Book Description 

The first in a series of compelling and skillful dark academic thrillers from a brilliant new voice in YA fiction.

Love, Lies, Legacy…

Eva has one dream: to study English at Oxford University. Not only will she receive a world-class education – getting into Oxford is a path to freedom.

But when Eva and her best friend George are invited to interview week, they find themselves in the cutthroat ultra-competitive world of elite academia, and at the center of gossip on anonymous student forum Oxford Slays. When Eva finds George dead near the steps of a statue in the college, she knows he’s been murdered – but all eyes are now on her. Can she clear her name, catch the true killer and win her place at Beecham College?

Eva has one week to prove her innocence, and Oxford Slays will be watching.

Oxford Blood is a riveting murder mystery thriller, packed with narrative twists and turns, complex and appealing characters and a captivating, authentic setting in its searing examination of the true cost of privilege.

My Review 

I love dark academia, so I was very excited about the opportunity to read this book. This book has all the expected elements of the genre: elite university, fish out of water, messages in a dead language, and even a secret society. 

Protagonist Eva arrives at Oxford with her best friend George determined to ace her interview and take her place among the elite. She’s not even going to let the rude and entitled private school boys throw her off her game. 

However, all Eva’s plans fall apart when George is found dead, and all signs point to murder. Eva has inherited her police detective father’s keen eye for detail and becomes obsessed with solving the case, even risking her own safety. 

The mystery element was satisfying and was not very obvious. One interesting element was the addition of social media, although message boards seem a little passe. The side characters intrigued me, especially since we didn’t know who could be trusted and who was potentially dangerous. 

I would recommend Oxford Blood. This is apparently the first in a series, so I am looking forward to seeing how this is going to work. I want to keep things vague, but it appeared as though there were no unanswered questions by the end of the book. Knowing that piques my interest and curiosity even more! 

I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley.