AUTHOR: Ruth Ware
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Canada
PUBLICATION DATE: January 3, 2017
FORMAT: Paperback
LENGTH: 352 pages
GENRE: Mystery
ISBN: 9781501151774From New York Times bestselling author of the “twisty-mystery” (Vulture) novel In a Dark, Dark Wood, comes The Woman in Cabin 10, an equally suspenseful and haunting novel from Ruth Ware—this time, set at sea.
In this tightly wound story, 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. 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 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 and a setting that proves as uncomfortably claustrophobic as it is eerily beautiful, Ruth Ware offers up another taut and intense read.
I received a complimentary Advance Reading Copy for voluntary review consideration.
Laura “Lo” Blacklock is a journalist for a travel magazine, and she lands a sweet perk when her pregnant boss is unable to attend a luxury cruise liner’s launch and she has the opportunity to take her place. This is also a good way for Lo to show off her writing skills and propel herself up the corporate ladder, so that she can take her boss’ place once she is on maternity leave.
Before the cruise, a burglar breaks into Lo’s flat in London and leaves her a bit shaken up. He steals her purse containing her wallet and phone and locks her in her bedroom. She is already prone to anxiety, and this makes matters worse for her. She has difficulty sleeping, and she is looking forward to getting much needed R&R on the cruise.
The boutique cruise ship is owned by Lord Richard Bullmer and his cancer-stricken wife, Anne Lyngstad, who is heiress of a car manufacturer. It contains ten luxurious cabins on the middle deck, with four cabins in the front and six cabins in the back, each containing its own private veranda.
The other invited guests are a who’s who of professionals in the travel industry, with other journalists including Lo’s ex-boyfriend, a photographer, and several big-wigs who Bullmer hopes to land as investors.
As Lo is getting ready for the first evening’s presentation and dinner party, she realizes that she had forgotten to replace her mascara that was stolen from her purse. She knocks on the door to the cabin next door, and she asks to borrow her mascara. The woman hands the mascara to her and insists that she keep it. At the party, Lo looks for the woman from the cabin next door but does not find her. After an evening of good food and a few too many drinks, Lo heads back to her cabin and hopes to fall into a dead sleep. She awakens in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep. She hears the veranda door of the cabin next door sliding open and then a big splash. She runs to her own veranda and looks out over the rail into the dark water, and she thinks she seems something in the waves. She also notices a dark streak of something on the glass barrier between the two verandas, something that she thinks looks like blood. She calls the cruise ship’s operator to tell them that she thinks someone went overboard. However, not only are all guests accounted for on the cruise ship, but there is no passenger on the manifest for Cabin 10. The guest who that cabin was intended for was unable to join the cruise. She is adamant that she met the woman who was in that cabin, but the cabin is vacant and there is no sign that there ever was anyone in that room. The next morning, the security guard takes Lo to meet the staff, but there is no one who resembles the woman that she met.
Ruth Ware is a new-to-me author, and this psychological thriller had me spellbound! It was fast-paced and, just when I thought that I figured out what was going on, Ware threw in another twist! The book is divided into eight parts and, at the end of each part, there is an email/text/article dated in the future to give you a glimpse into what will happen. I found that this clever technique was very anxiety-provoking, and it made it very difficult to stop reading! I absolutely loved it, and I am eager to read Ware’s debut, In A Dark, Dark Wood.
MY RATING:
5 stars!! It was superb! I loved it, and you should definitely put it on your TBR if you enjoy psychological thrillers. Thanks again to Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to review this book! It was such a treat!!
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So glad you liked this so much. Can't wait to get my copy from the library.
ReplyDeleteI am really not surprised, but super happy to see how much you liked this. I have it on wait list from the library, but there is always the chance that I will end up picking it before then. It has made a couple of 'the best of 2016' lists.
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