Kate Weinberg

'Hypnotic . . . An uncommonly clever whodunnit' New York Times Book Review 'Deftly plotted with vivid, compelling characters' Jojo Moyes 'One of the standout books of the summer' Stylist 'In the vein of Agatha Christie herself. Startling' Irish Times A captivating debut about obsession, rivalry and coming of age - an Observer, i and New York Times Book of the Year Jess Walker, middle child of a middle class family, has perfected the art of vanishing in plain sight. But when she arrives at a concrete university campus under flat, grey, East Anglian skies, her world flares with colour. Drawn into a tightly-knit group of rule breakers – led by their maverick teacher, Lorna Clay – Jess begins to experiment with a new version of herself. But the dynamic between the friends begins to darken as they share secrets, lovers and finally a tragedy. Soon Jess is thrown up against the question she fears most: what is the true cost of an extraordinary life?

The Truants

Ever since then, I’ve always doubted whether love is anything much more than possession.

‘It is an urge not to die, but to be free.’

Having a child conceived in error can be a recipe for untold pain.

But it’s how you feel when you  are in love with someone a bit magic. Like a mortal falling in love with one of the gods. Now you have them, now you don’t.

In the Ladies of the café next door I peed on a stick, watching with terror as a little blue cross crept into the window

What we were doing was not such a massive deal. No one was married, or had kids; no one was even living together.

One of the many strange realisations I’ve had while telling this story is that time remembered does not flow smoothly at all.

And I realised that I hadn’t been able to stop time. There was no stopping time. Tomorrow would happen. However much I tried to wish it away.

Seductive, unsettling, and beautifully written, The Truants is a debut novel of literary suspense perfect for lovers of Agatha Christie and The Secret History--a thrilling exploration of deceit, first love, and the depths to which obsession can drive people.ople.

Abigail Mills

From the positive reviews and the summary I had such high hopes for this book and I was somewhat disappointed. The first half of the book is great, love the cast of characters and the dynamics between the friends. Not as fleshed out as I'd hoped, especially their relationships to the professor and as individuals in the friendgroup, but still what I expected from the book. For me, the second half completely fell off and left me guessing where the book was going next, but not in an unexpected-murder-mystery way but in a way that left me wondering what the book was trying to do. 

In conclusion, I'd say its a good quick read, but i think my expectations kind of ruined it for me.

Saroise Cleary

From the positive reviews and the summary I had such high hopes for this book and I was somewhat disappointed. The first half of the book is great, love the cast of characters and the dynamics between the friends. Not as fleshed out as I'd hoped, especially their relationships to the professor and as individuals in the friendgroup, but still what I expected from the book. For me, the second half completely fell off and left me guessing where the book was going next, but not in an unexpected-murder-mystery way but in a way that left me wondering what the book was trying to do. 

In conclusion, I'd say its a good quick read, but i think my expectations kind of ruined it for me.

Right from the beginning, I found this book hard to believe and it didn't match the expectations set by its initial premise. However, I did persevere as I was drawn into the unfolding drama. It’s safe to say it didn’t amount to much.

Robyn Claridge

Jess looks back on her first year of university and the unhealthy relationships she's formed.

This is a coming-of-age dark academia with plenty of nods to Agatha Christie's plots. The literary-style, slow-burn writing was pitch perfect for this story. If this sounds like your type of novel, definitely check this one out.

Cheri McElroy

Jess looks back on her first year of university and the unhealthy relationships she's formed.

This is a coming-of-age dark academia with plenty of nods to Agatha Christie's plots. The literary-style, slow-burn writing was pitch perfect for this story. If this sounds like your type of novel, definitely check this one out.

I feel the need to preface this review by explaining that this was sold to me as a dark academia novel.  That, it is not.  It’s a perfectly fine chic-lit book, which just happens to be set in a university.  There’s nothing dark about the academia.  The book is fine, predictable but easy to read.  Loved all the Agatha within it! Additionally, it gets a half star for mentioning Ipswich. 

Rebecca Bell

Emma Jacqueline

To any fans of The Secret History and/or If We Were Villains who picked up this book expecting it to be your next fix of dark academia: turn back now.

It's a campus novel that barely touches the campus, with a tight-knit friendship that is not tight-knit nor anything close to resembling friendship, that includes a mystery that really isn't a mystery because the stakes of everything are so low and you care so little about the characters that finding out what happens to them stops mattering to you halfway through.

Maybe this book has just been marketed wrong, though given how many other reviewers here have compared it favorably to The Secret History, I could be wrong. I don't agree with the comparison though. What made The Secret History work is you believe in what bonds the Classics students together, even if the bonds are toxic. Nothing at all bonds the characters in this book and it inevitably makes for a dull read.

Zoe Murphy

Too much dark, not enough academia.

~~~~

My problems were thus. The idea of Agatha Christie scholarship was there. The academic setting was there...at the beginning. For a book that is summarized as it is, there wasn't nearly enough of the scholarly turmoil that I love. In previous books of this genre and of a much higher caliber (When We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, and The Secret History by Donna Tarte), the obsession over the subject, not the obsession over the professor, is what rounded out the communal madness that ultimately leads to a dark academia book's climax. I noticed with this book, more than any other of this genre, the blandness of the main character. I know that they are supposed to be a blank slate so the reader can insert themselves into their shoes, but it read more like Bella from Twilight. Lastly, Nick did not receive enough character growth or love from the author. He was advertised too highly in the book summary and the prelude. He could've been an interesting and well-plotted character if only Weinberg had given him a chance.

Perfect for lovers of Agatha Christie and The Secret History, The Truants is a seductive, unsettling, and beautifully written debut novel of literary suspense--a thrilling exploration of deceit, first love, and the depths to which obsession can drive us. "One of the best thriller debuts in recent years . . . Propulsive [and] pitch-perfect." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) People disappear when they most want to be seen. Jess Walker has come to a concrete campus under the flat gray skies of East Anglia for one reason: to be taught by the mesmerizing and rebellious Dr. Lorna Clay, whose seminars soon transform Jess's thinking on life, love, and Agatha Christie. Swept up in Lorna's thrall, Jess falls in with a tightly knit group of rule-breakers--Alec, a courageous South African journalist with a nihilistic streak; Georgie, a seductive, pill-popping aristocrat; and Nick, a handsome geologist with layers of his own. But the dynamic between the friends begins to darken, until a tragedy shatters their friendships and love affairs, and reveals a terrible secret. Soon Jess must face the question she fears most: what is the true cost of an extraordinary life? An Entertainment Weekly Best Book of January A USA Today Must-Read Book of Winter An Observer Book of the Year (UK) A Marie Claire Top 5 Christmas Read (UK) A Times Best New Crime Novel (UK) A Guardian Top 10 Golden Age Detective Novel An Irish Times Best Debut of 2019 An Apple Books Pick for January

Federica

Ana Couto

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Netgalley for the free book!

I loved the concept of this book. An impressionable college student enrolls in a literary theory course about Agatha Christie, only to find herself in a murder mystery of her own. My favorite scenes were the ones that took place inside this particularly alluring classroom — it reminded me of my own experience as an English student, and how certain professors can be both strange and fascinating. Overall, I thought the “mystery” element was great, and it kept me guessing until the very end. I wasn’t totally convinced of the chemistry between Jess and Alec (or Georgie and Alec), but what lacked in those relationships was certainly made up for in the complicated (and captivatingly inappropriate) relationship between Jess and her professor, Lorna. This book reminded me a bit of The Secret History by Donna Tartt, but it definitely stands on its own as well (I only make that comparison because I think people who enjoyed the setting and themes of TSH might also like Kate Weinberg’s The Truants). This will certainly be an interesting January 2020 release, and I look forward to discussing it with other reviewers once it does come out!

Yasmin S.

*I hate rating books in stars*

To all my Dark Academics, this book is for you! It was Dark Academia at its finest! College setting and eagerness for academic achievement, troublesome relationships and characters, mystery, twists, and of course, murder. The whole vibe of the book reminded me a lot of The Secret History and it was one of the reasons why I thought it was so very engaging. But it also had some Agatha Christie aspects, given that she was also a part of the plot, which I thought was so intriguing and fascinating! 

I must admit, though, that what made me love this book was actually the writing. Kate Weinberg has such a way with words that it blew me away. Her way of describing characters and atmosphere makes you feel like you're really there, watching everything happen right in front of you. I adored how she described feelings, sensations, and all the locations and settings. It was brilliant, almost cinematic, and sometimes quite poetic. I found myself highlighting so much of it just because was I in awe of the way she described everything. 

Another wonderful thing about this book is how it makes it hard for you to put it down. By the end of every chapter you just want to know more. I was completely hooked and I binged the last 250 pages in one afternoon. That’s how gripping Weinberg's writing is. She bewitches you from start to finish. 

I don’t have much to say about the plot without spoiling anything, but for those who love good writing, slow burn mysteries, dark academia, The Secret History and Agatha Christie, this book is for you. However, I must say that It’s not a light story. You will find lots of very heavy subjects in it, and if you’re a sensitive person like me, I recommend reading about the trigger warnings before starting it.

Tussen een groepje studenten en een jonge vrouwelijke professor die colleges geeft over Agatha Christie, ontstaat een hechte wat broeierige band.

Joana

Content Warning: Abortion, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse

A group of friends comes together because of a handsome and mysterious man that can hock anyone with his stories. Although he is far from being a good company. From alcohol to drug abuse, manipulation, sex, and lies, this group is everything except true friends.

Since the very first page, I was hypnotized by the writing. The story is character-driven, so it has a slower narrative, instead of an edge-of-your-sit thriller. Although the writing is so enjoyable that I never wanted to stop reading. And the more I read, the more I wanted to know about these characters, uncover their secrets, discover their lies, and their past. I wanted to know everything. This characters have some questionable moral values and are highly flawed. There are no heroes or villains. Each one of them is good and bad people at some point, and it was very interesting to read.

In a way, I see this book as a cosy mystery in a dark setting. Not the type of light and laughable kind of mystery, but one that dives into some hard topics. It has hints scattered everywhere that paints the full picture in the end, very much like Agatha Christie’ stories. She has a heavy presence in the story from references to her work and personal life to also the ideas and plots she used in her books. I’m not familiar with all Christie’s work, but I believe that there is a lot that I might have missed that wasn’t written out to be a reference to her. And that’s where I find The Truants to be well crafted. The references aren’t just there as a theme for the characters, it is intertwined with the plot that I could only realize when I finished reading.

It is a charming book to read, to discover the lies upon lies, the secrets, the crimes, the manipulation, the treason, everything that is packed in a group of friend that might as well never have met.

Originally posted on Miss Known

The Truants

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