Well, isn’t this a dark, twisty and completely captivating tale? I didn’t know much about the plot of The Truants when I started reading. I had heard that Kate Weinberg’s debut novel drew comparisons to The Secret History by Donna Tartt – and that’s all I needed to know.

Jess Walker applies to a specific university in Norwich, specifically to be taught by Dr. Lorna Clay. An enigmatic English professor and published author. Lorna’s book, The Truants, is all about people who break the rules and live exciting lives (‘And those moments of playing truant from their lives – those were the moments the Devil became divine‘), which is what this book The Truants is about too, although not always with the outcomes the characters intend.

We are hearing Jess’ story in retrospect. She is telling us about her life six years previous, when she was a new uni student, making new friends and getting to know her professor. Georgie, Nick and Alec become her close circle, with handsome South African, Alec capturing her heart. The only issue with that is that Nick is actually her boyfriend. And Alec is her best friend Georgie’s boyfriend…

I do love a good Agatha Christie story, so imagine my delight when a little Agatha sub-plot started to weave its way into the story. Lorna is writing a book about the famous author and teaches a course about her entitled: Murdered by the Campus. So, lots of Agatha’s books and ideas are referenced, along with her quite fascinating real life story. Agatha’s themes filter through and tie back into Jess’ situation:

'The triangle. A couple and then the third point, the disruptive force. Christie’s books are full of triangles, of secret loves, of betrayals amongst friends, amongst family, often amongst the sisterhood. Am I right, Jess?'

The Truants is a wonderful homage to Agatha – in ways you are expecting and ways you are not. But it’s the way it layers up the lies and betrayals and the interesting pace that keeps you on your toes. Going against the general crime / mystery grain, the final section of book slows the pace down, which makes you ponder the plot a little more, for a satisfying conclusion. A clever move indeed. Agatha would be proud.

Really enjoyable mystery novel, mixing a couple of frankly unlikeable students, a lecturer, a handsome and mysterious Journalist and a hefty dose Agatha Christie amongst the booze and drugs of a campus based university in the 2000s. Plenty of red herrings, deceit, family mysteries and the ever present opportunity for an unreliable narrator / tissue of lies from frankly any character in the mould of a classic Christie make this a delight.

I found parts of this book quite difficult. I lost interest in a few places and found some of the descriptions in it a bit ‘unnecessary’. Maybe a book trying to be a bit different that would have worked better had it been a bit less ‘different’.

Other bits of it I thoroughly enjoyed though. It’s worth a read but maybe not one to rush to the top of the ‘to be read’ pile

This is one of those books that draws you in despite the truly horrible characters in it. I was a tad disappointed with the ending though; I'm the type of reader that likes all the loose ends tied up. I wouldn't say I enjoyed the book, despite it being very well written, but it was one of those that you keep thinking about afterwards.

This book has left me feeling a bit nonplussed if I’m honest. After reading it I’m not really sure what happened or what was going on. It felt like there wasn’t really a story to anything. Yes there were some explanations but there wasn’t a big bam moment anywhere. Even at the end of the book where I felt you may get a few answers to the question you had you didn’t. It felt like the book just kind of stopped at a half way point and I finished the book feeling very much ‘meh.’

Before reading this I’d seen a few other reviews and everyone seemed to really enjoy it so I was anticipating a good read but have definitely been left feeling a bit disappointed!

I really loved this book and didn’t want it to end. It is beautifully written with clever twists, and is an absorbing mystery. I liked the links to Agatha Christie. I found Jess an appealing character, a middle child from a big family wanting to make her mark at university and falling in with a group of glamorous friends. She is in awe of her tutor, charismatic Lorna Clay, and her life is changed forever because of her new, complicated friendships. I loved the little details that make this novel special, the wonderful descriptions and unforgettable flawed characters. Highly recommended!

This was very good - I read it in one day, and really wanted to find out more about the characters. I found the book quite slow to start, the end was a bit too long as well - too many back and forths between solutions and ideas thrown here and there. But I really got interested in the stories in the middle, the relationships between the various characters - Lorna, Alec, the power that a smart adult can have on a young, naive person. The writing was beautiful and I liked the references to Agatha Christie.

The Truants is a coming of age story with a twist, telling the experience of Jess Walker’s first year as a student at the fictionalized University of East Anglia. Jess studies English Literature and enrolls herself on an Agatha Christie course, immediately finding herself enthralled by the subject, as well as the expert in the field, Professor Lorna Clay. Jess becomes friends with a group of uninitiated, carefree students, including falling for Alec, an ex student and current journalist.

This book echoes the reverberated student scene of carefree days drinking in pub gardens and ignoring academic responsibilities. As the closeness of Jess’ relationship with Lorna unfolds, the mystery involving Alec starts to appear before the readers’ eyes.

Jess cannot help but be pulled in by the perplexing Alec. He is good looking, intelligent, but little does she know about his deeply troubled past. As a character, he is laced with toxicity, regret and past betrayal and takes it out on those who fall for him – a classic maverick disguised as a heart throb. Jess gets caught up in several disturbing love triangles, which serve to explore the realities of betrayal on a relationship and friendship basis. The lure of new love becomes her achilles’ heel as she is placed in the middle of a dark mystery of her own.

Something rather dark lurks beneath the seemingly picturesque portrayal of student life, which is discovered as the book progresses. Despite drawing so heavily on the works of Agatha Christie and her novels, this book is essentially its own mystery and a play on the psychology of relationships, seduction and betrayal. It combines a lot of different genres which I think is one of its selling points, it has elements of literary fiction, mystery and thriller, whilst being told within the coming of age paradigm. The feeling of suspense is naturally created early on in the book, which produces an unavoidable hook for the reader. The whole time I was reading I had a feeling of unease; but couldn’t help but read on. I was fascinated by the characters and wanted to see how everything would unfold.

I think the highlight of this book is in the complexity of the characters. The story only centers around a handful of individuals, but each are fundamentally flawed. This allows for the difficulties of coming of age to be realistically conveyed, with the exploration of problematic friendships and relationships. Jess, the protagonist, was particularly complex, and I was drawn to her insight. It is essentially a major portrayal of character development and exploring the dark incidents that lay within her experience at university.

That said, I did think the play on the mystery was to a certain extent cliche. Not being familiar with Agatha Christie’s writing, I can’t comment on the full exploration of this – and there may be things I missed. Critique’s and readers alike have drawn similarities between this and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, being an avid fan of that novel, I fail to see the comparison aside from the theme of ‘dark academia.’ I found the language in this underdeveloped and simplistic at times, whereas Tartt’s writing is wonderfully crafted, with layers of intricacy. In some ways, I think this book tries too hard. I got the sense it was trying to aestheticize student suffering within the framework of academic life. There are many troubling scenes and dark elements to the book, some are explored well, but others rather flippantly.

However, I very much enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to anyone. It combines so many genres, is full of complex characters and a sense of unrelenting intrigue. It grabbed me from the start and left me hooked, for that alone I would say it is very commendable.

Set with a group of university friends and plot twists based on Agatha Christy novels and ideas, this is a story of a love triangle a crimes. I had predicted some of the events. Unfortunately, I could not get into the story and did not find the characters likeable as the story progressed. I found the writing too long-winded in places as well.

Wonderful storytelling, although sometimes a little difficult to believe in some of the characters.
I loved the reference to Agatha Christie, and the murder mystery style of writing with the prerequisite twists and turns of the plot.

This kind of reminded me of another university-based book "Catherine House" but i felt like this one was lacking a fair bit in comparison. I had higher expectations as I know the campus where this is set and have visited multiple times but i don't think the author was able to convey what she wanted to well enough and creating the UEA as the backdrop did not do too much for the story. I thought that the writing was readable but the plot was meandering and could have gone so many more interesting places. This is not what i wanted but at time i could see the appeal it would have to someone else.

The Truants follows Jess starting her first year of university in East-Anglia. She is only there to attend the English lectures of Lorna Clay, the author of Jess’ favourite book. She soon becomes part of a small circle of friends, taking more risks as she becomes ensnared in secrets and tragedies.

I found I enjoyed the university setting of the novel, perhaps in part due to nostalgia but it is also the perfect backdrop for a coming-of-age novel (which is mostly what this book is). The characters, and in particular Professor Lorna Clay, are enigmatic, dark and unpredictable. Certain parts of the book were engaging as we tried to unravel character’s pasts and secrets, however the thriller/mystery aspect was not really present until half way through the book. I found the first portion to be a drawn out and dull love triangle (certainly not my favourite troupe) that lacked actual substance. I enjoyed the writing style for the most part but there were a few incongruous metaphors.

Overall, I think this is a novel that many people will love. I personally thought it was enjoyable but I don’t believe it delivered on all it’s potential. It would probably make a great beach read though.

The Truants is an excellent novel with multilayered characters and plot. It is a story of passion, duplicity and secrets. Jess, the protagonist, arrives at University keen to escape her dreary home town of Milton View. She is taking a course to study Agatha Christie and has an unhealthy obsession with her maverick tutor Lorna Clay. Jess quickly becomes established in a small group ; Georgie who is from a wealthy upper class family and has an unhealthy drug habit, Alec a South African journalist and geology student Nick. An unlikely group who break rules and cross boundaries. Lorna is an intriguing character, admired by her students and getting closely involved with her favourite students. Lorna can see the potential in Jess and takes her under her wing but is this to Jess’s advantage?
I love the way references to Agatha Christie and her novels are entwined in the story and at the heart of the story is a mystery, the lies and deceit are revealed and a terrible truth is uncovered.

A tale of secrets, betrayal and deceit that discusses many moral issues. Highly recommended.

This book is very captivating! The characters seem to pull you in to their bubble and keep you guessing. Kept me up reading well into the night! Would highly recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read an Arc of this book in return for an honest review.

This is a well written book about family, friendship, love, romance and Agatha Christie. The characters are all vivid, and have depth to them, which encourages the reader to become emotionally involved and care about what happens to them.
This is a tale of love, and the things that we do for it, and the consequences that will stay with us for a lifetime : 'Most of the magic that happens in life happens outside of the lines"

Oh what a novel!! I loved this book and had to force myself to close my Kindle at 2am promising myself that I could recommence reading as soon as I’d woken up and fed the dog (priorities Dear human! The dog comes first)

This is one of those reviews where I think I will leap about like an over excited child blurting out bits that I liked. Firstly the setting. Weinberg created such an evocative atmosphere and having never been to Norfolk but having been to a gloomy seaside concrete ex polytechnic myself I was instantly transported into Jess’s world.
Little additions like the hearse were fantastic and added to the ‘hedonism light’ that the friendship of the 4 were creating. Having wasted many a day in a riverside pub garden the incident with Georgie and the magic mushrooms was perfectly believable and still makes me giggle now.
Lorna was a great character. Having been an impressionable A-level English student who took up smoking because of a crush on a young student teacher, I could completely relate to Jess’ being in thrall of her. Steady, though a minor character was also incredibly well drawn and memorable. The domestic scene when Jess first visits Lorna at home was so poignant.
As well as the mystery of the novel itself, the lectures that Jess and Georgie attend with Lorna also posed questions that I really enjoyed turning over in my mind. I’ve not read any Christie but I had watched a documentary about her disappearance and was very intrigued. My vote for the reasons for that goes with Lorna’s supposition by the way!
I did feel that the pace slowed dramatically for the last 30% of the book and I’m not sure if that was deliberate on the part of the author. I would have preferred the pace to have been kept up from the first half of the book but I do see why a change in pace was needed, both to emphasise Jess’ maturing into adulthood and also to allow both Jess and the reader time to put the parts of the mystery together. Alas I had no Poirot moment when I was able to lay out the facts and point to ‘whodunnit’ but this novel was more than that, as Lorna says (and I’m paraphrasing wildly) Christie is too concerned with the surface and not messing around with what lies beneath. Kate Weinberg is not at all afraid of the mess that lies beneath human relationships and I’m very glad of it!
I eagerly await her next novel.

A debut novel about secrets & lies ... love & betrayal ... & deadly obsession. It is a coming of age novel set against the backdrop of University life in Norfolk.
Dr Lorna Clay is a tutor around whom the central characters revolve. She is teaching a course on Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime. There are hints she is a dangerous person to know.
Alec is a handsome journalist & one-by-one he steals the hearts of those he wants to possess.
You are effortlessly swept along by deft characterisation to a tense & emotional denouement.

A nice modern take on the Agatha Christie mystery. Feels more like Hot Milk than The Secret History but the university scenes were evocative and nostalgic.

I loved this book. From the beginning I was drawn completely into the rather claustrophobic world of Jess and her friends, and although it is many years since I was at university, the author conjured up that world very well. The unravelling of the plot is clever and compelling, and although Jess seems a rather selfish character, she is very relatable and I was sympathetic towards her throughout. I would thoroughly recommend this book, and I will certainly look for other books by this author.

Told through the eyes of a woman (Jess) looking back on her first year at university, her obsession with a well known and slightly notorious professor and the intense relationship she shares with 3 other students which inevitably fractures causing turmoil and pain for all involved.

With any novel set on a campus your mind turns to Donna Tartt's The Secret History, you can see nods to Tartt in the writing, the lone narrator looking back at a moment in their life. The novel moves along slowly but that's what you want in a literary mystery, it makes you wait for the dark secrets to unpeel and reveal themselves to you. The writing works although I did find it really strange how a profanity would appear out of the blue, it jarred and seemed unnecessary ( I don't know if this is to appeal to a younger reader?). I did work out certain plotting and personalities immediately but that didn't put me off continuing. Probably aimed at a young adult reader.