Review Detail

OXFORD BLOOD is a captivating YA murder-mystery. Eva is excited that she was selected for an interview at Beecham, one of the colleges of Oxford. She is hoping to secure one of the few, hard-to-get spots in English and has been preparing for these in-person interviews for a long time. She is Black and comes from a state school, which puts her at a disadvantage, but she and her best friend George have been dreaming about and working for this opportunity for a long time.

Not long after arrival, the private school students show up, and they seem to have a past with George that Eva had not heard about. After they dare George to make a dangerous jump, he and Eva have a falling out. The next morning when she goes for a run to clear her head, she finds his body, having seemingly completed the dare. However, as the day goes on, she begins to suspect it was not an accident and was instead murder. With the police being frustratingly stuck on her and not investigating properly, Eva takes matters into her own hands - and unravels something much bigger than she could have expected.

What I loved: Eva is a really compelling and easy-to-like character. She bears the weight of her (now deceased) mother's dreams to attend Oxford, but she is also embracing them as her own. She has worked really hard to even make it to interview week, and she is excited to chase her dreams. However, when George dies, she is overwhelmed with grief - but also a desire to know what really happened and who was behind his death. She is cautious in who she trusts and rightfully so. As she navigates the potential suspects, she has some missteps but also remains determined to out the truth.

The case is interesting with the personal connection (and also that she is a suspect). There were never any dull moments as the story moves forward. The pace was very steady and quick, keeping readers hooked with new tidbits about the case and clues as to whodunnit along the way. I guessed at the answer and was ultimately right, but it was impossible to be sure about who it could be - however, the final reveal made a lot of sense, thanks to the build-up of clues along the way... perfect for a murder-mystery! There were secret societies, surprising pasts, and a cold case that came up along the way that made for quite the thrilling read!

Themes around equity/equality, socioeconomic division and the power of money, chasing your dreams, and trust/betrayal were all really strong throughout. There were some particularly thought-provoking discussions about societal inequality and wealth disparity throughout. This could definitely be a series, and I would love if it was! I could definitely see more of Eva and other cases around these old college structures being equally as fascinating as this first. That being said, this case was wrapped up by the end with key answers for Eva's future resolved as well. It was ultimately a satisfying end.

Final verdict: OXFORD BLOOD is a riveting and engaging YA murder-mystery that keeps the reader on their toes until the end! Highly recommend for fans of the TRULY DEVIOUS series, A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER, and MISSING CLARISSA.