Ruth Ware has done it again! Oxford, friends freshman year are close and supportive. Hannah, quiet public school girl, is rooming with April, the "IT" girl-beautiful, wealthy, good friend, and good student. As the year winds down, April, is in a school production of Medea. The celebratory after party is missing April, who has gone back to change. Hannah goes looking for her and finds her dead. A porter is convicted and with his death, Hannah starts wondering about his possible innocence. I read this in almost one sitting.

College for Hannah is finding herself, and finding a best friend. Until that friend is murdered. And for the next ten years her world changes to finding the love of her life and being haunted by a night that she relives over and over in her mind. I loved this book. Hannah’s character is well written with depth and heartfelt emotions. What happens when someone you care about is murdered? And how does it play our in your mind by questioning all of your beliefs. Do you ever truly know the people you count on? This was an edge of your seat murder mystery that will keep you guessing to the last pages. Highly recommended!

As an avid Ruth Ware reader, THE IT GIRL came as a surprise to me with the feeling of a slow burn mystery. Like usual, I loved the way Ware writes her characters and capitalizes on her dramatic and detailed settings. This time, the story had a dark academia vibe, unlike any of her other books. I would recommend this read for mystery and suspense lovers, with a bit of a thrilling twist.

Ruth Ware has done it again. Atmospheric, quick paced thriller told in the before and after of a murder at Oxford. Hannah’s roommate died gruesomely and as the only witness, she helped send the murderer to jail. But new evidence is coming to light that makes Hannah question whether she accused the wrong man all those years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and look forward to more of Ware’s books! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange with my honest review.

Another absolute triumph from Ruth Ware! I always look forward to new releases from Ware, and this one did not disappoint. The It Girl is a fast paced, engaging read that kept me guessing until the end. Every time I thought I knew who the killer was, new information surfaced that made me reconsider. The ending twist was definitely a surprise. I also thought the parallel time lines worked well. A must read for any thriller lover!

I've read all of Ruth Ware's books and liked them to varying degrees, but this was one of her best! It felt like a good old fashioned mystery in the vein of Agatha Christine with little clues & red herrings dropped here and there that all came together in the end. Very suspenseful & engaging!

Ruth Ware fans will love this book! Absorbing and mysterious, you will be turning pages into the wee hours to find out what happens next.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this pre-publication manuscript in exchange for my review. #NetGalley #TheItGirl

4.5 rounded up
Ruth Ware does it again. This might be my favorite. Loved all the characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This book has two narratives - one before and one after - that take places in two different points in time. I love books with dual narrative and I love mysteries, so it was a great combination for me! It also had rising tension and suspense without being too over the top or having an obvious conclusion. It also felt very relatable for me (not the part about discovering someone had been murdered), but the juxtaposition of college days versus 10 years later and how life and relationships have changed and evolved. All of the characters were well developed and the relationships (good and bad) felt very real and you kept wanting to know (and read) more. I read the entire book over the course of a few days as it was so hard to stop!

I’m a huge Ruth Ware fan so I was grateful to read an advanced copy. This is the story of Hannah, whose college roommate was killed a decade ago. I definitely got sucked in to the story right away and couldn’t put it down. I was a little disappointed when I figured out the ending early on in the story, but I thought it was a good book!

Hannah, now pregnant and happily married, is thrown back into the heartbreak and timorous recollections of ten years ago when her best friend and roommate April was murdered. The murderer, a man Hannah herself helped identify and throw into prison, has passed away claiming his innocence until the very end. Once so very confident in her own retrospection, Hannah is confronted by a journalist who has his own spin on what actually happened the day April was killed.

Now Hannah questions the honesty and roles of all of her closest university friends. Were they really as loyal to one another as Hannah always believed? Or did April's spikey personality and penchant for cruelty push someone close to her over the edge? Battling through her own demons and limitations, Hannah is determined to prove her unease wrong...or will she unearth something she can never unlearn?

I love Ruth Ware. The Turn of the Key and In a Dark, Dark Wood are two of my favorites. I started off really into this book. But the more I read about April and her vicious streak, the less I cared about her murder. That probably sounds brittle and unfeeling, but it's the reality - it's hard to want justice for a character when their portrayed as such an a-hole. I also started losing interest because of the sheer volume of the book. It seemed like there was quite a bit of unnecessary filler at the end and I skimmed the last two chapters because they just weren't interesting or intrinsic to the wrapping up of the book.

It was an okay book, but not one of my favorites from Ware.

Ruth Ware has become one of my favorite authors. She has mastered creating atmospheric, suspenseful books that you can't put down. This book was no exception! Told in alternating timelines, before and after, that kept me riveted to find out more! When I thought I had it figured out I would be thrown for a loop and need to rethink what was going on. The ending was very well done.

Ruth Ware's talent for writing a compelling, riveting novel will have you convinced after reading The It Girl. The book centers around a mismatched clique of Oxford Uni students. With St Elmo's Fire vibes, the story comes in waves of past and present from finding their own identities to later adult responsibilities. Not everyone will graduate and someone will die.

Hannah and April become inseparable as roommates. Raised from different backgrounds, April is the "It" girl with her flamboyant, ritzy, plush lifestyle and is the opposite of Hannah's more reserved, practical behavior. Yet, their friendship with Emily, Will, Hugh and Ryan all meshed politely and socially....at first. As couples paired, trouble surfaced. Will and April appeared as the couple to strive to be like...until April leaves a pub one night alone and found dead in her dorm room.

The porter in their school, John Neville, considered to be socially awkward and sketchy was tried for her murder and sentenced to prison pleading for his innocence. When he died in prison ten years later, a young journalist sets out to find the truth as new evidence surfaces. When he reconnects with April's classmates, he finds Hannah married to Will. Hannah was the leading witness that sealed Neville's fate when she saw him leaving their dorm stairwell.

Memories are clouded by what Hannah believes she saw, but begins to question the other friends and the journalist. There is danger in finding the truth. They each have a different version of the real April and all are questionable in her death. This is hard to put down and frustrating when time was not on my side. The truth is right in front of you, but I couldn't figure it out. A definite twist that left me shocked and dumbfounded. I highly recommend for your TBR list as well as all of Ruth Ware's books.

Thanks NetGalley and Gallery Books for this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance for an early read!

Ruth Ware always delivers such blockbuster thrills. When I first heard about this I was sold based on the college friends vibe, academic friend fiction is my favorite.

Combine that with murder, twisted friendships, English major drama, and flashbacks galore? A fun read indeed.

I will say I think the before scenes are more fun, but I can see where she went with building the present time thickness of drama.

I have always loved Ruth Ware, and this book was no exception! Hannah Jones attends her dream school, Oxford, where she meets April. As roommates, her and April not only bond but become the best of friends. When Hannah comes home one night to find April dead, her world is turned upside down. This book follows Hannah ten years later as she comes to terms with what really happened that night and finds out if she sent an innocent mail to prison.

Thanks to @netgalley and @scoutpressbooks for this early copy of @ruthwarewriter’s upcoming novel, “The It Girl.”

I love me some Ruth Ware, and this was no exception. She produces utterly readable mysteries and thrillers that keep the suspense level high and the reader guessing. And this one is in my favorite setting: “dark academia.”

This book alternates back and forth being “before” and “after,” with the latter occurring in present day where our protagonist, Hannah, is pregnant with the child of her almost-college-sweetheart, Will’s, baby. The story surrounds the murder of Hannah’s college roommate, April, and a cast of suspicious characters who all may have a motive for murder. A college official, John Neville, was found guilty of the murder, but died in prison while waiting an appeal. Did he really do it?

I’m not going to lie, I read so many thrillers that I had a pretty good sense of part of the ending early on - but, of course, not all the details. And honestly, who cares? The adventure is in the reading. I couldn’t have imagined the way it would play out even if I had an inkling, and I enjoyed every suspenseful page. Ruth Ware is a gifted storyteller and her writing kept me fully engaged throughout.

From the first to the last page, this was a great novel and kept me on my toes. Definitely a must-read when it drops this July!

Another compelling mystery from Ruth Ware. The characters were interesting and I liked the plot line switching between two different time frames.

Ruth Ware is one of my favorite mystery writers. Her latest suspense tale, The It Girl, set at Oxford and in Edinburgh, was quite enjoyable to read. It kept me turning the pages and trying to gather clues like an amateur detective. The Death of Mrs. Westaway is a standout thriller, yet this campus novel of friendship, class, and privilege is another solid psychological crime novel.

This is my favorite mystery from this author. It takes place with a dual time line. Hannah and April are suitemates at Oxford. A murder occurs and on the present time, Hannah sepnds a lot of time second guessing g just what happened at Oxford. It kept me guessing and entertained throughout. A wonderful read!

Great mystery, Ruth Ware certainly earns the Agatha Christie comparisons. The red herrings were set up so expertly that I was thoroughly distracted from the real killer and enjoyed piecing it together with the protagonist.