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The Truants

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The Truants

By: Kate Weinberg
Narrated by: Olivia Dowd
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Bloomsbury presents The Truants by Kate Weinberg, read by Olivia Dowd.

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'In the vein of Agatha Christie herself. Startling' – Irish Times

'Magical in every way ... One of the best novels I’ve ever read’ – Fearne Cotton

'As much a coming-of-age tale as a murder mystery ... An impressive debut' – The Times
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AN OBSERVER, i AND NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
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During the first year of university, a group of friends discover the cost of an extraordinary life in this captivating debut about obsession, rivalry and coming of age

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?
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'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©2019 Kate Weinberg (P)2019 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Action & Adventure Coming of Age Detective Education Fiction Genre Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery Romance Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Suspense Crime
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Critic reviews

Weinberg herself has an aversion to neat endings, or neatness in general – her plot takes many surprising turns, her characters are multifaceted, and their dialogue pings with curious anecdotes that, unusually, add rather than detract from the whole. The Truants marks [Weinberg] out as a natural storyteller, in the vein of Agatha Christie herself. Startling
One of the best books I have read in forever. I fell in love with these characters and am still mourning that I don’t get to live in their world anymore. Kate’s writing is like a wickedly brilliant Donna Tartt, Agatha Christie and Liane Moriarty all mixed into one. Pick up a copy of The Truants and I can promise you that you won’t be able to put it down until you reach the last page. This book is nothing but absolutely brilliant from beginning to end
The book you’ll fall in love with. With a small band of overly intimate students, a mysterious-yet-inspiring tutor, obsession and a whodunit, there’s much to place it in the same bracket as Donna Tartt but there are also nods to a much-mentioned Agatha Christie. There’s also an ending that’ll leave you thinking and thinking about this plot for weeks, if not months, later; one of the standout books of the summer
There are more than a few nods to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History here – the band of student misfits with dysfunctional backgrounds, the professor with oddly intimate student-teacher bonds, plus an overall sense, skilfully seeded by Weinberg, that things are about to take a wrong turn … Threaded into the story are references to Agatha Christie’s novels, with their mysteries and murders and love triangles. The Truants borrows some of these murder mystery tropes, leading us to a dark conclusion that feels satisfying to reach
This satisfying coming-of-age novel jives to a thriller-like beat. It’s a debut, though you wouldn't necessarily know it from its assured tone. While Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is a clear influence, it’s Agatha Christie whose work is most explicitly referenced, stoking an ominous sense of impending calamity
A coming-of-age story and campus novel rolled into one, it is given greater depth by the shadow of Agatha Christie, who stalks the pages. With deft characterisation, plenty of mystery and twists in the tale, it had me gripped
An impressive debut (Best New Crime Fiction)
I love a coming of age story and The Truants hit my sweet spot … Think The Secret History meets Agatha Christie. This might be Kate Weinberg’s debut novel, but her assured writing and ability to create compelling characters makes me hope there’ll be many more novels to come
In this mesmerising debut, Kate Weinberg tackles first love, obsession and the boundaries of self-identity. Hefty foreshadowing and an abundance of twists keep the reader tripping forwards
Ingenious
Set to be the book of the summer
All stars
Most relevant
I loved this book, it had echos of The Secret History and was a compelling listen. It is a very clever well written book with great narrative. It is essentially about a group of students and the relationship they have with their professor and her influence on them. The narration is excellent and really brings the characters to life the South African voices were very well done. The characters were very well developed and interesting. Overall an excellent listen and I can't wait for the next book. I also have a new favourite narrator in Olivia Dowd.

Superior Thriller well narrated

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So beautifully written, and narrated. A really hypnotic listen, short perfectly crafted sentences that give a page turning pace to them. If you like your Highsmith you’ll love this. Jess, definitely is in all of us.

Beautifully gripping

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This story was a mixture of a coming of age tale, a campus novel and a murder mystery. However, though expertly read, none of the components were memorable enough to fully engage the reader, or at least this one.

Listenable, but unmemorable

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Nicely plotted - and I wanted to finish it in one go. I am not dashing to her other books however.

Coming of age with mystery

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The central characters of this novel are presumably supposed to be cool. I assume it is how the author would like her friends/partners/lecturers to be in her fantasies. The guy who is supposedly a fully formed journalist giving talks and attending important meetings whilst still an undergraduate is just not believable and would be considered a self obsessed creep by most. They are just horrible, selfish, arrogant and slightly dim characters who I couldn't bear to spend any more time with beyond the first half of the book.

Awful characters

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