Oxford Blood by Rachel Davis Featherstone

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✦ BLURB ✦

Love, Lies, Legacy...High-achieving state-school pupil Eva has one dream – reading English at Oxford. If she gets in, not only will she receive a world-class education at an elite university, but she will be fulfilling the dreams of her mother and gain some independence from her father, the overprotective Inspector Dawkins.

At the same school, Eva's best-friend George is also hoping to go to Oxford. The attraction between him and Eva is undeniable, but they’ve agreed to put any romance on hold until their places at Oxford are secured. Eva cannot be distracted from her goal – although when they are both invited for interview week, their future together feels oh-so close.

Until George shows up dead.

The police rule his death an accident, but the behaviour of some of the other interview candidates has Eva suspecting foul play. When a shocking secret about George is revealed, Eva finds suspicion falling on her. What was meant to be one of the most important weeks of her life is fast turning into a nightmare.

All eyes are now on Eva, including the anonymous posters behind OxSlay, a gossipy social media forum exclusively for Oxford students. But amongst the conspiracy theories, lurk hidden clues. Could they help Eva clear her name - and catch the killer?

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The dream school. The dream future. The dead best friend. Now Eva has to survive Oxford - and the suspicion that comes with it.

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📚 Pre-Reading Thoughts

Give me a mystery set on a university campus and I will always show up. Give me Oxford - with its soaring libraries, crumbling secrets, and students trying to pretend they’re not falling apart under the pressure? Even better.

But what really drew me to this one was Eva. She’s a high-achieving Black state-school student with her heart set on studying English at Oxford - a dream that means independence, success, and fulfilment not just for herself, but for her mother. She’s sharply aware of everything stacked against her: class, race, the silent expectations that whisper she doesn’t belong. So when her best friend George turns up dead during interview week? Everything she’s built is suddenly at risk.

This isn’t just about whether Eva can get into Oxford anymore. It’s about whether she can survive it.

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🎭 Post-Reading

As I thought...
This is a thriller that knows exactly what it’s doing. The death mystery pulls you in right away, but the real tension lies in Eva’s daily struggle to be seen - and believed. From the first chapter, the social dynamics are razor-sharp: you feel the coldness of the college walls, the coded microaggressions, the pressure to be perfect because one mistake will be all they remember.

The setting is everything: old traditions, anonymous secrets, and the kind of prestige that feels both awe-inspiring and suffocating. Oxford isn’t just a backdrop - it’s a character, and not always a kind one.

It surprised me by...
…how multilayered the story is. Yes, there’s a mystery, and yes, Eva is under suspicion. But the story keeps peeling itself open - grief, ambition, first love, inherited expectations, and the terrifying realisation that justice doesn’t always play fair. The addition of OxSlay, a private online gossip forum for Oxford students, adds the perfect modern layer of surveillance and cruelty. It's where the wild theories live - but also where Eva might find answers.

And George? His death is the start, not the end. His secrets reshape everything Eva thought she knew - about him, about herself, and about what this interview week was really about.

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✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé — for the social critique, mystery, and biting tension

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed — if you loved a thoughtful exploration of race, privilege, and identity under pressure

The Ivies by Alexa Donne — a cutthroat college setting with deadly secrets

How to Get Away with Murder — but younger, smarter, and British

Dark Academia aesthetics with a reality check

✦ MUSIC PAIRING ✦

Because sometimes, the heart of a story plays out like a song.

🎵 Featured Song:
“No More Drama” – Mary J. Blige
A song about drawing the line — reclaiming your narrative and pushing back against the mess others try to drag you into. It’s exactly the strength Eva is reaching for.

🎶 Vibe Album:
CTRL – SZA
Confessional, raw, and all about the messiness of identity, relationships, and self-worth. There’s a vulnerability here that mirrors Eva’s emotional arc - not weakness, but honesty in the face of pressure.

🎧 Artist Recommendation:
Little Simz
Smart, sharp, and fearless. If Eva could set her phone wallpaper to a voice, it’d be Little Simz. Try “Introvert” or “Venom” for peak “don’t underestimate me” vibes.

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✧ VIBE CHECK ✧

🎨 Colour palette: Oxford grey, crimson robes, and bruised shadow purple

🎬 Soundtrack: Echoes in old stone halls, the hiss of whispers behind your back, a single phone buzz that changes everything

🍂 Season: Late autumn - the kind where the cold sinks in and you realise the light is vanishing faster than you expected

💭 Mood: Paranoia wearing a very well-tailored blazer

🧴 Scent: Wood polish, stress sweat, damp tweed, and the faint metallic tang of blood

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★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★

Justice – from the Universal Goddess Tarot
Depicted as Isis, the Egyptian goddess of magic and truth, this Justice holds the scales to weigh not only evidence but the very heart of the matter — and the Ankh, symbolizing life and hope. For Eva, this card reflects the monumental struggle to balance truth and perception in a world eager to judge her unfairly. It reminds us that justice isn’t just about facts, but also about who controls the narrative.

Oxford Blood publishes on the 4th of September, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.