I had high hopes for this book as I had read reviews from other bloggers who adored it but although it was an interesting and compelling read it didn't quite hit the mark. Manipulative men, betrayal, narcissistic professors and abuses of power are all key themes but the plot often seems contrived. I am a nurse so picking holes with the medicine comes naturally but the twist at the end was certainly suspect.
None of the characters, including the protagonist are particularly likeable. The reason to keep reading was more like the compulsion to watch a train wreck in slow motion, wanting to turn away but fascinated.   In fact Jess is such a gullible little thing that I wanted to slap her half the time.

As a first person narration all the other characters are seen through Jess's eyes and subsequently the characters are seen though the fog her hormones and hero worship.   it does show the seduction methods some people use and the lies people tell to get what they want.

The bits about Agatha Christie were interesting especially with reference to the days she disappeared.

Sex lies and manipulation at a university.  What more do you want?  Well likeable characters would help.

Donna Tartt has a LOT to answer for : others writing similar territory likely to disappoint. 3.5

Although I did willingly surrender to Kate Weinberg’s The Truants, with its nods to Donna Tartt with an Agatha Christie devotion twist, on thinking about the book after I’d finished it, I enjoyed it less, on reflection. Part of the challenge is that the central character and narrator was not completely credible. We are told, by other characters, that she is special, very special, has something unique, something riveting and mesmerically alluring about her - but it isn’t really evident. We are told, not shown. The ultimately self-destructive and destructive of each other group of university students and their stellar professor are – not quite cliches, but certainly they are ‘types’. The big challenge, is that I read The Secret History, when it was first published……

Sometimes a writer comes along who nixes almost all others who write a similar subject matter. Had I never read Tartt’s the truly iconic The Secret History, when it was first published, I might have rated this one more highly. The Secret History is a book so charged, potent and immersive that any book with a charismatic, influential teacher, and a group of impressionable, elitist and highly intelligent students, gets cast into a dim shadow of comparison. And, before Tartt, another blazing book had also created its own inhabitation of the subject – Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Spark, and Tartt, unique voices.

The only books I’ve since read, in this field, who manage to carve out their own identity without feeling derivative, are Marisha Pessl’s Special Topics In Calamity Physics, and two books by Tana French, The Secret Place and The Likeness. Yes of course I was reminded of Tartt, but these books also stood on their own merits

I would certainly like to read more by Weinberg, but in a territory not so occupied by a giant, (Tartt) 3.5 for this one, its far better than okay - raised to 4 as half star rating not possible

I loved this book. It was such a fabulous coming of age/ crime thriller novel that I know I’ll be thinking about for weeks to come.

This is a great book which explores the shifting dynamic between four students and their professor and keeps you guessing about possible outcomes right until the very end.

I got caught up in the story from the outset and really enjoyed reading about the complex lives and interactions between the main characters. It was interesting to see the dynamic between them and how we only let people see what we want them to see about us.

A young student heads to university and develops an infatuation both with her charismatic, mysterious English professor and mentor, and an ill advised romance with her friend’s boyfriend. Things get complicated when she becomes pregnant, leans on her mentor for practical and emotional support and the object of her affections dies suddenly in mysterious circumstances.
The characters aren’t exactly easy to warm to and the college set up feels quite artificial and rarified in the vein of The Secret History but actually this all gets much more interesting and enjoyable as the tension, mystery and vague claustrophobia ramps up. It’s not all neatly resolved but there’s plenty to mull over and enjoy with glorious, wish fulfilment settings like Lorna’s island cottage, with its dicey, treacherous location and various fishy characters like local Nico who seems to be in Lorna’s thrall as well. You’re never sure if our heroine is piecing everything together masterfully, somewhat delusional or most likely, at least three or four steps behind the unknowable Lorna all the time, but you are left to draw your own conclusions.

I was lured into this by the premise it was reminiscent of The Secret History, which I thought I'd love, but couldn't get in to. I thought the author's characterisations were excellent on the whole, particularly Jess although I felt Nick and Nino could have had more oomph. I lived the Agatha Christie links too.
I'm not overly clever with mystery books, therefore I think I'd need to give it another read to fully understand what happened.
A decent 3.5 and I'll be looking out for more by this author.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie which made me somewhat apprehensive when starting this book but I need not have worried. I empathised with the protagonist with all her insecurities and youthful jumping to conclusions as she starts university and experiences passion for the first time. There were enough twists and red herrings to keep this Christie fan satisfied without dissolving into pastiche. This is a thoroughly contemporary whodunit (and WHAT exactly did they do?). No caricatures in sight, I definitely recommend as a thriller without blood and guts for those who would rather not have too much graphic fodder.

Thank you for my advanced e-copy of this book. My review will be brief as, unfortunately, I was not a fan of this one. I rated it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

I requested to read and review this title as I'm a fan of a campus novel (and familiar with UEA) and it had been compared to The Secret History by Donna Tartt, a book I devoured like some kind of fevered beast in a single sitting and adored. Sadly, The Truants did not come anywhere near to meeting my expectations.

I believe that the marketing for this book makes it seem more literary than it is, so that was the first thing that surprised when I began reading. Don't get me wrong, the book is well written but definitely falls closer to YA or bestseller stylistically.

Secondly, I was anticipating a more pacy, twisty, whodunnit story and was instead faced with a slow-moving narrative with little intrigue or even appeal as a 'coming-of-age' story, which this novel also claims to be. Jess certainly gains a lot of life experience over the course of the novel but I don't think that she evolves or matures.

Finally, the last nail in the coffin was the fact that I couldn't find a single character that I really liked. Perhaps that one nice guy that Jess dated for a while, though he was hardly in it.

This one clearly just wasn't for me, as there were plenty of good reviews on Goodreads! I wanted to like it, I really did.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing, and the author Kate Weinberg.
This was an easy read, and would be good for a holiday. Apart from that, it was really only ok.
It seemed as though the author was trying just a little too hard for it to be an East Anglian version of 'The Secret History', using that very familiar campus/college narrative. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that the author was a fan of Donna Tartt.
The premise definitely had potential, but due to undeveloped and fundamentally unlikeable characters, it all fell a little bit flat. A generous 3 stars.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

I think I was drawn to this book because of the Agatha Christie links. A little like a Christie novel the book darted here and there and then revealed something you could never have guessed.

I wasn't too keen on the book. It started slow with a college life I wasn't too interested in reading about, at times it felt like it was set in 1920 rather than 2020. With privileged young things at Uni and a woman who only checked her mobile phone once a day. Once the lecturer Lorna began her Agatha Christie lectures my interest piqued and I couldn't wait to get back to the book, only to find it was a short lived interest and I began to get a little bored.

Lorna is an enigmatic character and throws out red herrings and veiled clues to her students. She's very knowledgeable about Agatha Christie and that really was the parts that kept me reading. Soon things moved on from the Uni life and Lorna becomes more than a tutor to a few of her students. But can they trust her?

At about 75% through the book there is suddenly a glimpse of a Christie type plot emerging and again I was gripped. Finally I thought - I'm glad I stayed with the book. Only for this to fizzle out and a long slow ending ensued.

I think this book could have been a lot better edited, as there were some great ideas in it. The long drawn out cat and mouse antics just got boring after a while, as did reading about the bright young things and their problems.

The Truants is a thoroughly addictive, compelling book which is hard to believe is a debut novel.

I was quickly drawn into the Claustrophobic, insular atmosphere of the university and into Kate’s interesting social group who I kept changing my mind about. I found it fascinating to follow Kate and her friends and see how the dynamics of the group constantly changed as things go from fun to out of control.

All of the characters were great creations which I enjoyed getting to know slowly. Most of the book was quite fast paced which made the book hard to put down. I could never guess which way the story was going to go which made me want to keep reading as I wanted to find out. There is some quite dark humour in this book which helps bring some light relief to the story but also helps add to the tense atmosphere as it makes it seem more real somehow.

Overall I thought this was a very clever, multilayered story which manages to be quite funny in places. It does dip a little in the middle but do keep reading as it soon picks up again. I’m now very excited to see what the author writes next.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Bloomsbury for my copy of this book.

When I sat down to write this, I had to pause and think. It is a very jarring book, almost annoying in the way the author describes people. I get the impression she didn't intend for us to like any of them!

And actually it is better for it, I think. You don't really want Jess, the principle character, to succeed in her search for an extraordinary life. You don't see any benefit in the choices she makes, or understand the reasons for them. She is unlikeable and surrounds herself with similar self-centred characters.

When the book takes a much darker turn, it seems to change pace and you read expectantly waiting for the next shock wave to hit you. The suspense, the anger, the frustration!

Exceedingly clever, well written and thoroughly annoying at times. What a roller-coaster!

Loved it. Best book of the year so far for me.

This was a compelling but yet unsettling read. Following a group of friends and their relationships with each other and their mysterious university lecturer. It shows how they loved and used each other, how their web of relationships developed and the outcomes, all while feeling disturbing throughout.
the book was definitely character and relationship-focused with a thin thread of a storyline.

The plot and feel of the book felt very familiar to me although I cannot say why. This overall was a really great read and not my usual choice of genre.

A great campus novel. It has hard to dismiss the echoes of Donna Tartt's 'The Secret History' in this novel. Some great characters and lots of twists and turns in the story.

I enjoyed this book. It had a comfortable feel to it. The author has linked Agatha Christie to the plot and because of this I wondered for a long time, is this a crime novel or an account of events. I wont spoil it with saying. I liked the way it was written and how the story developed. Whilst carrying me along I was able to feel part of a possible mystery, part of the book. I think it was cleverly written and impressive for a debut novel. I do hope we get more from this author. It's a fairly easy read that keeps the reader's interest throughout, then after reading, it is one of those books where you can still use your own ideas and change the ending if wanted. Well done Kate Weinberg.

This wasn't the novel I was expecting. I expected it to be more of a murder mystery Christie style, or something with the feel of The Secret History, and although it was neither of these, I was immediately drawn in to the story.

Yes, there is a dead body, but there's no clues to be followed, suspects interviewed, or red herrings to debunk. There are however strained relationships, layers of lies, and obsession. It has a slow intriguely build up before things start to slowly be revealed. I liked the style of writing; it was easy to read, yet evocative. Though I felt the end of the novel didn't quite live up to the build up.

Jess is lured to a university by the prospect of studying English literature under Lorna Clay - author of "The Truants" - a critical work that has totally captivated Jess. Jess acquires a small clique of close friends and is thrilled when she seems to be singled out for attention by Dr Clay. But then things start to go wrong. Relationships become complicated as tragedy, sex , past lives and betrayal all crash the party. Weinberg has a very fluid writing style that ensures one keeps reading but there are, in my view, sections which are somewhat "clunky" and compromise the pace of the plot. 3 stars only, I'm afraid.

I had to wonder why I requested this one for review because I usually steer clear of college settings, mainly because I never had the opportunity to go to college or university and I just don't identify with the situation. It was the final line of the blurb that did it: "What is the true cost of an extraordinary life?"

The writing is good so I was able to get into it. Jess is the sort of person who prefers to keep invisible in a crowd, but she develops a friendship with a popular girl and hero worship of a teacher who has a way of attracting students almost like a cult leader. Shades of The Dead Poets Society!

Overall I liked the concept but it did take a long time for anything to happen. This will probably appeal more to younger people near college age.

I've tried and tried to read this book, but I just can't get into it u fortunately. I got to 25% of the book, but just can't read any further as I feel nothing is happening. I very rarely give up on a book. Sorry