An absorbing, intelligent and highly readable novel

I read Donna Tart's "The Secret History" over two years ago, and I've been eagerly awaiting her second novel. "The Secret History" was my favorite novel that year, thanks to wonderful characters, an atmosphere drippingly evocative and a mystery that kept me turning pages and reading late into the night. This is one of those all-too-rare books that work equally well as an intelligent novel of acutely observed humanity and a fascinating suspense thriller.

It takes place on a college campus, but the characters are an esoteric group who study ancient Greek. We see them through the eyes of the hero, however, who tries to cover up his more humble social background. This helps draw us in to the intriguing world of the super-smart outcasts on a modern college campus.