’s just not believable in any way. The fact that that Hannah considered April her best friend is laughable. She didn’t have a single redeeming quality, unless you count spending her dads money on her friends. And Hannah doesn’t seem like a real nice person either. Maybe that’s why she and April were friends. It’s taking me a really long time to get through this. This is the first of Ruth Ware’s books that I’ve found to be almost unreadable.