The It Girl by Ruth Ware

I pulled a copy of Ruth Ware’s The It Girl out of a Little Free Library in my town.  I’d read and enjoyed one or two of her previous books, and always appreciate a good mystery. 

This whodunit finds Hannah, 10 years after the murder of her college roommate and best friend, facing her lingering doubts whether the right person – convicted largely on the circumstantial evidence she provided – went to jail. 

The murder took place in Hannah’s dormitory suite at Oxford.  Traumatized first by finding April’s body sprawled on the rug in their living room, then by all the police questioning, the trial and the relentless press coverage, Hannah runs away to Edinburgh.  She is followed by Will, with whom she’d shared a mutual attraction the one year they were in college together – even though he was April’s boyfriend.  

Chapters alternate between the time leading up to the murder (“before”) and the present day (“after”).  Before, Hannah was both taken aback and drawn in by her new roommate’s brash behavior, exemplified by the latter’s insistence on a game of strip poker with four other incoming freshmen on their first night on campus.  Later in the book, we understand this scene foreshadows what will be revealed about the personalities and relationships involved.

After, Hannah and Will are married and expecting their first child when news breaks that the convicted murderer has died in prison.  The rekindled press interest leads to new revelations.  Hannah is reluctantly compelled to pull on each new thread, despite what is unraveled in the process.  Will’s dismissiveness brings tension into their marriage.

Ware successfully induces the reader to develop theories and questions about what happened that night at Oxford.  Clues are recognized, yet upon finishing the book the reader may be tempted to read some parts again to discover hints one might have missed.  The first half of the book felt like a slow burn, with not much happening outside of Hannah’s mind.  Perhaps it is occupying Hannah’s mind that engages the reader so that by the last third of the book it is impossible to put down.  Each time Hannah revisits her freshman year and the night of the murder, we are right there with her trying to discern what really happened.  Were the original theory and conviction correct all along, especially given the unsavory character of the suspect, or is there something lurking beneath the surface of these complicated friendships?  Which relationships will survive and which will unravel as Hannah keeps pulling on threads?  How much danger is she in as she gets closer to the truth?

I found the characters believable, and the setting to be well-evoked.  A good book club discussion would center on whether the readers would do the same as Hannah, or be more inclined to let the matter rest as urged by Will.  A few very minor editorial errors and lingering questions at the end of the book did not detract from my enjoyment.  Thank you to the person who put it in the Little Free Library!  I will be returning it there for someone else to discover, and I look forward to reading more by Ruth Ware.