The Secret History

It was a bit confusing to find this novel less of an academia thriller or dark occult/secret-society driven narrative, and much more of a slown-burn character study both leading up to a (somewhat) tragic event, and the aftermath of it. The prose is heavy, but the readibility and pace suffer more from uneccessary context or detail and the university ‘hook' quickly becomes barely a backdrop for the story. There are a few surprises in the back half of the book, with some more earned and plausible than others, but it also feels like the author never fully strikes the right balance of tone throughout.