This book really takes readers into a world where most of us will never be: the halls of the Ivy League finals’ clubs, worrying about impressing millionaire alumni, or researching ancient secrets hidden in their clubhouses. It’s really very fascinating.

The events of the novel take place in 1988. The main character is Spenser, a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who vows to do better, who is “punched” into Delphic Club’s selection process. His friend, Dalton Winthrop, a rebellious rich I’d whose goal in life is to do the opposite of whatever his father wants hm to do, isn’t punching (that would be too appropriate), but tells Spenser of his interest in “The Ancient Nine,” of the Delphic, and together, the pair begin to uncover the club’s secrets, including a possible murder.

The book is really very interesting, even though it involves quite a bit of “academic” scenes - scenes of Spenser going to the library or archives in search of the next clue. That’s definitely a testament to the author, that he can make that kind of scene interesting and suspenseful.

I also thought there was just the right amount of tension throughout the book to keep things exciting - it’s a slow burn thriller which really ramps up as things progress at the perfect pace. I was never bored - fascinated, mostly. I kind of want to go back to college and aim for the Ivy League after reading, lol!

One note: In some other reviews I’ve noticed they mentioned the “misogynistic material,” of which any put down to the 1980’s setting. I would counter that if you don’t think this same thing is happening today, you’re fooling yourself. It absolutely is on college campuses and in the “good ol’ boys clubs.” I think the book would have been disingenuous if it didn’t include it. The author handles the material well, portraying it accurately, and showing that people participating in these activities and attitudes aren’t all evil, shadowy figures - and we need to accept that the kid next door who’s doing well can participate in these skeevy things. Ok </soapbox>.

Overall I liked this book. It took me on a journey through Harvard, and I loved the mystery. Highly recommended.

The Ancient Nine by Ian K. Smith was a very interesting read. I was unprepared for the curiousness of the “club” atmosphere in Harvard. I did not know about the “punch” entertainments and the various “secretive measures’ the clubs took. However, having said all that, I am hopeful that the book embellished parts of the story to make the story better. (Call me a Pollyanna.)

Spencer Collins, a kid from the wrong side of Chicago was going to Harvard to play basketball and to study pre-med. He knew he was different than many of the other students there, but he worked hard to earn his spot and planned to keep it. He is friends with Dalton Winthrop, a student, whose family members had gone there before him.

Spencer and Dalton hung out together and Spencer was often invited with Dalton to his home for dinners. Spencer was asked to join one one of the clubs and while Dalton did not want anything to do with the clubs he supported him and wanted to help him. The boys were curious about several rumors about the clubs and the secrets that seemed to abound. Dalton’s great uncle was even a legacy member of Delphi and had spoken highly about it to Dalton. There were strange happenings and Spencer and Dalton found themselves digging deeper and deeper into the club as Spencer was going through the “punch” time.

I found myself enjoying the intrigue and twists of the novel The boys were quite dogged in their pursuit of the truth, which I admired, but felt concerned for them. I felt the fear that began to surface as more information became available. I was a bit disappointed in the ending as it could have had more zing to it, but it ended in a way that did satisfy my curiosity. The Ancient Nine by Ian K. Smith was a good read.

Contrary to likelihood, these two find enough common ground to be friends – cemented in Spenser being ‘punched’ to join the Delphic Club (one of the most exclusive of Harvards famous all male final clubs – Dalton, having familiar links to the club, knows that don’t just offer membership to just anyone. Dalton (his Great-Uncle one of The Delphic Clubs oldest living members), stews over his Uncles cryptic nature regarding The Ancient Nine, a shadowy group of alums whose identities are unknown. They protect the Delphic's darkest and oldest secrets—including what happened to a student who sneaked into the club's stately brick mansion in 1927 and was never seen again. Dalton steers Spenser into deeper and deeper recesses of the club, and beyond, to try to make sense of what they think they may be seeing. But with each scrap of information they get from an octogenarian Crimson graduate, a crumbling newspaper in the library's archives, or one of Harvard's most famous and heavily guarded historical books, a fresh complication trips them up. The more the friends investigate, the more questions they unearth, tangling the story of the club, the disappearance, and the Ancient Nine, until they realize their own lives are in danger.

The Ancient Nine, had me engrossed from the first page. Combining an intricate history of both Campus and Town (Harvard and Cambridge), Smith effectively created an enticing and authentic novel. Intertwining knowledge with an intense descriptive ability, Smith has created an intensely realistic world, where it is not hard to envision the setting, or the events describe.

Enter the romance aspect – usually Romance tropes are overplayed, but this one was done delicately enough, that it didn’t weight too heavily on the story line – it grounded the novel, turning it from an intense thriller – in what could have almost been an alternate reality – to a novel constructed in our time. Add in the complexities of politics, and mora dilemmas, and the presence of characters fatal flaws, this surprisingly intriguing read, left me wanting more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ian K. Smith for allowing me to read and review The Ancient Nine. I am so lucky to get to read and review great books! The last bunch I've read have been stellar, and this book was very enjoyable.

In The Ancient Nine, Dr. Ian Smith, author of many books on diet and health, tries his hand at crafting a mystery rooted in historical fact. Spencer Collins, our fictive hero, is a Harvard freshman, a young black man from the south side of Chicago studying to become a doctor. He is surprised to be "punched" by The Delphic, one of the elite private clubs infamous among the Ivy League for their preservation of privilege. Presidents and other global leaders have been "Gasmen", so election to the club is not only flattering but possibly life-changing.

Complicating the matter, his best friend Dalton Winthrop draws him into a mystery about the Delphic, the disappearance of a student some sixty years earlier and the possible existence of a secret room in the club building and a secret club within the club called the Ancient Nine. Much of the story is about Dalton and Spencer following the trail of clues in books and archive to find their way to the truth.


The Ancient Nine is ambitious and seeks to expose several historical conspiracies in one book, not just those of the infamous final clubs, but the secrets of Christendom, the American business titans who financed Hitler, and the lost art of the War. That's a lot for one book, but there's more, there's the mystery of the student who disappeared and how he died, the people who died soon after, and even a mystery Spencer did not know he was discovering, the reason he was invited to join the Deliphic Club in the first place. This is all a bit much for one book, especially when much of the revelation is in one fell swoop in one of those end of the book monologues, though at least not by a Snidely Whiplash character while Spencer draws nearer a buzzsaw on a conveyer.

There are moments of true menace and a very menacing lawyer which would suggest some final confrontation, but whatever confrontation and resolution there might have been, we won't see it. We'll just look back on it from decades later which is completely unsatisfying. I would have preferred an up-in-the-air resolution to one that doesn't happen, leaving us with results without confrontation. I felt shortchanged at the end, and that is weird because other than the end, the entirety of the book is overladen with detail, completely unnecessary detail such as the complete bibliographic entry for a mysterious book, including the shelfmarks at every library it exists or long passages in Old English which used the long s. I laughed out loud at the bibliographic entry, sometimes too much detail is too much detail.

The Ancient Nine is full of too much detail, pages on the Harvard-Yale game tradition and the play by play of some basketball game, and rituals and parties of the Club. This book should have been two-thirds as long and edited much more ruthlessly. That would give us room for what it needs more than anything - a confrontation with those who had secrets to bury. We know the confrontation happened, but only through decades in hindsight. We needed to see it for ourselves.

This has the potential to be a much more exciting book and I can imagine Ian Smith writing one, perhaps one on a topic he knows less intimately. That "write what you know" adage should be taken to the woodshed, I think. To me, it should mean write what you know in terms of emotion, of understanding, of human experience, not necessarily the rituals of final clubs and the gross vulgarisms of men showing off to men. I think when people write what they know from personal experience, they lose the forest while describing the trees.

I received a copy of The Ancient Nine from the publisher through NetGalley

The Ancient Nine at St. Martin's Press | Macmillan
Ian Smith author site

4.5 Stars

'Ancient Nine' is a suspenseful mystery that will leave fans of the genre begging for more. I really enjoyed everything about this book and have no real issues with it. The only reason I'm not giving it a full five stars is because it took a little while to actually get into the story and it took a little effort to stay in the author's world. That's my own personal opinion though, and says nothing to how others will react to the novel. Here are my major positives from the book:

Characters: I loved both Dalton and Spenser. They were each realistic and complex, and I was able to identify with each of them early on in the book. I also liked watching their friendship start and grow throughout the story. It ends up feeling like it's the two of them against the world.

Setting: I'm a sucker for novels set in colleges or private/boarding schools, and this book definitely checked that box. There's just something about the history of the university combined with the secrets and mysteries involved that take it to another level for me.

Plot: Thrillers are one of my favorite genres, so I was immediately intrigued by this book. I had decently high hopes and I was certainly not disappointed. I loved the building tension and sense of urgency that ramps up as the book goes on. The mysteries were fascinating because of all the history and people behind them and there were some interesting twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

Writing Style: This was a huge plus for me for a couple reasons. First, the book was told in the first person point of view from Spenser's perspective. I love the first person POV because I think it allows a deeper bond between the narrator and the reader that isn't possible with the other writing styles. I also really loved that there were other "documents" included throughout the book - articles, notes and letters, secret communications, and excerpts from books to name a few. This gave the book a whole new dimension for me in a very positive way and I only loved it more because the author included these within the story.

Definitely recommended for fans of suspense, mystery, thrillers, and readers who enjoy secret societies, history, and books set in colleges/universities.

A well written book, but i did struggle in parts. The synopsis sounded good and i really thought i would have enjoyed more than i did. Although it wasn't really for me, I can see that it could be of interest to those who have attended Havard, or enjoy plenty of mystery and secret societies.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, freely given.

Most of the books I read are mysteries or thrillers. I love reading and trying to solve as I go along. Even though that is my favorite genre, this book really kept me entertained. It had the right mix of what I am used to reading, with that little something else that kept me wanting more.

There was some nostalgia in this as well. The main characters spent a ton of time researching different topics... by actually going to the library and looking them up. They didn’t have their trusty friend google to find it for them. They had to take that little extra effort, which made me realize how much we take technology for granted.

As for the story, I could completely see this being a movie someday. There were parts that felt like a research paper, but there was enough mystery and intrigue to keep me going.

Worth a read for sure!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Intriguing mystery and murder in an all-male club at Harvard University

In 1927, Harvard student Erasmus Abbott disappeared without a trace while trying to break into the university’s most secret society, the Delphic Club. Flash forward to 1988 and Spenser Collins, a sophomore student and member of the university basketball team, is “punched”, i.e. chosen as a candidate to join the Delphic, the most elite and prestigious of Harvard’s nine all-male clubs. As a young black man from the South Side of Chicago, son of a single mother from a poor background, Spenser is an outsider in the world of white male privilege that is Harvard. Yet upon his entrance into this bastion of brotherhood and heritage, Spenser finds himself on the trail of dark secrets kept hidden for generations by men in the highest echelons of wealth and power.

With the help of his friend Dalton, who is born to privilege but rebels against it, Spenser resolves to find out what happened to Erasmus all those years ago and what the Delphic Club is really hiding. Delving into the Delphic’s past, while at the same time undergoing the club’s gruelling, often puerile, and at times orgiastic initiation rituals, Spenser begins to uncover conspiracies and criminality at the heart of its history. The discovery of the existence of the Ancient Nine, a core group of members, pledged to guard the Delphic’s secrets with their lives, places Spenser and Dalton in danger as they are watched, followed, and eventually threatened by shady figures determined to protect the club’s secrets at any cost.

The Ancient Nine unveils an intriguing mystery at a leisurely pace, following Spenser as he unravels the Delphic Club’s secrets through research in different libraries and archives around Harvard. The descriptions of the university, its history and its beautiful campus are vivid, eloquent and extensive, often immersing the reader in both the material and intellectual world of the illustrious Ivy League college. The mystery is satisfactorily interesting and erudite, although, plot-wise, it is occasionally uneven and the denouement is somewhat disappointing.

While the race aspects of the novel are handled well and with sensitivity, what really lets this book down is its treatment of women. Even taking into account that the novel is set in 1988 (its depiction of women resembles stories of that era), and that all-male clubs and fraternities may still treat women that way to this day, to read the Harvard men’s displays of blatant sexism, misogyny, and objectification of women presented without any form of critique is unsettling and at times downright offensive. The writer may merely be trying to convey the attitudes of the time through Spenser’s eyes and thus presenting them without comment; however, would this serve as an excuse if it were racism or homophobia of the time being depicted?

Overall, The Ancient Nine is a solid mystery in the tradition of Dan Brown-type thrillers and as such should be enjoyed by fans of the genre in that respect.

Arwen Evenstar

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

The Ancient Nine exceeded my expectations. I imagined this to be an account of students' lives at Harvard. Instead, the story reads like a Dan Brown mystery, although this fiction is based on real events. Spenser Collins is a Harvard athlete of meager means. Meanwhile, his best friend, Dalton Winthrop, is fifth-generation in Cambridge. In October, 1988, Spenser receives an invitation to attend a reception at one of Harvard's most prestigious and secretive all-male societies. Although he is not from a prominent family, he may be admitted to the Delphic Club if he passes a series of steps. The Delphic Club is an ancient society that has had leaders in politics, industry and entertainment as its members. Spenser and Dalton soon become curious and begin investigating the Delphic's secret past, especially the Ancient Nine who have absolute power over the society's secrets, The book takes us all over Cambridge, into Harvard's numerous libraries, meetings at the Delphic, basketball games, etc. It is a fascinating ride and hooks from the first page. And what an ending! I look forward to reading more books by Dr. Ian K. Smith. Highly recommended. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you love dark histories about ivy league colleges, you'll love this one.
Lots of interesting little nuggets about Harvard.
Fun reading.

Title was archived before I could review it sadly. Guess I will have to buy it if I would like to read it. I am new to the Galley and was not aware of the fact that the archival date meant that I could not access the title anymore. Too bad

Spenser Collins entered Harvard to become a doctor but, when he’s punched (nominated) by the Delphic Club, he starts to investigate the club’s history and the mysterious disappearance of Erasmus Abbott, a young student who dared to break into the club house.
The book started off great. The mystery was intriguing and the main character, Spenser, was interesting enough. The problem started when the book began developing. Even though I enjoyed learning more about these Harvard exclusive final clubs and the overall Harvard history, the book didn’t do it justice. The concept was interesting but poorly executed. For example, even though Spenser got into Harvard to become a doctor, he didn’t study at all, spending his time in club related research and basketball practices, even skipping some important classes to do so. Since I mentioned research, I have to say that it was at times quite boring. It consisted on transcribing huge chunks of articles and we, as the reader, had to select the bits of information important for the plot. In the beginning, it was fine because we also got to know some history besides what Spenser was directly looking but, as the book progressed, it lost its interest and felt like it dragged the plot.
Aside from that strange method of conveying research, some scenes were also problematic for me, as a woman. For example, after winning a game, the Delphic punchees received, as a victory gift, a house full of beautiful and attractive naked women whose only purpose was to please them. It felt off and honestly made me feel uncomfortable. Along with excessive and pressured alcohol consumption, the club resembled a sorority house, which the characters specifically said it was not. Another scene that bothered me was when Dominique, a young attractive woman, who was only introduced as eye-candy for the Delphic boys and who was married to a rich old guy, decided to betray her husband by having sex with Spenser, who she had never even spoken to before. All of this made me feel like this was a males only book, written by a male, for males, about a male fulfilling some kind of fantasy.
I also thought the book was too long. Maybe it was because of all the articles I had to read but I felt it drag so much.
Because of all the things I’ve mentioned above, I can’t give this book more than 2.5 stars, which is sad because I really wanted to enjoy it.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for gifting me an E-ARC and inviting me on to the blog tour. Below you will find my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The synopsis is a huge inclination to what you're going to find in this book. It's VERY detailed, borderline way too many details. For me, it made the book lag, and I actually struggled finishing it. Because there were so many details, something as simple as the color of someone's shirt, or a phone call made felt like 3 pages worth of reading. I can appreciate that the Author really took his time, and you can definitely tell that he spent many hours writing and researching, so kudos' for that. I feel though, however much I didn't particularly love it, many others will. This is just simply a case of me not being the right reader for this book.

4.5 Stars

The Ancient Nine was a slow burner scholarly mystery set in 1988, story of convoluted mystery of one the club house of Harvard, buried secrets and wealthy cunning titans of the world who will go to any length to protect it. After long time I read such informative novel.

characters-
Main character, Spencer Collins was athletic, smart, American black student of Harvard from average family background. Invitation from the legendary men club of Harvard, exclusive to only rich white students changed everything in his life. Nothing about the invitation was normal and sounded more personal to Spencer that pulled him and his best friend Dalton Winthrop into the puzzle of buried secrets of ancient nine.

I liked Spencer’s voice. It was written in way that pulled me to read more about his life at Harvard. Dalton was much more striking than him in lot of way and also had very important role in the story. Smart intelligent rich rebellious kid and his cold war with his father, his way of probing matters and using resources for that was impressive.

Both the characters were developed and by the end of the book both Dalton and Spencer grew on me and I was much impressed the way they took risk and solved the mystery. There were many interesting secondary characters contributed in progress of the story.

what i liked-
The story was written in first person narrative from main character’s POV. First few chapters had tremendous info on Harvard ground, magnificent buildings and its history and clubs. I suggest keep the map given in the beginning handy to view all the details on streets, campus, and buildings without getting confused.

Exquisite immaculate narration of the houses took me right there walking along with Spencer meeting famous people and dizzily admiring all the facts and details. It was like reading research paper on Harvard which was turned into fiction story. Soon I found myself googling about everything mentioned in the book. The accuracy of some of the details were really jaw dropping.

After getting loads of info about this secret society and their lavish party, I was much intrigued with the history and the secrets it held. There were lot of question hanging in my mind. Why Spencer was punched, what they are hiding in the mansion, what happened to Abbott 60 yrs ago were the center pieces of puzzle which are intertwined with each other in smart and complex way. As characters tried to get answers to these question the more deep it took them with bunch of more question and some to dead ends.

There was so many things to talk about related to Harvard and the mystery but telling it all here would kill the fun. What I loved most was the Spencer and Dalton’s core research on rare ancient text that linked all the question, Libraries and divisions of Harvard Campus, and all other details that revealed the exquisite history of campus. I haven’t read Robert Langdon series, I watched movies and I can tell this book had the same feel.

The suspense got more thrilling in the second half of the book. Climax was mind-blowing and highly uncertain. Author really knew how and where to put the pieces of the puzzle and still holding the final important one in way that no one can figure out what the picture would be like till the end. That acronym in the poem almost gave away the secret as I knew what it stands for but still I didn’t know how it was connected to mystery until last 10% of the book.

End was great, contrary to what I thought, I didn’t expect it to be wrapped up so smoothly but it was satisfactory.

why not 5 stars-
A minor point- Racy, entertainment, comments and views of club on women in first half and sport, tournament in the second half the book distracted me from the main mystery. Like clubs in the book it felt like written for men readers.

Overall, it was original, interesting, slow building and steady paced with exquisite writing. I enjoyed it. Those who like historical suspense with academic details would definitely enjoy the book.

In 'The Ancient Nine', a Harvard sophomore, Spenser Collins is invited to join the most exclusive of exclusive clubs-The Delphic.

At Harvard, the clubs are arranged in a pyramid with The Delphic at the top-entrance is by invitation only or 'punching'. His best friend , Dalton, is from a moneyed family, who has been recently cut off from his trust fund after disagreeing vehemently with his father-The Emperor.
Dalton is amazed but not jealous of the invite, he is already a member of the 'Pork' society but the arrival of a card invite, embossed with the 3 flames signifying the 3 groups of 2 or the 'Ancient Nine'-guardians of the secrets that apparently go to government level and beyond-causes him concern.
Spenser is a young, black man from a single parent family who has worked hard to get into Harvard and takes nothing for granted. Who could have nominated him for The Delphic and what were the motivations?
Is Dalton as progressive as he seems? The principled upbringing he has experienced, and turned his back on, the only dating 'women of colour' gave me major 'Get Out' vibes at the start of the book and I was genuinely concerned for Spenser's safety-btw if you haven't seen 'Get Out' by Jordan Peele, I thoroughly recommend it, best horror film to come out in years!
The Delphic is stepped in mystery and lore-from it's members, impenetrable building and suppose guardians, the Ancient Nine themselves. Whether they exist or not is the central tenet of the book, what is this 'secret room' and supposed treasure that the society are hiding? What happened to Erasmus Abbott in 1927, the Harvard student who entered The Delphic building never to be seen again? Why are there records of everything that ever happened in every society but The Delphic and why are there no member lists in the library? And, most sinister of all, at the arranged social event where 'punchees' are inducted, how did the head of the society know that Spenser had only applied to one other uni apart from Harvard? This was privileged information that should not have been known by anyone.
As Spenser and Dalton investigate further, can they maintain their sense of self in a society that demands complete subservience and loyalty? The temptation to investigate all the underlying myths and prove or debunk them, is too tempting to resist and you are swept up very quickly into Spenser and Dalton's lifestyle and an understanding of privilege both from within and without the upper echelons of society.
This book is perfect for fans of 'The Skulls',Dan Brown, Donna Tartt and anyone who loves a well written mystery.
Ian K.Smith creates an atmosphere drenched in mystery, supposition, guesswork and menace that climbs around you like the ivy that covers the exalted halls of Harvard and pulls you tight to the plot until the very end.
Many thanks to Justine Sha of St Martins Press, Ian K.Smith and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of 'The Ancient in return for an honest review!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Ian Smith for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a mystery that involves so-called final clubs at Harvard University and takes place in 1988. Spenser Collins was raised by a single mother in Chicago so is the least likely prospect to be "punched" by the Delphic Club - given an invitation to join the process of possibly being picked to be a member of this exclusive club. Dalton is the son of Harvard legends and is Spenser's opposite but the two become close friends. Dalton's aged uncle belonged to the Delphics and Dalton believes he is a member of the Ancient Nine - an ultra-secret group of the club in charge of all its secrets.

This is a good mystery as the two friends investigate all the secrets. I enjoyed less the portrayal of women in this book - naked women as prizes for winning a contest? The beginning of the book said it was based on real events so I would have loved to know more about that.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fall 1988

Spenser Collins is a sophomore at Harvard University when he is "punched" to join the Delphic Club, an exclusive all male final club that can boast some of world's most successful businessmen, politicians, Hollywood legends and Wall Street titans to name a few. Spenser, a basketball player at Harvard, is from Chicago and is the son of a single Mother. He does not quite fit Delphic Club's membership criteria and yet they are interested in him. Spenser's friend, Dalton Winthrop, has lived a life of luxury and knows a lot about the exclusive clubs at Harvard. He encourages Spenser to attend the social. Dalton's great-uncle is the Delphic's oldest living member. During their talks, Dalton mentions the "Ancient Nine" the infamous secret club within the club. The Ancient Nine is shrouded in mystery and Dalton shares several theories and Harvard Legends about how and why the club within the club exists. Dalton encourages Spenser to check out the club and find out any information he can find about the Ancient Nine. When Spenser meets an interesting man at the first social, Dalton and Spenser have their interest piqued even more than it already was, and they decide to do whatever they can to find out more about the club and the top secret exclusive Ancient Nine. Fueled by a meeting with Dalton's great-uncle and the request to retrieve a secret book, the two young men must be clever, smart, and cunning to learn the truth.

Through the course of this novel, the reader learns more about the Ancient Nine but also about Harvard, Harvard's history and secret societies in general. Spenser and Dalton discover there had been a missing person/murder in the 1920's and as they research, the reader is also shown the library and research system at Harvard.

This book has a little bit of everything: secret societies, mystery, suspense, romance, and has a cat and mouse feel. There is also the objectification of women which may be uncomfortable to some, but I feel is indicative of the time the book is set in and the fact that the book is about frat/secret societies. There are stories within stories and those who want to keep the secrets of the club - just that secrets. Plus, there is the component about religion, the mention of King James and the King James Bible. How is all this related? You'll have to read this to find out! There is a lot going on in this book - almost too much at times for me.

Harvard, Secret Societies, Murder, Mayhem, Research and Mystery rolled into one.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a very exciting read. I found myself unable to put this book down until the end. It is always unexpected to find such a enjoyable style of writing in fiction. This book qualifies as a bit of mystery/fiction/genre. The author held my interest throughout the book.
I was fascinated by the description and location of Harvard and its bookstores. The author has a talent for location and the reader is instantly drawn in.

The characters in the book are interesting and all very complex. Each does add to the drama and mystery of the setting with personality and their input to the story . They work together to solve the mystery of a students disappearance. Many clues come forth and throughout is history, location and mystery done to perfection.

I received a copy of The Ancient Nine through Net Galley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Ian Smith, M.D. with gratitude. I look forward to further works by this fine author. A 5 star read!

Secret societies, Harvard, winding paths in the depth of libraries....these are all things I love. The Ancient Nineis the story of Spenser Collins - a basketball player from the south side of Chicago and a very unlikely Harvard student. Spenser meeting Dalton, who is a legacy. He's got everything, looks, money and the last name that puts him heads above other Harvard students.

Spenser is targeted and pushed to join The Delphic Club, and both he and Dalton are surprised. Dalton, however, has knowledge of another secret club, The Ancient Nine, a club WITHIN the Delphic Club.

Both Spenser and Dalton explore the history of these two clubs and find out the secrets that may show just how dark these secret clubs actually are.

This is a story of racial politics. There are very male..beat on their chest moments, but thinking about the time and place, it's be to be expected. Still, this is an interesting look at the history of Harvard and a look at friendship across racial lines.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.