INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF IN A DARK, DARK WOOD Featured in TheSkimm An Entertainment Weekly “Summer Must List” Pick A New York Post “Summer Must-Read” Pick Included in Summer Book Guides from Bustle, Oprah.com, PureWow, and USA TODAY An instant New York Times bestseller, The Woman in Cabin 10 is a gripping psychological thriller set at sea from an … New York Times bestseller, The Woman in Cabin 10 is a gripping psychological thriller set at sea from an essential mystery writer in the tradition of Agatha Christie.
In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, 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…
With surprising twists, spine-tingling turns, and a setting that proves as uncomfortably claustrophobic as it is eerily beautiful, Ruth Ware offers up another taut and intense read in The Woman in Cabin 10–one that will leave even the most sure-footed reader restlessly uneasy long after the last page is turned.
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The Woman in Cabin 10 Half way through, I’m enjoying it.
Intense! I felt a sense of claustrophobia, wanting to get off that small cruise ship, and yet as the tension ramped up, I didn’t want to get off that boat, because I just had to know how all would be explained! I’m hooked on Ruth Ware novels now!
Ruth Ware’s wildly popular novel is an exercise in internal anxiety reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe – just much longer. The first-person narrator, Laura (“Lo”) Blacklock, is a journalist for a British travel magazine. She scores a plush assignment of sailing on the maiden voyage of a small luxury cruise ship/yacht owned by a rich industrialist who wants to market it to the ultra-exclusive luxury market. On board are an assortment of potential investors and media representatives, including Lo’s former lover, and the ship’s owner and his wife. Lo, however, has trouble relaxing and enjoying the trip because she is a basket of nerves. She suffers from manic depression, and just before the trip her apartment is burglarized, while she was home, leaving her slightly injured and extremely jumpy. She also has an alcohol problem, which doesn’t mix well with her anti-depressant drugs, and since the robbery she hasn’t slept much. So, when things turn weird, Lo is already on the edge of madness and doesn’t need much to push her over the edge.
The core of the novel is Lo’s internal struggle to maintain emotional control. The fact that she’s paranoid doesn’t mean that people aren’t really out to get her. The author’s extensive use of inside-her-head descriptions works with the first person present narrative, although I’m not a huge fan of the reader’s information coming from the protagonist’s thoughts rather than from events that the other characters in the story also experience. But, give Ms. Ware credit, the conceit works pretty well and generates a high amount of tension.
The story itself is an intricate and complex whodonit in a classic “locked room” setting. Lo meets a young woman occupying the cabin next to hers – cabin 10 – and borrows a mascara from her. That night, Lo hears a cry and a spash. She rushes to her balcony and thinks she sees a body sinking into the dark water of the North Sea. She thinks somebody, probably the young woman she met in that cabin, has been murdered. When she tries to alert the ship’s security chief, he doubts her story because (1) Cabin 10 is not occupied, and when they check, it’s totally vacant; (2) Lo had been drinking heavily earlier in the evening; and (3) every member of the ship’s crew and all passengers are present and accounted for. The rest of the book is all about Lo’s efforts to figure out what really happened, while somebody seems to be thwarting her efforts. Did she maybe imagine the whole thing? Or, is there a killer on the ship?
There are a few flaws in the story, and a few loose ends that don’t ever mesh. The set-up takes a long time before Lo even gets on the ship, and much of it is not really necessary. There are some major clues that end up hanging without resolution, and it’s never entirely clear why Lo cares so much about the potential murder that she’s willing to abandon her writing assignment and make it her personal quest. At times the prose is over-written with excessive adjectives and adverbs as well as unnecessarily obscure language. The ending is both convoluted and also leaves some major issues hanging. I was not a fan of the end-of-section reprinted emails and social media posts that were mostly red-herrings and intentional false leads and distractions. They were not really necessary and did not add to the suspense. But, even with these flaws, it was a compelling story where the tension and the intricate plot keeps you reading.
I understand why this novel has received such acclaim and such a following. The protagonist is very flawed and easy to relate to, and the mystery is intriguing and difficult so solve. Lo guesses the truth with the help of a convenient reveal and a couple leaps of logic, while the reader has very little chance to guess before Lo’s internal thoughts give it to us. It’s a twister, and the confined space of the ship makes everything very claustrophobic – as Lo experiences the same emotions. It’s a well-done book, but with plenty of aspects that could have been better.
Excellent mystery–well-paced with characters who aren’t always what they seem on the surface. As is often the case, I flipped back and forth between the Kindle and Audible versions, and the narration is top-notch.
The main character is another unreliable narrator, deeply flawed, but she grows on you. I enjoyed the way the author built the sense of claustrophobia onboard the ship, the frustration of being cut off from outside help while not knowing whom to trust. Overall, a good read.
My book Club really enjoyed this mystery. Full of twists and turns.
Read this book for book club and really enjoyed it. Some interesting characters and twists and turns.
I enjoyed this mystery. Would not recommend it for person getting ready to take a cruise! Characters were believable. Suspenseful.
Couldn’t put it down! Loved it!
unpredictable ending. Good book
amazing. i read all her books in three and a half days.
Let me start by saying I am not a huge fan of mystery but I loved that this one had many twists and kept me trying to figure out what happened. I liked the writing but the British terms were difficult at times to follow. I didn’t enjoy the fact that the book ended and I still had questions about what exactly happened. All this lead up and then the book was over.
THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware
Suspenseful and twisty — whom to trust? What really happened? I was caught in this mystery.
Lo finds herself not believed because of drink, medication, and previous trauma. Can she believe herself?
Lesson — live authentic life, don’t settle, given a chance to be a real reporter. “I’d taken work where I could find it and tried to do the best I could in that job.” Can she find the courage to investigate?
Fjords and Northern Lights and luxurious confusion — “rooms were fitted together, like a locking puzzle designed to squeeze out every inch of empty space . . . navigating the maze . . .”
“I still think, in spite of it all, we’re responsible for our own actions.”
Gone Girl spawned a bunch of books that were praised with words starting with, “If you loved Gone Girl, you must read…”, and this is one of those books. I did love Gone Girl. I thought is was a wonderful piece of writing and a great psychological thriller. Did not see the movie.
Cabin 10 is the anti-GG. It’s poorly written, has a main character that is pretty hard to like, and a really, really crummy plot. It’s unbelievable that I was on a hold list for five months to get this book.
I can’t stress how awful this book is. Most of the bad choices the protagonist makes is based on, 1. Her heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages and, 2. Her (convenient) history of experiencing panic attacks. She gets ugly and angry at just about anything and anyone and I’d hate to be on a small ship with her as a fellow passenger.
I’m giving this book one star, and that’s generous.
I loved this book. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Loved this book!! Love this author!!!!
There was a point in the book I had to go back and flip to make sure I wasn’t missing something or even pages missing. I get the author was giving time to other characters to have a discussion/perspective but still. I wasn’t impressed with the lead character in this book and found her hard to attach to.
Kept my interest. While I did not expect some of the twists and turns, was a little disappointed with the ending. Still worth reading
I enjoyed In a Dark, Dark Wood so when I saw the author had a new book out I figured I would enjoy it as well. It was a good book but I didn’t care for it as much as her first. I had a hard time caring about the people in the book and I didn’t love the ending. For a suspenseful book though it was good and I didn’t figure out what was going on until close to the end. If you enjoyed her first book I think you would enjoy this one as well.
How much is this book?