Reviews: The It Girl (31)

I’ll start this review by making it clear that I am a HUGE fan of Ruth Ware’s books and I have never read one that hasn’t had me completely enthralled. The It Girl is another triumph: a mystery that is dark, complex, timely and engaging. The elite academia setting in thrillers has become increasingly popular, but Ware keeps it fresh and this novel has some really powerful and felicitous themes for our current times. I found myself compelled to turn the pages as I tried to work out what might have really happened all those years ago, but it was all of these themes that really engaged me in the novel and had me cogitating from chapter to chapter.

One of the strongest themes that leapt out of the pages for me is the treatment of women in our society. Ware explores this through so many characters and moments in the novel and I found myself feeling hugely uncomfortable at various points in the narrative. The escalating situation between Hannah and John Neville is expertly crafted, building this increasing ominous tension that is genuinely unsettling. Neville’s actions are symptomatic of both male privilege and entitlement, but also demonstrate how easily social awkwardness can be seen as threatening behaviour. Hannah is so unnerved by Neville that she purposefully avoids him and this is a painfully accurate depiction of what women are forced to do when they feel uncomfortable around a man. However, this situation also demonstrates how quickly we judge those who are a bit different or awkward in our society. I was fully invested in discovering just how guilty Neville was and it’s fair to say that there was definitely a very unsavoury nature to him. The toxicity of male privilege is not reserved for Neville alone though and the breadth of this theme continued to grow as the novel progressed. In fact, virtually all of the male characters take advantage of their gender and position in some way. Whilst this helped to fuel the mystery at the heart of April’s murder, it also placed the core of this novel very much in a present day conscious. It’s a timely and affecting read precisely because of this and subsequently, I found this book to be really powerful.

I also really enjoyed the format here. The story alternated between chapters set before April’s murder and present day chapters that focused on Hannah’s mission to finally discover the truth. This approach really helped to generate suspense and tension and I was totally engrossed with the gradual peeling back of layers as the plot edged ever closer to the final revelations. I was happily building theories whilst reading and Ware is a master story-teller, as just when she wanted me too I worked out what Hannah was to discover. However, in true Christie-esque fashion, I didn’t know why until Ware laid everything out for the reader. It’s east to understand why Ware has been compared to the Queen of Crime on so many occasions, as upon reflection, all the clues are there and the mystery of April’s murder is so plausibly chilling.

(Also loved that Hannah was reading a Louise Candlish novel - she has great taste!)

Ruth Ware returns in this gripping and absolutely compulsive read that is about to become your next obsession.
Everyone knows someone like April, the IT girl, the leader of the pack, the most beautiful and most intelligent person among her friends and who secretly everyone wants be. Arriving as a student in Oxford, Hannah finds herself sharing rooms with the seemingly perfect April and instantly finds herself being drawn into her life and becoming her new best friend, but is April really as perfect as she seems and tragedy is just waiting round the corner.
Some years later and Hannah has never been able to forget her best friend, especially finding April's lifeless body and the resulting nightmare that saw Hannah's life being turned upside down. Hounded by journalists and true crime fanatics all wanting her story, Hannah has never really felt at peace, until now. Because now Hannah and her husband Will (April's ex boyfriend) our expecting a baby and everything should be perfect, but then news arrives saying that April's killer has died in prison still protesting his innocence after all these years. Hannah begins to fear that not only did her evidence send an innocent man to prison but maybe the real murderer may still be out there and closer than Hannah could ever imagine.
Ruth Ware has created a powerful and mesmerizing story based around a small group of friends dominated over by the seemingly perfect April, but with everyone hiding secrets and playing there own games who can really be trusted?
Traveling backwards and forwards through time we explore the before and after following April's death through the eyes of best friend Hannah and following several twists and turns in both the past and present we are left guessing the outcome right to the very end in this very clever thriller.
Moving at a slower pace and taking place over several years, The It Girl builds effectively on its fascinating characters to tell a highly absorbing mystery that will keep you reading and guessing to the very end.
Ruth Ware has done it again and The It Girl is another success to be enjoyed by all mystery lovers. Great Stuff!

THE IT GIRL by Ruth Ware
Published Date: 4 August 2022

Well....not sure where to start with this review! I was excited at the beginning, lost interest and then it was up and down till the end. Characters were annoying (is that good or bad?) Chapters move back and forth between present and ten years before in Oxford in the past and Edinburgh in the present, concerning a group of students and their life after Oxford. The writing style was not for me, I found my mind wandering. Why was I continuing? Curiosity kept me continuing to the end but my reading journey was not a happy one.
I found the book too long.

I give a 3 start rating

I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

Unputdownable! Ruth Ware’s writing is chef’s kiss.

This is my third Ruth Ware read and she is fast becoming one of those authors that I will automatically pick up. Her writing style holds my interest and her plots are riveting.

I loved the dual timeline and settings in this one with part of it being set in Oxford University and the other part set ten years later in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Hannah Jones gave evidence against one of the Oxford College porter's for the murder of her best friend and roommate. Now, a decade later, that man has died in prison and Hannah is approached by a journalist who posits that the man was innocent. Hannah, never really without her own doubts as to what happened that fateful night, begins to wonder if perhaps the journalist is right. Did she make a tragic mistake?

"The It Girl" of the title was Hannah's friend, April Clarke-Cliveden. She was beautiful, wealthy, popular, stylish, a gifted actress, and prone to practical jokes. Sometimes her 'jokes' turned out to be cruel, hurtful pranks. When she is murdered the night after her successful play, it changes Hannah's life forever. She drops out of university and moves to Scotland where she eventually marries Will, April's old boyfriend from Oxford. Now they are expecting their first child. Haunted by her friend's death and her part in the apprehension of the man who purportedly murdered her, Hannah has never been able to put the tragedy behind her. Now, alternating between the past and the present, Hannah revisits the time leading up to April's murder.

With authentic characters that come alive to the reader, Ruth Hare has written another novel that is bound to be enjoyed by many - locked-room mystery lovers and thriller lovers alike.

This psychological thriller covers themes of guilt, jealousy, social acceptance, loyalty, and friendship. The narrative is skillfully rendered with an exciting denouement and more than one plot twist. Recommended!

4.5 stars rounded up

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is a very clever story about the murder of April Coutts -Cliveden and her friend Hannah who discovered her body. That was ten years ago and now the man convicted of her murder has now died still saying he was innocent. Hannah decides to investigate the murder again to make sure that John Neville really was guilty.
Highly recommended

Ruth Ware has made herself a place in my heart ans my bookshelf!

I have read quite a lot of her books and, although The Turn Of The Key is still my favourite, The It Girls is really good too!

April, The It Girl, was murdered 10 years ago and the person sent to prison for it has just died while incarcerated.

Even though everyone thought at the moment that justice had been served, Hannah, our main character, starts questioning the events that took place the night April died.

Was Neville, they guy found guilty, the murderer? Why does she have this unsettling feeling about that night? Did she testify what she saw or what she thought she had seen? Is there any chance the actual perpetrator is out there?

Hannah embarks herself in an amazing adventure of digging, asking, talking and questioning her friends at the time as well as some other people involved.

Will she be able to solve the case? Will she comes to terms with the initial verdict?

Please, read this amazing thriller to find out the answer to all my questions!

I thought this was an absolutely fantastic thriller. I loved the claustrophobic and cliquey university setting, and the cast of characters were all well developed. There are so many thrillers now that they can start to feel a bit samey, but the setting and situation of this one felt quite original. The book kept me gripped from start to finish and I'm looking forwards to reading the rest of Ruth Ware's considerable back catalogue of books.

Charmed lives at Oxford rudely interrupted by a murder. Did the wrong guy go to jail? (Spoiler alert: Yes. Otherwise, there'd be no novel). I was craving a good old-fashioned page turner, and I got it. It's a bit long, but it captures the surreal environment of Oxford (and by extension, Cambridge), quite well.

Ruth aware has always been a hit and miss for me, yet I still pick her books up because no matter what, I either love them immensely or I like them but something didn’t hold my attention. In this book however, it was totally different I was invested in this from beginning to end.

I was like Miss Marples, who was it, was it you? You or even you?
I kept changing my mind from YES! I got this too……oh gee that big twist that threw me of balance.

Have you ever been convinced about something you saw yet others put doubt in your mind until you start to question yourself?
This was like that with the main character and not in a soppy way either.

I liked this, I liked it A LOT.

Oxford University student April Clarke-Cliveden is beautiful, rich, popular and seeming has everything. 10 years ago she was found dead, and the creepy college porter John Neville was convicted of her murder.

A decade has passed and Neville has passed away in prison, protesting his innocence until his very last breath. When new evidence comes to light suggesting Neville may have been innocent after all, April’s former roommate Hannah decides she owes it to April to find out what really happened to her that night.

This is a dark academic thriller set in Oxford University in the mid noughties, it explores the privilege and class divide which is still incredibly prevalent at prestigious UK universities. April is such an all-consuming vibrant character that you cannot help but like, even though she’d done some seriously questionable things you can’t help but root for her and want to know what happened to her.

This book looks at our obsession with true crime and in particular women who are murdered by men. Often women killed by men become faceless victims whilst the perpetrator rises to infamy but this book challenges that - this book is about April, not her killer.

As a huge fan of Ruth Ware, I was incredibly excited to read this book and am so happy to say it didn't disappoint!

The It Girl was drenched in twists, turns and suspense in the absolute best of ways. Until the very end, there was always a shroud of mystery that turned into the most fantastic ending.

If you enjoy a good psychological thriller or crime, I would absolutely recommend this book.