I had been aware of her books for many years before I picked one up. Most prominent to me are her uses of isolated settings and fairly large casts of characters. She has been described as a modern-day Agatha Christie, and she has described her own fiction books as being “full of murder, family secrets, toxic friendships and things that go bump in the night.” ( Source) Ruth Ware is a #1 New York Times bestselling British author, who debuted her first novel, In A Dark, Dark Wood in 2015. Agent: Eve White, Eve White Literary (U.K.).Learn about all the best Ruth Ware books based on these rankings and reviews of each and every one of her popular psychological thriller, mystery, and suspense novels, so you can decide exactly which one of these book recommendations is best for you to read first or next.

This showcases Ware’s gifts to the fullest. Alternating past and present chapters build toward a gripping denouement as nicely chosen details bring each character vividly to life.

The memories shared by mild-mannered doctor Hugh, mathematician Emily, and Ryan, who has suffered a stroke since their college years, call most of what she’s believed about April and her death into question. Fearing her testimony helped convict an innocent man, Hannah feels compelled to revisit the murder with the three Oxford friends that knew April best. Days after Neville dies in prison, a journalist emails her with evidence that calls the porter’s guilt into doubt. Ten years later, she’s living in Edinburgh, married to Will, and pregnant. Though Neville is later convicted of the murder, the crime, trial, and subsequent media furor upend Hannah’s life.

Moments after Hannah sees college porter John Neville leaving their residence building, she finds April strangled.

The two become best friends despite their differences and the unspoken attraction between Hannah and April’s boyfriend, Will. Hannah Jones’s Oxford University roommate, April Clarke-Cliveden, is everything Hannah isn’t: wealthy, sophisticated, sexually adventurous, and occasionally cruel. This exceptional psychological thriller from Ware ( One by One) probes how much one can trust others-and one’s self.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware