would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this compelling book

hannah and emily are starting oxford together and are sharing rooms but by the end of the second term emily will dead...murdered by the evidence given at that time by hannah against one of the porters that worked at oxford

now 10 years later another journalist gets in contact with hannah with the news that the convicted porter may not have been the murderer,...but its sets of a chain of events that could end in another murder

because if it wasnt the porter then could the actual murderer be in hannahs circle of friends at oxford...

its a puzzle all right and one that grips you right to the end of the book

This book did a good job of slowly drawing me in With its intriguing twisty storyline it held me in suspense right up to the very end.
I definitely did not see that coming & I love it when an author can surprise me.
The story is set in two time lines & is well written with some good interesting characters.
Some of you may find this a slow burn to begin with, but stay with it, as this multi layered suspense mystery just gets better.
Hannah finds her roommate April dead on the floor of their rooms at Oxford.
Hannah never questioned what she saw that day.
Did her testimony put an innocent man in jail ?
Ten years on & Hannah has just heard that man died in jail still claiming is innocence.
She needs to know the truth & if it wasn’t really him was it someone she new ?
She is still living with fallout & trauma of that day can she really dredge this all up again.
I thoroughly enjoyed this well constructed psychological mystery read as the more I got into it the more I couldn’t put it down.

I was excited to start this after loving each of Ruth Wares previous books and this really didn’t disappoint. I was absolutely hooked from the very first chapters and found myself trying to squeeze in pages at every opportunity.
It built that tension you need for a good thriller brilliantly. With Hannah being vulnerable, isolated and feeling so anxious, it really gave you a sense that this may not bode well for her.
I loved the flashbacks to the past, reliving the events of the past and it being set in Oxford gave it a real spooky edge!
A huge plus for me was that I did not guess the ending, I didn’t predict where it was going to go and the last few chapters were utterly nail-biting and made for compulsive reading!
Another brilliant, tense and twisty thriller from Ruth Ware, I’m just sad that I have to wait for her next book!

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 second, 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.

This latest Ruth Ware is a locked room mystery full of her usual atmospheric narrative. The chapters switch from the past to the present, both from Hannah’s point of view, which ramps up the tension as we know April will die but we don’t know exactly how or when.

The setting of Oxford University is described incredibly well and you almost feel like you are walking across the greens yourself. The old buildings and historic halls add an intimidating air to proceedings with just a hint of menace.

The chapters detailing the past were much more interesting and engaging than those in the present. We discovered more about the characters, the relationships between them and the sometimes damaging dynamics of the clique. Each character was distinct enough to remember although April was perhaps a little too much of a cliche.

It took a while for Hannah in the present to commit to investigating the murder and I wish she had done this earlier as once she did, it really helped to propel the book forward. Regular readers of crime may guess the ending and the identity of the murderer but it was still written well enough for me to want to continue.

Absolutely loved this story of Hannah, whose best friend, April, is murdered while the girls are studying at university in Oxford. The story picks up with Hannah some 10 years later and very cleverly jumps backwards and forwards in time to slowly reveal the story of what happened to April. It had me gripped and I really didn’t want to put it down. Highly recommended!

I love reading Ruth Wares books, she is one of my favourite authors. And The It Girl is no exception. I highly recommend this book

I loved this book! Twists and turns and an ending I couldn't see coming. It's a great read and a true page turner!

A very intense, slow building tale of murder among the elite of Oxford. We are drip fed information by Hannah who was the victim’s roommate and part of her group of friends and we begin to see that things were not all they seemed on the surface. I really enjoyed being led one way then another until the final riveting scenes. Twisty and clever.

I’d like to thank Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The It Girl’ by Ruth Ware in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It’s 2012 and Hannah is studying at Oxford’s prestigious Pelham College where she’s sharing accommodation with April. Then, one evening, she finds April dead on the floor in their room and when she gives her statement to the police she tells them she saw John Neville, the weirdly peculiar Porter at Pelham College, coming away from their room on Staircase 7. Ten years later, Hannah still feels guilty as it was her who put John Neville into prison and she can’t stop thinking that she could have got it wrong and he could have been innocent.

‘The It Girl’ is a thriller that spans two decades, 2012 when Hannah is at Pelham College and ten years later when Hannah is married to Will and expecting their first child. From a fairly slow beginning it gradually increases in pace with the story becoming more tense and dramatic the further I read until the unexplainable suddenly becomes clear as Hannah remembers what happened on the evening April died. This is a well-written book of intrigue and mystery that I enjoyed reading and can recommend.

Although I have previously really enjoyed books by Ruth Ware before, I found this a somewhat pedestrian read. We have Hannah Jones, from a comprehensive school and working-class background, who gains a place at Oxford. She is very much out of her comfort zone and feels even more so when she discovers she is sharing a set of rooms with the glamorous, beautiful and wealthy ‘It Girl’ of the title, April Clarke-Cliveden. While at university, Hannah’s friends include Emily, Ryan, Hugh and Will de Chastaigne, who Hannah is very attracted to, but who April seems to want for herself. Add to this cast of characters a tutor with somewhat suspicious motives and a creepy porter, all residing within the dreaming spires of Oxford, and you have a good setting for a murder. This, of course, happens and April is found dead in their rooms, leading to the arrest of the porter, who goes off to prison, proclaiming his innocence.

Fast forward a few years and Hannah is living in Edinburgh, married to Will and pregnant with their first child. The man accused and convicted of April’s murder is now dead and this has led to a resurgence of press interest and a journalist is questioning whether the right person was charged. This leads to Hannah – who is constantly distressed over past events, blaming herself and trying to find out what really happened and whether her evidence led to an innocent man being imprisoned.

Part of my issue with this book was the fact that I found Hannah incredibly annoying. Of course, what happened to her was terrible, but there seemed a disconnect between Hannah’s distress and her real feelings for April. Although she constantly bemoans losing her best friend and seems unable to get close to female friends, in case she loses them, she just doesn’t seem to like April a lot of the time and neither does anyone else. Therefore, all the hand wringing didn’t really work for me and, Oxford and Edinburgh aside, the setting could only do so much to interest me in the plot. I would read more by Ruth Ware as I have enjoyed other books by her, but sadly this one is not a favourite. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

As always Ruth aware hasn’t disappointed. Such a cracking read.

Found myself thinking about the storyline when I wasn’t reading it! I certainly didn’t see the ending coming. It’s addictive reading, the flow between to timelines is perfect, characters easy to follow.

A definite 5 ⭐️

Absolutely brilliant, I loved this book! Really draws you in to the character's world, just the best plot. I felt this had real Christie vibes, the clues were there but because the story moved along so smoothly you focused on where it was going, rather than trying to work it all out. Excellent reveal, it worked so well. Something I really liked was that the characters felt very believable and that it all could have actually happened. I enjoyed the dual timeline of 'before' and 'after' which also helped to give an insight into Hannah's state of mind during each time. Thoroughly readable, thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend!

Hannah is a naive girl who has gained a place at Oxford University, she feels out of her depth and even more so when she meets her room mate April .
April is a rich, gregarious , confident and beautiful girl. At times she is ruthless and doesn’t care who she hurts to get what she wants.
Their unlikely friendship blossoms and they pair become a group with Will, Hugh, Ryan and Emily. April loves to be the centre of attention and makes sure that most of the time she is..
Hannah has an uncomfortable relationship with one of the university porters John Neville, he makes Hannah feel very uncomfortable due to his creepy behaviour.
The relationships within the group are complex and not always amiable.
April is found dead by Hannah and this obviously changes Hannah’s life forever, her evidence helps to convict Neville of Aprils murder.

Fast forward ten years and Neville dies in prison always maintaining his innocence. This dredges up all of the old memories for Hannah and it also brings the journalists out of the wood work , one in particular believing there may be a shred of truth in the innocence of the convicted man.
For some reason this resonates with Hannah and she decides to look up her old university friends and investigate what they knew about April’s death. What she uncovers is far from what she would have ever believed .
Ruth Ware has written another winner for me with the right combination of suspense and tense intrigue. The writing is of the calibre I have come to expect and the story kept me reading into the night , and I wasn’t ready for the ending!
All in all an enjoyable thriller.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK.

Hannah Jones is a woman haunted. After the horrific murder of her roommate and best friend, April, at the exclusive Pelham College ten years prior, Hannah has struggled to rebuild her life. Sure, she has fallen in love, married, kept a job as a bookseller and is expecting her first child - but Hannah is still running from what happened, and when a crack appears in the story Hannah has told herself about what happened that night, things start to unravel...

This was my first date with Ms Ware and once I got to know the characters, I was hooked. She is an incredibly accomplished thriller writer, the plot unwinding with finesse - this one's got so many more layers than I was anticipating. Hannah is an excellent POV character, as someone who was close to the deceased but also responsible for the arrest of the murderer - or was she? The crux of this novel is Hannah discovering that April's percieved murderer was potentially innocent of the crime. Hannah - a bookseller turned amateur sleuth - has to dive back into her past in order to piece together what really happened.

This book reminded me of so many other books - The Secret History, for one, with its Oxford College setting and stuffy Professors. The exploration of first-year life at university is perhaps a little idealised - until the murder, obviously - but makes sense from Hannah's perspective. The novel also reminded me of the Sophie Toscan Du Plantier case, as the alleged murderer in this novel, John Neville, has shades of Ian Bailey to him - he is definitely a massive creep who is weird about women, but is he a murderer, too?

Comparisons aside, The It Girl is a thrill-ride in its own terms, too - I have to admit I usually figure out thriller novels but this one caught me and it wasn't until just before the big reveal that I copped the big twist. Certain elements let the novel down for me- Will, Hannah's husband, wasn't especially well drawn, and there's one big scene at the end where his reactions don't make sense. But nevertheless this was an exciting, binge-able book I stayed up later than intended to finish.

The IT Girl by Ruth Ware
I give this book 4.25 stars

It was Hannah who found April’s body 10 years ago.
It was Hannah who didn’t question what she saw that day.
Did her testimony put an innocent man in prison?
She needs to know the truth.
Even if it means questioning her own friends.
Even if it means putting her own life at risk.
Because if the killer wasn’t a stranger, it's someone she knows…

Love ,friendship and betrayal….. nothing is as it seems!!
Ruth Ware writes a cracking murder mystery with lots of intrigue and plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.The Before and After chapters work really well and cleverly weave the story together with a few clues and red herrings neatly inserted along the way if you’re paying attention. I really enjoyed the Oxford University setting. and found Hannah and April to be interesting if not completely likeable characters.This would make a great movie.
With thanks to Netgalley, Ruth Ware and Simon & Schuster UK
for my chance to read and review this book

Another great read from Ruth Ware.
April was murdered whilst studying at Oxford and was known as an IT Girl as she had it all.
Hannah receives the news that the man charged with her murder has died in prison and it plays on her mind that he was saying he was innocent right up until he died.
We have the story from before April’s death and the lead up to it and the ‘after’ which is Hannah making enquiries about what really happened.
Hannah is determined to find out what really happened but it’s not as easy as she thought.
Those around her are keeping secrets and when she things she’s worked out who the killer is, her life and her unborn child’s lives are in danger.
This is a gripping thriller that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

April Clarke-Cliveden is The IT Girl. April is beautiful, extremely rich and has started her studies at Pelham College, Oxford. She is generous, gregarious, magnetic, but she is also petulant, spoilt, manipulative and finds pranking people hysterical. To Hannah Jones, a quieter, Comprehensive educated student, this lifestyle and persona are alien. Finding herself sharing accommodation, a fast and unlikely friendship is formed.
The story is told in dual time lines. “Before” being the first year at Pelham, before April’s death, and “After” being approximately ten years later, both time lines feature Hannah as the narrator. The events of that night cast an extremely long shadow for all of the friends within the fraught and tense friendship group. Old emotions are reignited by the death of the man convicted of April’s death. John Neville has always maintained his innocence, despite the conviction appearing to be very safe.
Ruth Ware has written a tense and suspenseful story, which keeps you wanting to read on, turning those pages. Just when you think you will find out a vital clue, the time line changes. So you have to wait a little longer for the plot to expand.
The author made me cast suspicion over all of the group at various times, every one of them has ample motive. Each of these characters are distinctly individual, well rounded, so the story is very easy to follow, with no room for confusion.
I did work out the culprit, before the storyline told us, but not the how; which was very clever. I would never have guessed that. I highly recommend this engaging, well written 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review on netgalley. I’ve read a few of Ruth’s books and this is definitely the best in my opinion.

Read in one sitting in this heatwave and my goodness I couldn’t stop once I started .

Intriguing and intoxicating this is the before and after story of what happened after a murder.

Incredibly written with all the ingredients needed for a thriller.

Gripping and unpredictable with fantastic characters some much more likeable than others

I loved it and reckon this will be a absolute hit this summer!

Published 4th August

The It Girl takes the reader to the elite, competitive world of Oxford University – specifically a (fictional) college at the university, where Hannah Jones, an ordinary girl from a working-class background – finds herself studying ten years ago, amongst some of the wealthiest and most privileged people in the country. One of those is the enigmatic April, her roommate, who she strikes up an unlikely friendship with. Unfortunately, not everyone at the college is friendly, as Hannah soon finds out, and April is horrifically murdered one evening.

We also move forwards in time to the present day, when Hannah is trying to cope with the awful event that caused her to leave Oxford. She’s pregnant with her first child, and her husband Will – who also attended the same college – is trying to keep her life stress-free for the sake of their baby. They hear that John Neville, the man who was locked away for April’s murder, has died. Then a journalist gets in touch with some doubts he has as to whether April’s murderer was actually guilty…

I don’t want to give too much away but, through scenes back in the university days and the present-day uncovering of clues, we start to piece together what really happened all that time ago.

I liked the characters in this novel – they’re entertaining and, though many of them have their faults, they feel convincing. April is never painted to be this saint – all her friends acknowledge that she could be mean, spoilt, and demanding. Hannah really cares for her but can’t help being frustrated with her at various times. However, she desperately wants to know what really happened – the shock of what happened to April and the fact that Hannah’s eyewitness testimony helped convict John means she can’t just ignore the possibility that someone else could have killed April.

I also really enjoyed reading about the world of Oxford University – a setting very unknown to me and one that definitely felt atmospheric and steeped in tradition.

The plot is twisty and has plenty of surprises. I did see some bits coming from quite far off, and I felt like the story wasn’t as tightly plotted as other books by Ruth Ware that I’ve read in the past. The storyline didn’t feel very original but it was well written and I liked the slow build-up as we discover more and more about that night.

I still enjoyed this novel but I think I have a very high standard when I read a book by this author, so it didn’t really ‘wow’ me. I would still recommend it and it’s a gripping read, but I have to admit that I prefer other novels by this author.

Absolutely brilliant! This is my first book by this author but definitely won’t be my last.

The IT girl is a complex tale told in a dual timeline of “before” and “after”. The event in question is the murder of April, a privileged young woman attending Oxford university.

Hannah testified at the trial and helped convict the murderer, but now 10 years on his guilt is in question. Hannah is on a mission to find out if she made a mistake all those years ago.

Brilliant characters form a web of links and as we move back and forth we learn more about the friendships and animosity between the group of students.

A brilliant read with a plot that keeps you gripped from start to finish.