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Book Summary and Reviews of The It Girl by Ruth Ware

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

The It Girl

by Ruth Ware

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Jul 2022, 432 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

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.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"This exceptional psychological thriller from Ware probes how much one can trust others—and one's self...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." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Ware develops both the reader's doubts about and concern for Hannah as the suspense builds gradually under a masterful barrage of red herrings...Riveting." - Booklist (starred review)

"[T]his isn't the breathless page-turner one has come to expect from Ware. Delightfully readable fiction, but the mystery disappoints." - Kirkus Reviews

"Every Ruth Ware novel is a unique and unexpected gem and this one is no exception. A heady, tense, slowburn dream of a book, multi-layered and steeped in atmosphere and peril. I loved every page." - Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone

This information about The It Girl was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language, and a press officer before settling down as a full-time writer. She now lives with her family in Sussex, on the south coast of England. She is the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail (Toronto) bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood; The Woman in Cabin 10; The Lying Game; The Death of Mrs. Westaway; The Turn of the Key; One by One; and The It Girl.

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