Top 25 Best Dark Academia Books of All Time

Top 3 Dark Academia Books

Quick List

First, if you’re extra curious or in a rush, below is a quick, shoppable list of all the books that made the list.

1. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
2. Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
3. Babel by R.F. Kuang
4. Bunny by Mona Awad
5. Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
6. Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella
7. Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison
8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
9. If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
10. I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
11. In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
12. The It Girl by Ruth Ware
13. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
14. The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
15. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
16. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
17. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
18. Old School by Tobias Wolff
19. One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
20. The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
21. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
22. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
23. They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman
24. The Truants by Kate Weinberg
25. Vladimir by Julia May Jonas

Babel by R.F. Kuang

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller

Babel sits squarely on my bookshelf, awaiting my reach. I ignored the buzz until I read (and loved) the author’s subsequent novel, and then I just had to pick up a copy for myself.

The title refers to Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, where a 19th-century Chinese orphan named Robin trains for acceptance with a mysterious classic language professor.

There, translation is both magical and powerful, as silver bars are capable of finding meaning that’s lost in translation.

But, as Robin’s intellect grows, so too does his conflict: Aiding the British’s quest for dominance means betraying his motherland, where silver is sought. This leads him to a secret society that aims to stop Britain’s violent expansion through revolution.

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

A Most Anticipated Novel by Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, Cosmopolitan, The Atlantic, Forbes, Good Housekeeping, Parade, Better Homes and Gardens, HuffPost, Buzzfeed, Newsweek, Harper’s Bazaar, Ms. Magazine, Woman’s Day, PopSugar, and more

Catherine House has been on my “to be read” list of dark academia novels for SO long, both because of the rave reviews it’s received and because the Pennsylvania setting (where I live) caught my eye.

It focuses on an eerily exclusive, and experimental, liberal arts study program of three years removed from the outside world, and it counts some of the world’s greatest and most famous minds as alumni.

There, however, Ines finds herself feeling imprisoned, and tragedy unearths a very dangerous and secretive student group. The twists and thrills in this dark academia favorite have kept readers glued to the pages.

Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison

When I think about the best dark academia books, Good Girls Lie is always at the top of my mind. It’s one wild ride that you won’t be able to put down by the last one hundred pages.

Suffice it to say that SO much action happens in this psychological thriller set at a boarding school for girls in Virginia after British student Ash Carr arrives on campus.

At the outset, the reader learns that someone is dead — hanging from the school gates, but the who, why, and how is unknown. But that’s only one of many dead bodies at issue in this twisted dark academia novel.

The story is told from numerous perspectives in small tidbits, laying out a trail of breadcrumbs for the reader to follow as the truth unfolds. With this type of storytelling, it’s hard to know who to believe — and that’s part of what makes Good Girls Lie unputdownable.

There are school politics, secret societies, Honor codes, haunted histories in a sprawling mid-Atlantic campus, and everything you can want from a dark academia book, as you wait to learn who lives and who dies and more importantly — who is behind it all.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

One of the best-selling books of all time

It may be a controversial choice to add Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to this list of my favorite dark academia books to read versus light academia books, but so many elements of the dark academia genre are all there: from the gothic and atmospheric school setting to dark magic, student alliances, suspicious professors, and even the fight for survival.

If you haven’t read it yet, I don’t know what you’re waiting for! Either way, I highly recommend you check out the graphic and interactive MinaLima edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for added dark academia vibes. I’m collecting the whole series in this edition myself!

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

One of Bustle’s Best Thriller Novels of the Year

If We Were Villains came highly recommended to me by my lifelong friend who has similar reading interests and implored me to read it.

Ten years before Oliver Marks was released from prison, he was part of a group of Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory. It’s a passionate environment of immersive theater, where a night of drunken debauchery leads to the death of their own.

And Oliver’s finally ready to tell the truth about what happened.

With parallels to Shakespearean tragedies and their extreme emotions running throughout, it’s a daring and ambitious coming-of-age novel with a school-based mystery that truly delivers. Exploring everything from coping with grief to the motivations that drive us, this is the kind of book that will keep you up late at night just to finish it faster. I found it to be deeply satisfying.

Related Post: Character Guide to If We Were Villains | Summary of If We Were Villains | Review of If We Were Villains

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

New York Times bestseller

I Have Some Questions For You reads like a very modern take on the dark academia genre, as it involves a podcaster looking back at the past — something I think we will continue to see.

Bodie is a film professor and podcaster who seeks to forget her family tragedy and the 1995 murder of her classmate, Thalia, for which the school trainer was convicted.

But, when she speaks at her alma mater, she sees flaws in the old case and, as she digs even deeper, she must reckon with the past.

As a modern take on dark academia, this one is not about the gothic architecture that’s often characteristic of the genre, but it does involve a student’s death, as well as a search to uncover the truth where things just don’t feel or seem right. Here, the layers are worthy of some peeling back now that time has passed and Bodie has grown up.

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

An Amazon Best Book of the Month

The title alone of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife intrigues me. Dual timelines recount the campus murder of a female student and the ten-year graduation reunion attended by her group of six friends.

The murder remained unsolved at the time of the reunion, but truth and revenge are sought, threatening to reveal dark secrets along the way in this unputdownable thriller.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

Instant New York Times bestseller

The It Girl is another modern take on dark academia books, this time by one of my favorite thriller authors, Ruth Ware, whose entire catalog I’ve read.

This novel uncovers the truth about the death, a decade earlier, of Oxford’s popular student, April Clarke-Cliveden, a young woman of “two faces” as many “it” girls are under the stressors of a high-pressure academic setting at a young age.

Her friend, Hannah, is now married to another of their friends, Will, and expecting a baby. But, when April’s convicted killer dies in prison and a journalist presents evidence he may have been innocent, Hannah’s “nesting” stage of life becomes interrupted by a desperate search for the truth.

Hannah reconnects with the remainder of her college group of friends to shed new light on the past, and the results offer twists along the way to a heart-racing conclusion.

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

• Instant New York Times, USA Today, AND Los Angeles Times bestseller
• Reese’s Book Club pick

For even more from Ruth Ware, check out The Lying Game. When human remains are found in a small coastal village, a resident woman named Kate texts her old boarding school friends that she needs them.

This intriguing opening scene sets the stage for the story of four girls, who were known for their incessant lies and problems at the school.

They reconvene as adults and, while Kate remains guarded, the remainder of the group, led by new mother Isa, slowly uncover the truth behind the lies and, ultimately, they must decide whether to lie or tell the truth going forward.

This novel blends past and present, a moody setting, and a questionable professor/father to keep you as glued to the pages as I was. It’s another twisty and intriguing dark academia tale from her spooky catalog of page-turning thrillers.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Instant New York Times bestseller

I’ve also read the entire catalog of Alex Micahelides, and his murder mystery The Maidens is one of the first books that comes to my mind when I think about dark academia books, particularly for its nods to Greek culture and history.

Mariana Andros is a therapist who believes a university’s charming Greek tragedy professor has murdered her niece’s friend and member of a female secret society.

After another death, Mariana becomes obsessed with the group and determined to prove the professor’s guilt at any cost.

This dark academia thriller was really well written overall, with complex layers beyond that of most thrillers that kept me intrigued throughout.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

A most anticipated book by The New York Times, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Bustle, Newsweek, New York Post, Esquire,  Real Simple, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian 

My Dark Vanessa is likely one of the darkest of dark academia romance books. It has been on my “to be read” list for quite some time, as I know how popular it is. I expect something very murky, yet also powerful, from this one, so the timing has got to be right for me to pick it up.

In the year 2000, Vanessa was a fifteen-year-old student in an affair with her forty-two-year-old teacher.

Seventeen years later, a student accuses him of sexual abuse and reaches out to her. As a result, Vanessa must grapple with the meaning of the past, her subjective memories of it, and the nature of consent.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The popular and often lauded novel Never Let Me Go was one of the most unique dark academia books I’ve read, as it’s technically science fiction. I’ve also heard a lot of people say it was “required reading” for them when they were in school, which is rare for both dark academia fiction AND science fiction.

Hailsham is the kind of boarding school where students are supported and trained heavily in arts, but its students are allowed little contact with the outside world and are watched over by “guardians.”

After leaving Hailsham, Kathy becomes a “carer” for what are called “donors” and alongside her former classmates, Ruth and Tommy, they uncover the truth about Halisham and themselves.

It’s also a love story and a statement on the value of human life that you won’t soon forget.  The writing is so refined, which makes it a page-turner, yet the mystery of the story is also slowly revealed in little tidbits throughout.

Old School by Tobias Wolff

Finalist for the Pen Faulkner Award

Old School is sitting on my bookshelf because it’s on the Rory Gilmore book list of books mentioned on Gilmore Girls.

Set in a 1960 prep school, it’s about a student who yearns to become a writer but must first learn how to be himself rather than fit in with his privileged classmates.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

• #1 New York Times Bestseller
• An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of the Year Selection
• A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of the Year Selection
• A New York Public Library’s Best Book for Teens Selection
• A Popcrush Best Young Adult Book of the Year Selection
• A CBC Teen Choice Book Award Nominee
• A Bustle Best Young Adult Book of the Month
• A Goodreads Best Young Adult Book of the Year Nominee
• A YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction Book Nominee
• A YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

I think some people may question whether the One of Us Is Lying series of books qualify as dark academia YA books as they have a lighter and more modern feel than the other books on this list. However, I think they do because they involve murder and secrets at detention — like the 80’s cult classic, The Breakfast Club, but with a deadly twist.

After five students walk into detention at Bayview High (the brain, the beauty, the criminal, the athlete, and the outcast), one ends up dead, and the others are left suspects, scrambling to uncover the truth behind the death.

Everyone has a secret in high school, and this maxim certainly applies to the characters of One of Us Is Lying. As they struggle with protecting or revealing their secrets and get to the bottom of the mystery, there are satisfying twists in this wildly popular read, as the truth is ultimately revealed.

I grew to love the characters in this series, as well as the coming of age themes, and I think you will too!

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

• New York Times bestseller
• The Tonight Show Summer Reads Winner
• A New York Times Notable Book of 2021

The Plot is a literary thriller. I don’t mean a literary genre thriller — I mean a thriller with literature at its core. This is a growing sub-genre that I think we will continue to see more of in the future and, given The Plot’s suspense, untrustworthy professor protagonist, and school setting, I do think it also qualifies as one of the best dark academia books.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Read with Jenna book club pick

We have finally reached the book that practically defines the dark academia genre: The Secret History! I swear, practically every one of the subsequent dark academia books uses this title as a comparison.

This modern classic is my favorite Fall thrillers, especially for fans of literary fiction, and it contains some of the best dialogue I’ve ever read.

Filled with moody scenes of a small town in New England in the Fall, it’s about an outcast from California who attends a preppy Vermont college in the 1980s and befriends his Greek classmates.  Ultimately, their obsession with their coursework has deadly consequences.

This is one of those books you can just picture in your mind as you devour the words, and I can practically guarantee the ending will keep you glued to the pages.

They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman

Instant Indiebound bestseller

They Wish They Were Us is a quick, engaging YA mystery with a prep school setting. I’m not going to lie — I read it because I loved the cover art!

At a prestigious prep school in Long Island, New York, scholarship student Jill’s best friend Shaila, was killed by her boyfriend three years earlier. Now, he is behind bars.

But like the lives of Jill and her group of friends – “The Players” — nothing is really what it seems. Jill begins to question Shaila’s death while also dealing with prep school issues like cheating and getting into an Ivy League college.

The Truants by Kate Weinberg

• One of the New York Times Book Review‘s Top Ten Best Crime Novels of the Year
• One of USA Today‘s Best Books of the Year

The Truants is one of the best dark academia books for fans of Agatha Christie, and it is also reminiscent of The Secret History.

On campus, Jess learns about life, love, and Agatha Christie from her enigmatic professor. There, she also falls into a rebellious group.

But, things take a turn when tragedy occurs. Relationships are broken, and a dark secret is revealed. Jess is left to question the true cost of the life she sought in this edgy debut novel.

Vladimir by Julia May Jonas

An NPR, Washington Post, Time, People, Vulture, Guardian, Vox, Kirkus Reviews, Newsweek, LitHub, and New York Public Library Best Book of the Year

I initially wasn’t going to pick up Vladimir, but rave reviews convinced me otherwise, so it now sits on my bookshelves.

In short, at a small liberal arts college campus, a beloved English teacher’s husband (also a professor) is accused of inappropriate relationships with former students.

Though their marriage is an open one, the accusations still bring challenges. Things escalate even further when a married young novelist arrives at the school and captures the English teacher’s attention. It’s a sharp take on desire and power in an academic context.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

You’ve now discovered the hallowed halls of the best dark academia books. Within the walls of these gothic towers lurk secrets, violence, and moral dilemmas that keep readers glued to the pages.

What’s your favorite dark academia novel? Share it in the comments below.