The It Girl by Ruth Ware

Hello beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I get into The It Girl by Ruth Ware, an author whom I have enjoyed very much in the past. When a group of friends are thrown back into their traumatic past in university, even though they are all grown up now. With the mystery of the past still looming over their heads, the question of whether they can go back to their lives once the truth comes out threatens to ruin the present.

Main Characters:

Hannah Jones: When the murderer of her friend April dies in prison, his death brings up more questions of the past than expected. Hannah, who helped convict him, and is now pregnant by April’s university boyfriend and her now husband Will, questions the role she played, and attempts to make up for things in the past while trying to keep her life together.

April Clarke: Cliveden: Is murdered in her dorm during their first year. She’s charismatic, magnetic, and the kind of person everyone is drawn to, but she’s also arrogant, manipulative, and not always particularly kind. I actually liked that she wasn’t written as a perfect victim because it made both her relationships and the investigation feel much more complicated.

Will de Chastaigne: Hannah’s husband and one of the friends still dealing with the aftermath of April’s murder. Like everyone else in the group, he’s carrying secrets, and part of the fun is trying to figure out who’s hiding what.

Ryan Coates: Part of the core group of friends from the past, who, after a medical episode, does not live the same life in the present.

Emily Lippman: Ryan’s girlfriend in the past and also another member of the group. Also, her life has been turned upside down after the events of the past.

Hugh Bland: Will’s best friend from childhood who is very loyal to their group and almost a protector.

John Neville: A previous custodian at Oxford who was convicted of April’s murder, but whose death brings the past back and puts into question what really happened that night.

My Review

As mentioned before, I have enjoyed Ruth Ware’s books in the past and was looking forward to getting into The It Girl. Her mystery thrillers are always very twisty and filled with enjoyable but suspicious characters, and this one is no different. I gave The It Girl a 7.5/10 rating overall. While I really enjoyed the characters, I did feel like a lot was going on at parts which led to a bit of a lower rating. However, the plot is interesting and enjoyable to follow. The mystery itself is hard to figure out along the way because there are so many characters and so many secrets to unravel.

Years after the murder of her university friend April Clarke-Cliveden, Hannah believes the case has long since been put to rest. But when the man convicted of April’s murder dies in prison while still maintaining his innocence, old questions suddenly resurface. Forced to revisit the night that changed all of their lives, Hannah and her old group of friends begin questioning whether they truly understood what happened all those years ago. As past and present collide, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, proving that the people closest to April may never have known the whole truth.

This was such an enjoyable mystery. I’ve always loved stories where a close-knit group of friends is forced to confront secrets from their past, and The It Girl fits perfectly into that kind of thriller. There’s something so entertaining about watching friendships slowly unravel as everyone starts questioning what they remember and what they’ve been hiding.

The mystery surrounding April’s death immediately pulled me in. The idea that the man convicted of her murder dies insisting he was innocent is such a great catalyst because it forces everyone, including the reader, to reconsider everything they thought they knew about that night. It creates this constant feeling of uncertainty that carries through the entire book.

I also thought the past and present timelines worked really well. Rather than feeling like two separate stories, they constantly build off one another, showing how the decisions made years ago continue to shape everyone’s lives. Every chapter in the past seemed to add another layer to the present-day investigation, and I really enjoyed seeing those connections come together.

Hannah made for an interesting main character, too. She’s definitely insecure, and while that occasionally made it a little harder for me to fully connect with her, it also made her feel realistic. Her self-doubt means she’s constantly questioning not only the people around her but also her own memories, which fits the mystery really well. You’re never quite sure whether to completely trust her perspective, and I liked that uncertainty.

April was another standout character. I appreciated that she wasn’t written as a flawless victim. She’s confident to the point of arrogance, often selfish, and not always particularly likeable, but that complexity makes both her relationships and the mystery much more interesting. It also leaves you wondering who truly cared about her and who may have had reasons to resent her.

As for the mystery itself, I thought it struck a nice balance. There were definitely moments that caught me completely off guard, but there were also a few reveals I managed to piece together before they happened. For me, that’s actually the sweet spot for a whodunit. I like feeling smart enough to solve some of it while still being surprised by the bigger picture.

Overall, I found this to be another solid Ruth Ware thriller. It’s twisty, addictive, and full of the kind of buried secrets and complicated friendships that make these stories so much fun to read. If you’ve enjoyed Ruth Ware’s other books, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try. It has that same page-turning quality that makes it hard to put down while delivering a satisfying mystery built around a group of people who all have something to hide.

*** Don’t read any further if you don’t want to read any spoilers ***

As the story goes on, it seems like Hannah is putting together the puzzle pieces, and she is in some ways, but misses big time in others.

When Hannah starts to believe that it could be Will who did it, she reaches out to his longtime friend Hugh, who knows him better than anyone. Hugh does not dispel her worries and convinces her that he is dangerous. When Will finds out that she suspects him, she runs to Hugh for protection, but she really runs into the arms of the killer.

Hugh was not the perfect kid at Oxford, as he presented himself to be. He was lying, cheating, and doing other illegal things to make his way. The issue? April knew all about it and had him wrapped around her fingers to get what she wanted from him. In a desperation to hide his secrets, he kills April when the moment seems right.

With Hannah now in his grasp, Hugh plans to kill her to continue to hide his secrets. However, Will attempts to stop them, leading to Will getting shot and living, and Hugh dying.