The It Girl

By Ruth Ware

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Release date: Jul 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781982163389

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; The It Girl; and Zero Days. Visit her at RuthWare.com or follow her on Twitter @RuthWareWriter.

Reviews for The It Girl

[bons_11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am growing fan of Ruth Ware. I'm a true fan of alternating time lines/chapters because they are an added level of depth and interest for me. The character of Hannah weakened the plot for me. She always seemed to be absolutely sure it was this person...well until she wasn't. Hannah fixated on seeing the murder victim again 10 years later on more than one occasion. There's a clue that Hannah couldn't search out anything logically so I started viewing Hannah's thoughts as the author trying to take me on another random goose chase. Not my favorite Ruth Ware work.

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The It Girl embellished an understanding of the British collegiate system with all the tests and levels, but the friendship of six privileged students threw this reader into a love/hate relationship with the characters. Hannah Jones enters Oxford hardly believing her luck in being admitted to this esteemed institution. She immediately finds her roommate to be the rich and spoiled April Clarke-Cliveden. But six new students: Hannah, April, Hugh, Will, Ryan, and Emily form a friendly group that practically lives together in fun and games inspired by April. April pulls vicious pranks on each of her friends, but April’s last prank proves deadly. Hannah and Hugh find a dead April one night. Hannah remembers seeing an Oxford porter, John Neville, descending the stairs and this sighting condemns Neville to a life in prison for April’s death. Ruth Ware paints vivid characters, but this reader despises April and feels that Hannah needs a little backbone. Not a favorite book.

[jmchshannon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Any Ruth Ware novel is going to be a good one. The It Girl is just that. First, part of the story occurs in Oxford, a location which always, to me at least, elevates a story. Adding to that is a roommate situation that involves a little hero worship. This is all before we get to the murder itself. In the present day, tension automatically comes from the fact that both Hannah and Will are now married and still dealing with the fallout of April’s murder, something that only increases as you discover the extent of their relationships with her. The only issue I have with this particular one is that I could not stand April, and I couldn’t help but understand why someone might have problems with her to the point of wanting her dead. While I say that, I wonder if that is Ms. Ware’s point, which is quite sneaky of her if true. Still, I did enjoy The It Girl and would rank it higher than some of her previous novels.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great novel by Ruth Ware! April is the It Girl, a bright light, full of life, and simply beautiful. When Hannah meets her as her roommate at Oxford, April brings Hannah into her circle, along with Will, Hugo, Ryan, and Emily. Sadly, at the end of their first year, April is dead, and Hannah has accused John Neville, a school porter. Now, Neville has died after 10 years in prison, claiming his innocence to the end, and reporters are looking into the case.Hannah is now married to Will, and pregnant with their first child. Hannah begins to wonder if she did accuse someone wrongly. As she begins to dig deeper into what happened that night, she realizes that the people she was closest to are hiding a major secret, and her life is in danger. Novel moves quickly, and the ending is a surprise!

[sallyelizabethmurphy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Three stars is a generous rating. This novel could have been condensed. I felt like the story would never end.

[japaul22 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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

[smik_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hannah Jones believes she may have been responsible for an innocent man spending ten years in jail. It proved to be the rest of his life. John Neville was jailed mainly on the evidence that Hannah gave, but now she believes she may been wrong, and that the murderer is still at large.At the time that April was murdered Hannah's husband, Will, was April's boy friend. And even Will is not above suspicion. As Hannah tries to work out who was where when April died, she realises that even those who are closest to her are not above suspicion.A very readable story, and intriguing. The only problem I have is with the title.Like many other readers, I really didn't see the end coming.

[phoenixcomet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

John Neville is convicted of killing socialite and Oxford college student April, Clark-Clivedon based on testimony of April's best friend, Hannah Jones. But what if Hannah was wrong in what she saw and interpreted? Ten years after the murder, while still protesting his innocence, former porter John Neville dies. A reporter, Geraint Williams, contacts Hannah with information that irks her and sets her on a course of trying to either accept what happened 10 years before or correct the record.

[khoyt-43756 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh, my! What an exciting, pulse-pounding read! "Mystery-thriller" is almost too tame a statement. The list of suspects grows as Hannah remembers the night of the murder. The story continues to build quickly to a resolution as the solution begins to loom larger and larger. One is swept up in the actions and emotions of Hannah Jones 'til one feels your own pulse skyrocketing.

[silversurfer_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another terrific thriller from my new favorite mystery Author

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A story grippingly told by Hannah of a group of friends at Oxford who suddenly aren't so good friends anymore. Good ending believable maybe.

[waldhaus1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A young college student was strangled and her flat mate identified the man suspected of being her killer. He is convicted and ten years later dies in prison. Then she learns some things that make her suspect her original conclusion. As things are followed up an unexpected result ensues.

[mrsmommybooknerd7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

#FirstLine ~ Afterwards, it was the door she would remember.I loved this book. It bounces between before and after in perfect balance. I was uneasy the whole time reading, which is awesome. There was such an engaging plot and the pace was outstanding. The reader will be transfixed and delighted with this book cover to cover. A must read!

[cats57_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

To be perfectly honest, I could not finish this book. I even tried to give myself a couple of days and then coming back to it, but that didn't work.I found that I was curious about the ending, but unfortunately not curious enough to keep reading. It was written as two separate stories set at different times in the lives of these so-called friends. There is an issue with repetitiveness and ceaseless streams of consciousness on the part of our main character Hannah. And what a spineless human being she is in both timelines. Perhaps she gets better at the end, but I'm not going to stick around to find out.I understand that most readers love this author and all of her past books as well as this one, so give it a whirl it may just be that it is not my goblet of Zinfandel!*ARC supplied by the publisher Simon & Schuster, Gallery/Scout Press, the author, and NetGalley.

[ellenh_28 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! Ruth Ware can really write suspense! Grabbed me from the start and kept me interested and guessing.

[dpappas_25 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was a fan of some of Ruth Ware's books so I was excited to get the chance to read her latest. This book follows Hannah as the murder of her college roommate becomes front and center in her life years after it happened. While I liked Hannah well enough I would have enjoyed reading from the other characters point of views as well. I did enjoy the switching between the present day and past. In regards to what actually happened in the past I do have to say that I figured out the who not that far in but couldn't really figure out the how or the why. The ending was okay but I kind of expected maybe some more turns or action. This was a great beach read for me and I look forward to reading more from Ruth Ware. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley.

[twink_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm a fan of Ruth Ware's writing. I don't even bother reading the flyleaf before jumping in - I just know I'm in for a great tale! Her new book is The It Girl. There's one on every campus - an 'It Girl' - popular, vivacious and somewhat catty. That describes April Clarke-Cliveden to a tee. And on the other side of the coin is her uncertain, quiet, studious new roommate, Hannah Jones, at Oxford. They're chalk and cheese, but strike up an unlikely friendship. Hannah also comes to know and become a part of a group of April's friends.Hannah is the voice of this book. We see everything through her eyes in 'before' and 'after' chapters that span ten years. What event has Hannah marking time like this? It's the death of her friend April (not a spoiler as this is in the publisher's description) And the now is that the man associated with her death has died and a reporter is digging up the past. I love back and forth narratives, being left hanging at the end of a chapter. It makes for a lot of one more chapter' listening. Hannah is uncertain is so many ways - what is her own place in the group of friends, her marriage, her own self worth, her work and more. She questions every little bit of the past and begins to doubt what she thought was the truth. And how does that affect the present.....I chose to listen to The It Girl. The narrator was Imogen Church, a favorite of mine. She's come up with voices that are absolutely perfect for the characters. Hannah's voice is hesitant, deferring to stronger personalities. April's voice is by turns, haughty, derisive, needling, but also kind. A few times I could hear a 'valley girl' tone. There are other female characters and quite a few male players as well. Church provides a different tone for each that makes it easy to know who is speaking. Church's voice is easy to understand, with clear diction and a perfect reading speed. I thought she captured and presented Ware's book very well. She brings the emotions and actions of the book to life. I know I became more immersed in this book by choosing to listen.

[amysan_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another enjoyable read by Ruth Ware! This was more of a slow burn, but suspenseful.

[jfe16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review of Advance Uncorrected eGalleyHannah Jones, newly arrived at Oxford University’s Pelham College, meets her roommate, April Coutts-Cliveden. April, outgoing, effervescent, and bright, comes from wealth and seems to want for nothing. She’s absolutely dazzling . . . and soon the two girls have a group of devoted friends; Will, Hugh, Ryan, Emily, Hannah, and April are close-knit, staunch friends, but it is April who stands out as the ultimate IT girl.But April has a mean streak, visible as she delights in pranking others, often leaving her “victim" feeling distressed or foolish. One night, Hannah sees creepy porter John Neville coming out of their staircase and then discovers April in their room . . . dead.Ten years later, Hannah and Will are married and expecting their first child. And when the man convicted of murdering April dies in prison, Hannah finds herself thrown back into the mystery of April’s death as a journalist says there is evidence that John Neville might not have murdered April, after all.Hannah sets out to find the truth, but what she discovers may not be at all what she expected to find. Will she find that Neville was innocent, after all? And if he was, will she find the one who murdered her best friend?=========The academia of Oxford provides a strong sense of place for the telling of this tale. Told in chapters alternating between Before and After, the character-driven narrative finds Hannah [who testified at the trial of the man accused of murdering April] concerned that her testimony may have incarcerated the wrong man. Now she is determined to re-visit that horrific event to discover if someone else might be responsible for April’s death.The characters, flawed and not always likable, are nevertheless believable; April can be mean-spirited [and often is]; readers may find it difficult to relate to her. Hannah, who tends to come off as particularly naïve, is her polar opposite. The relationships between the six friends are complex and abstruse. The story, told from Hannah’s point of view, is intriguing. The suspect pool is large and readers may find the identity of the culprit a surprise. I received a free copy of this eBook from Gallery Books, Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley#TheItGirl #NetGalley

[romonko · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this e-book as an ARC, and would like to thank the publishers (Simon & Schuster) and the author for the giving me the opportunity to read this book. I am offering this honest review as a way of saying thanks for the opportunity. I have read a number of Ruth Ware books, and it is not without reason that she is thought of as the "Queen of Crime". This, her latest book, will be published in July of 2022. If you are a Ruth Ware fan you will want to read it for sure. If you're new to her writing, this may not be a bad place to start. Ms. Ware is a master at writing taut thrillers, with just as much shock and awe as is required to keep her readers turning pages. This book is no different, but I found the pace just a little bit slower at first than most of her books that I have read. The story begins at Oxford University with two roommates who are freshmen in Pelham College. Hannah is a bright English student who comes from a middle class family in a small town. April is an "It Girl" who seems to have it all. She's beautiful, brilliant, comes from a wealthy family, and she loves to party hard and grab life with both hands. The book skips back from that first year of Uni to ten years later when Hannah is married, pregnant and living in Edinburgh. When April is found dead in their shared rooms near the end of final term of that year, things change drastically for Hannah and her college friends. Hannah has never really come to terms with April's tragic death, and she begins to questions her former assurance that the killer had been found and sent to prison. When a young journalist tells Hannah that the man in prison claimed he was innocent right up to his recent death, she begins to question everything that happened on that terrible night, and begins to look at her friends and even closer to home, her husband, as to whether or not they had something to do with the death. The book slips back and forth from both timeframes. This form of telling a story allows the reader to formulate their own opinions as to who and what actually happened. The shocking end hits like gangbusters, (Ruth Ware's trademark denouement). I enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys taut, gripping, dark thrillers. In today's world of such similarity in storylines in this genre, Ruth Ware is a pleasant surprise. There is no repetition and no repetitive themes in her books. Recommended.

[pomo58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is a satisfying mystery that offers several ways to enjoy. Some edge of your seat and some more mental.I can enjoy a mystery/thriller in several ways. One of the obvious is the whodunit aspect, though even the best usually can't hold a reader completely baffled until the very end. To expect that is a bit unfair. Here, for example, the reader is likely to have started leaning in the right direction fairly soon and felt pretty confident by the end. That is not a negative, there were enough other possibilities to keep it from being too clear.In one where I either lean very sharply in one direction or the criminal is made clear intentionally early in the novel, the enjoyment comes from trying to figure out the how and the why. Sometimes, even when the book is supposed to be a whodunit, the how and why is the more compelling part. In this case, even when I was still a bit unsure, I was already trying to figure out why. And Ware kept me unsure about the who long enough and very unsure about the how and why until the end that this turned out to be a very fun read.As usual the writing is very good. The characters, in large part due to the dual timelines, are developed very well. I am not that big about the unlikability of a character as some people. I expect not to particularly like some characters in the same way, in a group of people, I am likely to not particularly like at least one. It doesn't ruin a book any more than it ruins my life. In fact, most books need characters that aren't likable. I found April to be less unlikable than simply someone I wouldn't want to be around in real life.I would have liked maybe one or two more strong suspects, but I am mostly nitpicking here. I'm not sure any single aspect was phenomenal but put together the whodunit, the how and why, and the characterizations all worked together well to create a compelling whole.Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.