The It Girl by Ruth Ware Summary

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is a dark academia mystery set at Oxford University, following Hannah Jones who discovers her glamorous roommate April murdered in their dorm room. Ten years later, when the convicted porter dies in prison and new evidence surfaces suggesting his innocence, Hannah must revisit the traumatic past and investigate her own friends—including her husband Will, April's former boyfriend—to uncover the real killer.

Ruth Ware is a bestselling British author known for psychological thrillers and mysteries. Her books are published in over 40 languages and optioned for film and television. Ware specializes in atmospheric suspense with complex character development, unreliable narrators, and cleverly concealed twists. She lives near Brighton with her family, and The It Girl is considered one of her strongest works, blending classic mystery elements with dark academia aesthetics.

The It Girl is perfect for fans of dark academia thrillers, psychological mysteries, and campus-set crime fiction. Readers who enjoyed Ruth Ware's previous novels, books like The Secret History, or stories featuring unreliable narrators and friendship dynamics will find this compelling. It's also ideal for those who appreciate dual timeline narratives, amateur detective work, and complex character studies exploring guilt, memory, and betrayal.

The It Girl is highly recommended, with readers praising it as one of Ruth Ware's best novels. The dual timeline structure keeps readers engaged, the mystery is well-plotted with an unpredictable twist, and the dark academia setting adds atmospheric depth. While some reviewers noted the 400+ page length could be trimmed by 50-75 pages, most found it gripping throughout and appreciated that the killer's identity remained genuinely surprising.

The It Girl alternates between "BEFORE" and "AFTER" chapters.

• The "BEFORE" timeline shows Hannah's first year at Oxford, her friendship with April, and the events leading to April's murder.
• The "AFTER" timeline occurs ten years later, following pregnant Hannah as she reinvestigates the case after learning the convicted man may have been innocent.

This structure allows readers to piece together clues and form their own theories about who killed April.

April Clarke-Cliveden is the titular "It Girl"—vivacious, wealthy, beautiful, and magnetic, quickly pulling Hannah into her orbit at Oxford. However, April is also portrayed as occasionally vicious, dismissive, cruel, and manipulative, someone who becomes jealous when attention shifts away from her. Her complex, contradictory personality makes her both beloved by friends and a character readers struggle to understand, creating depth to the central mystery of her murder.

Oxford University, specifically the fictional Pelham College, serves as the atmospheric backdrop for The It Girl's dark academia setting. The prestigious university environment, with its private school graduates, elite social dynamics, and historic architecture featuring porters and staircases, creates the perfect atmosphere for secrets and social intrigue. The Oxford setting enhances the mystery's claustrophobic feel, where everyone knows everyone and past connections prove impossible to escape.

The It Girl's central twist involves questioning whether Hannah's eyewitness testimony actually convicted an innocent man. Porter John Neville was imprisoned based on Hannah seeing him leave their staircase the night April died. When he dies in prison and a journalist presents contradictory evidence, Hannah realizes her memories may be unreliable and that the real killer could be among her trusted friends—potentially even her husband Will. The ultimate reveal of April's murderer shocked most readers.

The It Girl examines Hannah's unresolved trauma and guilt over April's death and potentially condemning an innocent man. Ruth Ware portrays Hannah's PTSD symptoms—anxiety, intrusive memories, avoidance of Oxford connections—showing how traumatic events linger a decade later. Interestingly, reviewers noted the book explores how differently trauma was handled then versus now, with Emily and Hannah acknowledging they would have received counseling and support if it happened in present day.

Despite strong reviews, The It Girl faces criticism for significant plot holes and occasional unrealistic character actions. The book's 400+ page length feels padded with unnecessary repetition that could have been edited by 50-75 pages. Some reviewers found certain scenes ridiculous, particularly Hannah attending a funeral that strains credibility. Additionally, those sensitive to profanity noted extensive use of strong language (69 f-words, 39 s-words) throughout the novel.

The It Girl is considered among Ruth Ware's best work, with readers ranking it as their favorite after reading multiple titles. Unlike some of her other mysteries, this novel incorporates distinctive dark academia elements while maintaining Ware's signature psychological suspense style. The college setting and friendship dynamics distinguish it from her previous thrillers, though it retains her trademark unreliable narrator technique and atmospheric tension that fans expect from her work.

The core friendship group—Hannah, April, Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—represents the inseparable bonds formed during Oxford's first term that become poisoned by April's death. Ruth Ware uses this tight-knit circle to explore how shared secrets, hidden motives, and protective lies can fester over a decade. As Hannah reinvestigates, she discovers each friend harbors concealed information about that fatal night, forcing her to suspect everyone, including her own husband, revealing how trauma fractures relationships.