Title: The Woman in Cabin 10
Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Publication Date: July 19, 2016
Review Date: November 21, 2022
Number of Pages: 341 (Hardcover)
My Rating: 3/5
Buy here:
The Woman in Cabin 10 is a very twisty story that keeps you guessing, and you’re unlikely to guess it all!
If you treat this like I did – a quick locked room mystery to be read over the course of a single weekend – you may like it better!
Book Blurb:
Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea.
At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Book Review:
Another one by Ruth Ware. I much preferred The Woman in Cabin 10 to In a Dark, Dark Wood, and now I want to read other books by her!
This one got dark pretty soon; though it was slow burn in terms of the book as whole, it was dark since the very first chapter. It’s fairly fast-paced as a whole, though it does take a while to get to the actual disclosure. The lead character is a little confusing to understand. Sometimes, she overreacts to situations that end up seeming like she reacted that way only for the purpose of story advancement. My point is, the reactions – and subsequent repercussions – weren’t very realistic, and more of a plot device.
The Woman in Cabin 10 is a very twisty story that keeps you guessing, and you’re unlikely to guess it all! I was certainly surprised by where this ended up. And the very last bit raised some questions that I would have loved to read more about. The story did just about tie up loose ends. However, the reveal left me questioning the motive as not being strong enough to warrant everything that happened.
Another thing that bothered me was that the break in at the beginning (no context here because I don’t want to spoil it) doesn’t affect the actual story. I really thought it would, considering the amount of space and emotion devoted to it. The second break in mentioned related to someone else (no spoilers so won’t elaborate) also had nothing to do with the story. So, those threads also felt like they went nowhere. That’s what slightly disappointed me about this story. I didn’t go in with very high expectations, anyway, so it was okay.
I did like it better than In a Dark, Dark Wood by the same author. Unfortunately, the plot leaves something to be desired. Her writing style is quite enjoyable, so as I said in the beginning, I’ll be reading more of her work. If you treat this like I did – a quick locked room mystery to be read over the course of a single weekend – you may like it better!
Recommended for:
Fans of Ruth Ware, quick reads, locked room mysteries, misdirection, twist endings, people who enjoy this writing style.
