The Rabbit Club – Christopher J. Yates

I love and still recommend Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates, so when I got this in the mail, I was SO excited to start. This book is so well written, and that is what I remember about Grist Mill Road.

Thanks to HTP Books and Hanover Square Press for the gifted copy

THE RABBIT CLUB – Christopher J. Yates (Released July 8th, 2025)

You can see my thoughts on GRIST MILL ROAD here!

Book Description:

The author of Black Chalk, “the smart summer thriller you’ve been waiting for” (NPR), returns with a mesmerizing new novel of dark academia about a dangerous secret society at Oxford University and the first-year literature student whose life begins to unravel in its shadow

When Ali McCain, an eighteen-year-old from Los Angeles, is accepted at Oxford, it’s a chance to fulfill his dreams. To study English literature in England; to meet true intellectuals; and to glimpse the life he might have lived had his father—British rock star Gel McCain, legendary frontman of the Pale Fires—not abandoned him and his mother when he was a toddler.

But not long after he arrives at the storied campus, Ali is drawn into a dark, disorienting world where events grow more and more curious by the day. Trading on his father’s name, he gains entry into one of Oxford’s oldest and most selective secret societies, the Saracens. As he immerses himself in this rarefied world, he inadvertently sets in motion a series of events that might culminate in disaster.

A mind-bending literary house of mirrors, replete with bookish allusions and Easter eggs ranging from Brideshead Revisited to King Lear, The Rabbit Club is an arresting work of dark academia by the category’s finest writer.

My Thoughts: 5/5 stars

Ali has always had dreams of studying literature at Oxford University. So when he is accepted, he leaves Los Angeles behind him and heads for England. Not only is he looking forward to the opportunity to meet other intellectuals at the university, but he has high hopes of creating a relationship with his absent rockstar father, Gerry McCain. Ali is also hoping that his connection to his famous and legendary father will help him gain entry to one of the oldest secret societies at Oxford. Our naive Ali finds himself in the cross hairs of a dangerous game, and he begins to learn the hard way that not everyone is as they seem and there are secrets everywhere. 

While this is full of darkness, there are moments of levity with how optimistic Ali is. He is easy to connect with, and you find yourself rooting for and worrying about him all at the same time. Watching him navigate the dark side of secret societies and trying to fit in with the ultra wealthy and well connected, as well as trying to develop a relationship with the father that left him when he was a baby, showed a lot of growth throughout the book. 

The pacing is on the slower side. Yes, this is a perfect dark academia read. Yes, there are mentions and references to classic literature sprinkled throughout. Yes, there are secret societies. Yes, there are complicated characters navigating complex relationships. Yes, things get dark and mysterious. There are so many great things about this novel, and I highly recommend picking up Grist Mill Road while you’re at it!