Hannah Jones has left her boring life behind in Dodsworth, UK for the long-dreamed of experience of an undergrad at Pelham College in Oxford. Not only is she feeling her life beginning there, but she has a beautiful, beguiling roommate, April Clarke-Cliveden. A roommate who can open every door, make experiences possible she could never have had access to, a real “It” girl who does as she pleases, and takes Hannah along on her adventures. April is wealthy, posh, confident, the world is all hers, and Hannah is her roommate and best friend. Hannah’s first year is more exciting than she ever thought possible. That is, until April’s shocking murder.

Hannah has believed she was the key witness to the murderer’s departure from their dorm, her testimony sealing the fate of the creepy porter she spied leaving moments before she and their friend Hugh discovered April’s body. Ten years has passed, the convict has died in prison, declaring his innocence until his own death. Certain facts have bothered Hannah all these years, and as she reflects more on the details of that last week of April’s life, she becomes obsessed with the idea that the wrong person may have been punished for April’s murder. Hannah, now married to April’s former boyfriend, Will, and expecting their baby, digs deeper into the case. She finds herself speaking to all their old friends, pushing for further facts, facing everything she couldn’t deal with before. Hannah must know for certain what happened to April, and who was actually responsible, in order to move forward with her life, have her baby, and continue her marriage on solid ground. Could her own loving husband have been April’s killer?

Ware knows how to keep the plot tight and the pages turning rapidly to an exciting and unexpected ending. Hannah is reliable and self-doubting by turns, leaving the reader questioning her judgement as much as she doubts herself. I recommend all of Ware’s mysteries. She has become a master of the genre. Highly recommended.