The It Girl in On The Same Page

Jul 06, 2022 Carolyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, murder-mystery, 2022, netgalley-2022

Hannah Jones is excited to be commencing University at Oxford. She worked hard at her government high school to get there and is looking forward to enjoying everything that Oxford has to offer. She discovers she is to share a set of rooms with wealthy, beautiful, vivacious April Coutts-Cliveden, the girl who has ‘it’ all. As well as a bedroom each they also have a joint living room/study which soon becomes a focal point for April’s private school friends to hang out. Quickly accepted by April’s Hannah Jones is excited to be commencing University at Oxford. She worked hard at her government high school to get there and is looking forward to enjoying everything that Oxford has to offer. She discovers she is to share a set of rooms with wealthy, beautiful, vivacious April Coutts-Cliveden, the girl who has ‘it’ all. As well as a bedroom each they also have a joint living room/study which soon becomes a focal point for April’s private school friends to hang out. Quickly accepted by April’s group of Will, Hugh, Ryan and Emily, Hannah is soon doing everything together with them. Hannah becomes April’s best friend even though they don’t seem to have much in common and April can be cruel, playing some horrible pranks on her friends. However, before the end of the second term, April will be dead and Hannah will have fled Oxford.

Written entirely with Hannah’s voice the novel tells of the events leading up to April’s death as well as Hannah’s life ten years later. She is married to Will and expecting a baby when she learns that the man who was convicted of April’s murder has died in prison. Hannah was one of the key witnesses at his trial but since then he has continued to proclaim his innocence and Hannah wonders if she could have got his involvement wrong.

I think this is type of novel written in a single voice could be hard to write but the author pulls it off fairly well. However, a lot of the narrative is Hannah’s thoughts and introspection which does make it a tad repetitive, but the author does well to keep us guessing and interested in working out what really happened to April. The descriptions Oxford with its old buildings and traditions are well done and help to build the atmosphere, especially during some creepy moments. The alternating timelines provide moments of tension in the book with the suspense building gradually to culminate towards the end when Hannah finally works out who killed April. A little different to Ruth Ware’s earlier books but a solid slow burner of a mystery with a clever little twist at the end. 3.5★

With thanks to Simon & Schuster via Netgalley for a copy to read ...more

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Jan 13, 2023 Jami rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-thriller-legal

This was a fast paced mystery. I jot changing my mind about who did it and why; there are plenty of suspects to choose from! (I was wrong as to the culprit and motive).

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Jun 24, 2024 Robin rated it liked it · review of another edition

so i have had this book on my to-read list for quite a while. i have read a lot of other books by this author. i am not sure why it took a while to read this one, but i think it is partially because i saw so many mixed reviews/ had too many other books i wanted to read first/ etc., and either usually really like them or think they are just okay. this one falls into the it was decent enough to read category rather than the what the heck did i just read and why.

the story takes place with a group o so i have had this book on my to-read list for quite a while. i have read a lot of other books by this author. i am not sure why it took a while to read this one, but i think it is partially because i saw so many mixed reviews/ had too many other books i wanted to read first/ etc., and either usually really like them or think they are just okay. this one falls into the it was decent enough to read category rather than the what the heck did i just read and why.

the story takes place with a group of friends, partially while in college, partially while grown adults some time later. there is a lot of back and forth between now and then. the college portion is told in flashbacks of the past and during this timeframe, one of them is murdered. during the more present timeframe, Hannah, one of the main characters is approached by someone who makes her start to question whether or not what happened in the past was what actually happened. i had my doubts a few times about who the actual murderer was because it seemed that almost everyone had a motive. so the suspense was good, but i do think the author definitely tries to make the reader believe it is one person by several different methods (view spoiler)

aside from a few things that happened all too conveniently and weren't entirely believable, some stuff being repetitious, and a few things thrown in there that were not resolved and i guess just meant to throw the reader off track, it was a decent read and worth reading if you like murder mystery psychological thrillers.

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