The IT Girl by Ruth Ware
Blog Review — The It Girl by Ruth Ware
🛑 TRIGGER WARNINGS
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Murder & strangulation
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Drug use
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Infidelity
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Violence / attempted murder
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Grief & trauma
💌 AMAZON AFFILIATE LINK
Get your copy of The It Girl by Ruth Ware here → 📚 Amazon Affiliate Link
📢 Spoiler Warning
This review contains full plot spoilers — including who killed April and exactly how they pulled it off. Proceed with caution if you haven’t read it yet! 🚨
✏️ My Thoughts
This was so enjoyable. Honestly, Ruth Ware could write a grocery list and I’d still be flipping pages like my life depended on it. While Zero Days is still my all-time fave from her, The It Girl is right up there.
The dual timeline (“Before” and “After”) works perfectly — no confusion, no messy jumps. I really liked sleuthing alongside Hannah, piecing together the clues, and making wild guesses at midnight like a wannabe detective.
The reveal of the killer wasn’t a jaw-drop shock for me, but the twist in how the murder actually happened? Chef’s kiss. I thought it was brilliant — dark, sneaky, and completely believable.
Only downside? This book is a chunky one. Long enough to make me question if my wrists were getting a workout. I’m docking half a star for that alone. 4.5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
📚 Full Plot Summary — Spoilers Ahead!
Before: Oxford University
Meet Hannah Jones, a working-class girl at Oxford who ends up roommates with April Coutts-Cliveden, the campus “It Girl” — gorgeous, wealthy, magnetic… and a bit of a nightmare. April is generous but also manipulative, pulling elaborate pranks on friends (and enemies) just because she can.
Their tight-knit group includes:
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Will (April’s boyfriend, later Hannah’s husband)
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Ryan (Will’s friend, also secretly sleeping with April)
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Emily (their other close friend)
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Hugh (a charming med student)
Life is glittery and privileged… until it isn’t.
April’s Death
One night, Hannah walks into their suite and finds April lying on the floor, apparently dead. Hugh checks her “body,” pronounces her dead, and tells Hannah to get help. Hannah runs — but while she’s gone, Hugh actually strangles April for real.
Why? April had been blackmailing Hugh — she knew he cheated to get into Oxford, and she used that leverage to force favors out of him (like supplying drugs). That night, she roped Hugh into helping with a prank where she’d fake her own death. When Hannah left the room, Hugh decided to make the prank permanent.
After: Ten Years Later
John Neville, a creepy university porter, was convicted of April’s murder based on Hannah’s testimony -Hannah saw him in the area when she went looking for help. He dies in prison, still claiming innocence. A journalist’s questions shake Hannah’s certainty, and her guilt comes roaring back.
Now married to Will and pregnant, Hannah starts digging. She reconnects with April’s sister, November, and together they piece together Hugh’s motive and the real events of that night.
The Confrontation
Hannah confronts Hugh in Scotland. He realizes she knows too much and tries to kill her by pushing her off a cliff (because why not add attempted murder to your resume?). Will comes to the rescue, and shoots Hugh dead.
Neville’s name is cleared. Hannah, finally free of the guilt, starts looking forward instead of backward. November and the journalist plan a podcast that will focus on April’s life, not just her death.
😎 Final Verdict
If you like your thrillers with:
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Strong dual timelines 🕰️
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A believable but clever murder twist 🗝️
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No plot holes 🙌
…then The It Girl is worth the wrist strain from holding a 400+ page book.
My rating: 4.5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
📚 You Might Also Like
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Zero Days by Ruth Ware
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The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
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The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
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The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh
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