The It Girl
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4.0 • 1.9K Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the “claustrophobic spine-tingler” (People) One by One returns with an unputdownable mystery following a woman on the search for answers a decade after her friend’s murder.
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) proves once again that she is “as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime” (The Washington Post) with this propulsive murder 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. Agent: Eve White, Eve White Literary (U.K.).
Customer Reviews
Kept Me Guessing
You read widely enough, there are not many books where you can’t figure things out at some point. This was one where I kept changing my mind about “who done it” and was pleasantly surprised (and irked with myself) to discover I was wrong. In fairness, the clues were pretty subtle, as they should be in a mystery novel—good authors are good at the slight-of-hand. You can decide if they were too subtle. I’m on the fence. But it was entertaining.
Hard to respect or like main character
As a mom, I found it hard to like the main character since on multiple occasions she put the life of her unborn baby in jeopardy and also didn’t want to attend doctor appointments for her baby or take medication the doctor said she needed. I liked the book up until she started running around like a crazy person trying to solve the murder with total disregard for her pregnancy. I just couldn’t get past that.
Slow to start
I’ve read a lot of Ruth Wares books so I was excited to read It Girl.
It was a bit disappointing. Really really slow start. When I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel it got much better. The ending is a twist and made up for such a slow, redundant start.