Mystery - Dark Academia - Christchurch City LibrariesLike this list

16 items

• The Secret History

  Tartt, Donna, 1963-

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  'The Secret History' is the godfather of dark academia, the 1992 blueprint, the one that every subsequent entry to the genre will no doubt be compared to. It follows Richard, a lonely new student at a New England college who gets swept up…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• These Violent Delights

  a Novel

  Nemerever, Micah

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  The 1924 Chicago case of Leopold and Loeb provides the inspiration for this novel, in which two university freshmen at a Pittsburg college become embroiled in an intimate, obsessive relationship, eventually spiralling into a meticulously…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• If We Were Villains

  Rio, M. L.

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  'If We Were Villains' comes the closest to achieving what 'The Secret History' did, but is so absorbing in its own right that to reduce it to comparison would be a huge injustice. Set at a Shakespearean acting school where the roles of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Starless Sea

  Morgenstern, Erin, 1978-

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  The author of 'The Night Circus' brings her enchanting touch to dark academia with this fantastical love letter to libraries, books and storytelling. When Zachary, a Vermont graduate student, finds a book that mysteriously contains a story…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Atlas Six

  Blake, Olivie, pseud

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  In a world very similar to our own, but for the existence of magic powers among a select few, six gifted young people train and compete for inclusion to the Alexandrian Society, preserver of ancient and secret wisdom. Full of relational…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Swallows

  a Novel

  Lutz, Lisa, 1970-

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  Alex Witt, a new creative writing teacher at Stonebridge Academy, unwittingly starts a gender war at her school in this mystery, bringing an all-too-relevant feminist perspective to the dark academia genre. As she delves deeper into the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Bunny

  Awad, Mona, 1978-

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  Mona Awad's 'Bunny' sits on the weird end of the dark academia spectrum, incorporating elements of fantasy and horror to create a tale of 'The Craft' meets 'Frankenstein', but in a wholly original way. When Samantha, a scholarship student…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Never Let Me Go

  Ishiguro, Kazuo, 1954-

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  Kathy is 31, and has spent the past twelve years working as a 'carer'. On the cusp of concluding this role, she reminisces about her idyllic yet cloistered childhood at a rural boarding school, Havisham, and her relationship with fellow…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ninth House

  Bardugo, Leigh, 1975-

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  YA fantasy author Leigh Bardugo steps firmly into adult fiction with this dark and moody twist on the infamous secret societies at Yale. Galaxy "Alex" Stern, a survivor of intense trauma, is mysteriously offered a chance to attend Yale in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Temple House Vanishing

  Donohue, Rachel

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  In the Irish countryside boarding school of Temple House, new student Louisa finds solace in her fellow outsider Victoria, the girls forging an intense bond that is shattered when Louisa disappears, along with their unsettling young art…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Plain Bad Heroines

  a Novel

  Danforth, Emily M.

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  A story within a story within a story, Emily M. Danforth's debut blends horror, mystery, comedy and romance to spin a queer Gothic tale that builds its historical and contemporary settings with finesse. The narrative crosses two timelines…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Ancient Nine

  Smith, Ian, 1969-

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  An Ivy League secret society is at the centre of this novel, and the historic disappearance of a young man who attempted to infiltrate it. When Harvard undergrad Spenser Collins is invited to an event hosted by the exclusive Delphic Club,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Catherine House

  a Novel

  Thomas, Elisabeth

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  Seeking to leave a hard-partying life behind her, Ines applies and is accepted to Catherine House, a prestigious private university, but one veiled in mystery. Students must completely cut ties with the lives they leave behind, but as Ines…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Savage Kind

  Copenhaver, John (Novelist)

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  In the late 1940s, teenagers Judy and Philippa form a close friendship, encouraged by their passionate English teacher and a mutual love of detective fiction. After a classmate is found murdered in the nearby river and Miss Martin exhibits…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

  a Novel

  Winstead, Ashley

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  Long-buried tensions and secrets rise to the surface in this page-turning whodunnit set at a college reunion. The members of the "East House Seven" of Duquette University come together for the first time in a decade—all except Heather,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Cloisters

  a Novel

  Hays, Katy, 1982-

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  Genre bending and atmospheric, "The Cloisters" is about our heroine Ann, who is assigned to assist a group of researchers looking into the history of divination at the Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden in New York. When an ancient deck…Read moreRead more of this annotation