The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This novel follows the student days of a group of Greek scholars in an American university. The five students are considered odd-balls by the other undergraduates and avoided as much as possible. They try and re-create a Grecian ritual which would allow them to experience true freedom from their bodies. The ritual "works" and the students experience an evening of heightened awareness. When they come back to their bodies they realise they have murdered a farmer who bumped into them during their frenzy. The remainder of the book examines the impact of a murder on five intelligent students.

The book is well written and fairly engaging but not particularly amazing. Some of the reactions of the students are so unrealistic that the suspension of disbelief is not very willing. Not bad though.