Reunions – attend them soon after graduation and we just tell each other shameful lies about how perfect life is. This novel centres on a Harvard graduating year returning for their 15th anniversary. It should be three days of partying, but an attendee, the son of the US President (fictionalised … but only using a see-though gauze disguise), is found dead. The son, Frederick Reese, is powerful but unloved. ‘Somebody had finally taken a stand.’

Five Harvard housemates introduce themselves like a play’s cast. Each character (other than Jules) then takes alternate chapters. Mariam and Rowan, now with kids in tow, have been a couple since their college days. Eloise teaches hedonics at Harvard. Jomo and Jules are best friends, but there are later hints that friendship isn’t enough. Jules was a famous actor even before Harvard. She seems troubled but remains intensely private. Her friends are protective. All share a strong bond, despite different career paths, financial security and occasional rivalries.

The President’s son oozes hubris. He’s almost universally loathed, but this is not his story, and this doesn’t claim to be crime fiction. This is a study of character. There is, though, one structural concern. Reunions naturally rely on reminiscence and much of the narrative is looking backwards. Although vital for exposition, it can feel like the story treads water.

Harvard itself, with its idiosyncratic conservatism, is very well written about. Dovey is a past graduate and knows her old campus well. This is an intriguing twist on the conventional campus genre. A marvellous, intricate novel.

Reviewed by Bob Moore