Oxford Blood

Davis-Featherstone (I Am Not a Prince) explores different types of discrimination at play within college application processes in this dark academia thriller set against the backdrop of a fictional institution. The night after 17-year-old Eva Dawkins arrives at Oxford University’s Beecham College for interview week, her best friend (and semi-official boyfriend), George, is found dead at the base of a controversial statue commemorating Oxford alum Sir H.C. Glanville, a known enslaver. Though George’s death is initially declared a dare gone wrong, Eva suspects foul play. And when his autopsy confirms he was murdered—and Eva’s alibi doesn’t check out—she’s added to the list of suspects. To clear her name and find justice for George, Eva investigates the other students interviewing for Beecham, including George’s former childhood bestie Seb and scholarship student Lily. Simultaneously, Eva must complete her own interviews, which are complicated by rumors about her private life and the resurgence of an exclusive gentlemen’s society for affluent students. Satisfying and briskly paced action enlivens the novel’s smooth plotting, which ferries somewhat cursory examinations of privilege and its intersection with class, gender, and race. Eva and Lily are described as mixed-race; other characters cue as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Allison Hellegers, Stimola Literary Studio. (Jan.)