Jess is the middle child of a large, chaotic family and she feels largely ignored, so when she finally heads off to university, it comes as a relief. It takes her a while to find her groove, but then she meets her friends. There is glamorous, upper-crusty Georgie, attractive and steady Nick, and Georgie’s mysterious boyfriend Alec. Above all, there is Jess’s primary reason for her studies: teacher and author Lorna. Lorna has written a very successful and much-lauded novel called The Truants, and Jess is besotted by her. But people keep warning her that Lorna is not who she seems. Meanwhile, she and her friend group spend more and more time together, until it all begins to fall apart.
The Truants falls squarely within the genre of dark academia, which, in all fairness, is not my favourite genre. It tries very hard to be The Secret History and while it’s certainly not as good as the gold standard, it’s not a bad attempt either. The plot is nuanced, and the reader is never quite sure in which direction it will turn. It also keeps up the pace without losing sight of the characters, and it avoids the shock-and-awe factor many other books have. It manages to avoid the pitfall of inventing some sort of ancient pre-Catholic slash satanic ritual supposedly harboured within the hallowed halls of Oxbridge.
What we do get, on the other hand, is quite a few tropes we’ve seen before. The Brilliant Professor With A Secret is probably my least favourite one, though it pans out in the end. I liked that the main character is neither ridiculously dumb nor annoyingly smart; despite the praise heaped on her by Lorna, she is relatable; an intelligent, young woman making bad, selfish choices. The atmosphere as described is delightfully moody without veering into Addams Family territory. There is sex in a hearse, though, at one point.
My biggest issue with the novel is the ending, which seems to be a bit rudderless. Perhaps it’s no wonder in a novel where the characters appear to be not so much off course, but off the map entirely. Still, it felt unfinished, without resolution. Befitting as that might be, it annoyed me. Other than that, this is a well-written thriller-ish book for those who look beyond schlocky plot twists and hammy dramatics.