The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

 The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware-341 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Laura "Lo" Blacklock is a journalist for Velocity magazine and is given an assignment to sail on the maiden voyage of the Aurora, a luxury yacht owned by Lord Richard Bullmer. As the voyage begins, Lo starts to realize all is not as it seems on this boat. Her first clue that something strange is going on is that she sees a beautiful young woman in the cabin next door (the titular Cabin 10) when the cabin is supposed to be empty. Who is this young woman and why was she in Cabin 10? Just what is going on aboard this boat? 

I found this to be a page-turning thriller with a somewhat surprising, open-ended ending. 

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware

 One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware-385 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

Five couples agree to be on a new reality tv show supposedly set to air on a brand new channel, including Lyla and Nico. They are taken by boat to a secluded island off the coast of Indonesia. A storm hits the island on the second night and then the remaining contestants must try to survive until a boat possibly comes. However, people start to die and one contestant takes charge. Will Lyla and others survive? Will a boat rescue any survivors before it's too late? I have liked every book I've read by Ruth Ware so far including this one. Each book has kept me on the edge of my seat. 

Zero Days by Ruth Ware

 Zero Days by Ruth Ware-356 pages

This is Ruth Ware's latest. I got to meet her and have my copy signed and personalized, which was very cool. I've liked everything I've read by Ware so far and this one did not disappoint. I really liked this one, also. Jacintha "Jack" Cross is a pen tester (breaks into security systems to make reports on weaknesses and strengths) along with her husband, Gabe. After what seemed like a routine pen test job Jack comes home to find Gabe's throat slit. She waits a while to call the police and partially because of that she becomes their number one suspect. She decides to go on the run from the police and leaves a voluntary interview when one of the officers voices her opinion that Jack is suspicious. Jack vows to find out who's responsible for Gabe's death and she won't stop running until she's figured it out. What she figures out turns her life upside down, however. I did guess who was responsible somewhat early, but not the reasons why. I also didn't guess a different twist at the end of the story. I really liked the ending. I would rate this 4 out of 5 stars.

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

 In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware-308 pages

I am really liking Ruth Ware. In a Dark, Dark Wood (Ware's debut) is the third of her novels that I've read so far and I've liked all of them. Leonora (Nora) Shaw is invited to a hen do (bachelorette weekend) in a glass house in the middle of woods for Clare Cavendish by email. Clare is Nora's former best friend from secondary school. Nora hasn't a clue as to why she's been invited since she hasn't seen Clare in 10 years. She soon finds out why, though, when Clare tells her that she's marrying Nora's ex-boyfriend from 10 years ago, James. Events escalate all the way to someone being murdered. Who killed this person and why? The attendees of the hen do all take the events differently. Nora ends up in hospital struggling to remember exactly how events unfolded and who the murderer was. All who were at the hen do are suspects. I did not expect the ending and I liked how Ware slowly revealed pieces of the puzzle. I am definitely going to read more of Ware's novels. I rate this one 4 out of 5 stars. 

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

 The It Girl by Ruth Ware-432 pages (Barnes & Noble Edition)

I previously read The Turn of the Key by Ware for a book club and really liked it. I've been wanting to read more of her books. This is her most recent novel. I was not disappointed by this novel. Hannah Jones found her best friend and setmate (they shared a suite) at Oxford dead ten years ago, in 2012. She saw a porter coming down the stairs from their suite and thought he could be the only one to kill her friend, April Clarke-Cliveden. However, new doubts and evidence come to light thanks to a reporter named Geraint Williams, who comes calling after the convicted porter, John Neville, dies in prison. Geraint believes Neville's continued assertion that he's innocent. Hannah, now de Chastaigne, and married to Will, April's university boyfriend whom she also liked, reluctantly decides to meet with Geraint. The meeting opens a whole new can of worms and starts Hannah on a renewed path to finding justice for April and Neville, if he truly was innocent. This story took several twists and turns and I really liked it. I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars. I look forward to reading more of Ware's books in the future. 

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

 423 pages / 17 hours

"April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.

"Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.

"Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide… including a murder."  --from the publisher

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is pretty slow moving, but it gives one time to consider the murder and the murderer. I give it four out of five stars.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

 The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware-336 pages

Rowan Caine has been working at Little Nippers for a while now and after being passed over for promotion when her roommate leaves, she decides it's time for a change. Specifically, she sees an advert for a live-in nanny in Scotland. She applies straight away and gets an interview. She is surprised to learn that she gets the job. However, all is not as it seems at Heatherbrae House. Nannies have come and gone with frequency lately. Rowan wonders why. Everyone at Heatherbrae has secrets it seems, including Rowan. She begins to hear footsteps above her bedroom and feel a breeze in her bedroom, also. Maddie, one of her charges, told her the day of her interview that "she shouldn't come back because the ghosts wouldn't like it." Rowan begins to wonder if Heatherbrae really is haunted. She can't sleep in her bedroom anymore. One night all of the lights in the house come on and music blares over the speakers. She wonders if the house is malfunctioning (it's a "Smart" house of sorts). Who or what is causing all of these happenings? Rowan finds an attic above her bedroom with the help of Jack Grant, the groundskeeper. There are strange writings and she finds other strange things (like her necklace that's been missing for days). One night she goes to check on Maddie and Ellie (two of her charges, the others are Petra and Rhiannon) only to find that Maddie is out of bed and has placed a pillow in the shape of a body in her stead. To her horror, Rowan finds Maddie dead below her bedroom window. Rowan is blamed for the death and charged with murder, but she maintains that she didn't do it. The police don't believe her. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this, but I liked all the twists and turns and I ended up liking the book. I still have questions (one especially), but it was a good, suspenseful book. 

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

 The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware 337 pages 

This book begins with a nanny job that seems too good to be true... but four of the past nannies have quit within the last year? What is going on? Rowan's new employer Sandra thinks the nannies may have been spooked by their Victorian homes rather gruesome past, but Rowan doesn't scare easily. However, when weird, unexplainable things begin happening, Rowan begins to wonder if she might be in over her head.

Books don't scare me easily, but this one definitely did. 

One By One by Ruth Ware

One By One by Ruth Ware-372 pages

Depending on how much you like your co-workers, you might enjoy a company retreat in a rustic mountain chalet.  But when bodies start piling up, you begin to wonder who has become unhinged.  Not such a great idea after all!  It keeps you guessing and the end to the riddle is satisfying.  I enjoyed it very much.

 

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, 308 pages

Here is another example of a book I knew nothing about.  I didn't even know author Ruth Ware is British.  This was one of the best books I have read in a long time!  It was suspenseful and kept me on the of edge my seat.  When a group of friends is invited to a hen party (bachelorette party) in a home in the woods, things get off to an eerie start and an even scarier ending.  There are so many twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing.

The Woman in Cabin 10

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware 340 pages

Lo Blacklock works for a travel magazine and gets an amazing opportunity to go on an all expenses paid luxury cruise so she can write about it. All is going well until Lo witnesses a woman being thrown overboard. Worse than that, everyone on the ship is accounted for, so nobody believes what Lo saw. Could her eyes have been deceiving her? If not, who was the woman? Is Lo herself now in danger?

in a dark, dark wood by Ruth Ware

in a dark, dark wood
by Ruth Ware
310 pages









Leonora, known to some as Lee and others as Nora, is a reclusive crime writer, unwilling to leave her "nest" of an apartment unless it is absolutely necessary. When a friend she hasn't seen or spoken to in years unexpectedly invites Nora to a weekend away in an eerie glass house deep in the English countryside, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. Forty-eight hours later, she wakes up in a hospital bed injured but alive, with the knowledge that someone is dead. Wondering not "what happened?" but "what have I done?", Nora tries to piece together the events of the past weekend. Working to uncover secrets, reveal motives, and find answers, Nora must revisit parts of herself that she would much rather leave buried where they belong: in the past.