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 us.
People disappear when they most want to be seen. Jess Walker has come to a concrete campus under the flat grey 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 when tragedy strikes the group, Jess turns to Lorna. Together, the two seek refuge on a remote Italian island, where Jess tastes the life she's long dreamed of--and uncovers a shocking secret that will challenge everything she's learned. My thoughts: Having read the book blurb that refered to Agatha Christie and The Secret History by Donna Tartt, I knew straightaway that I needed this book. You see I had very mixed feelings about TSH - loved and hated it at the same time- but it was so well-written that I was irrestibly drawn to its dark beauty. So the bar had been set very high and certain expectations were created. I expected a cunning mystery with an extremely cerebral solution and architypical characters that do not go through much development. I was totally wrong, of course. There is plenty of passion, obsession, betrayals and dark discoveries. Most importantly, this is primarily a coming of age novel that focuses on characters, friendships and relationships at that particular time of the life when for a lot of people the personality is not set in stone, but undergoes a lot of dramatic changes. Jess Walker chose her university course, because she fell in love with Dr Lorna Clay's book 'The Truants'. Lorna Clay's lectures on Agatha Christie enthrall Jess and change the way she view her world. The discussions of Agatha Christie's work was one of the most fascinating features of this novel for me and will definitely be much appreciated by the readers. Compelling style, interesting characters, clever mystery and excellent ending- a very impressive debut novel from Kate Weinberg. Thank you to Edelweiss and G.P.Putnam's sons for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
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