The Woman in Cabin 10

Must read for thriller enthusiasts
5 stars easily!I realize I am a little late to the game in reading this one, but if you are someone who loves thrillers, and by some chance you haven’t read this one yet, it is a must!Generally, I admit that I am pretty easily-pleased when it comes to thrillers. I want something that is going to keep me engaged, keep me guessing, and ultimately surprise me in some way at the end. This book hit all of these marks for me, hence the 5 stars. I loved the cruise ship setting and the assortment of different characters, although there were a couple individuals that I couldn’t quite keep track of. I was invested in the outcome from the very beginning, and this was an easy read, in that I never felt myself having to “push through” certain parts of the book. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and felt that the story flowed easily.I also appreciated that the book didn’t include anything particularly gruesome, graphic, or disturbing, as I feel like many thrillers often include these elements unnecessarily for the shock value. I thought the twist at the end was solid and unexpected, although I do feel it would have been quite difficult to guess based on the information provided in the earlier parts of the book. There were also some details regarding the twist that I was a bit confused about and wish would’ve been explained in more detail, but overall I thought it was an interesting and surprising outcome. I can’t say what these details are without including spoilers, but overall these minor confusions did not take away from the story for me. The ending was a bit open-ended, but not too much so as to leave you feeling unsatisfied. I thought the author did a fantastic job of finding the balance between leaving you unsatisfied in the end and wrapping the story up with a pretty bow. It definitely kept me thinking for a few minutes after I finished the book.Overall, I really enjoyed reading this one and can absolutely understand why it is so popular. Thrillers are my genre of choice, and it sometimes can seem as though they get a bit repetitive, and therefore are really not that memorable. This thrilled felt more original to me, for a multitude of reasons, including the unique setting, the introduction of multiple interesting characters, and the well-crafted resolution to the story.

Worth the read
The novel captivated me from start to finish, with its compelling narrative and richly developed protagonist. The character’s complexity and nuanced growth were particularly impressive, making the story both engaging and memorable. I eagerly anticipate the potential film adaptation, as the plot seems perfectly suited for the big screen.

4 Suspenseful Stars
Lo is a 32 year old Londoner who is kind of staggering her way through life. She’s a writer for a travel magazine, not exactly a bad job, but she hasn’t really progressed in her 10 years with the company. She is dating Judah, a transplanted New Yorker, they seem happy enough but she cannot seem to commit to him. The only thing she can really commit to is drinking. She tends to drink to over come shyness, anxiety and social awkwardness., all of which she apparently suffers from often.Lo lucks into a dream assignment, to take and then write about a super luxe cruise, in place of her boss. Unfortunately, the week before the cruise, she is burglarized in the middle of the night while she is home alone. Although she is completely traumatized, she still takes the assignment and goes through with the cruise. After all, what can go wrong on a small, luxury cruise ship catering to the uber wealthy…Initially, I found it hard to really like or route for Lo. She comes off as incompetent, slow, socially awkward and really not all that smart. Her boyfriend, Judah, seems to really love her, but I can’t figure exactly what he sees in her. She seems to be pretty inept at her job. For example, she doesn’t think to request the passenger list for the cruise and research her fellow passengers beforehand (like all the other journalists did). She always seems to trust the wrong person, say the wrong thing, be the most drunk person in the room, be the last person to catch on to anything that’s not 100% spelled out for her and rub people wrong. Not to mention, she actually borrows a strangers mascara- that’s just begging for pink eye. She basically needs to learn to do the exact opposite of what her instincts tell her to do.I kept wanting to tell her to wake up and think. There was only one time in the entire book where she actually figured out what was happening in a clever way and only one part where I thought she handled a person very well.Given my paragraph long tirade on why I didn’t warm to Lo at first, it probably makes one wonder why I gave the book four stars. About 2/3 through the book, I felt like Lo started to grow up a little, grow a set and try to take some control of her situation. She still made some questionable choices, but was at least trying. I also saw that she’s really a good person, she went to a lot of trouble to help another woman she barely knew, that says a lot about her character.The book was an excellent psychological thriller. It literally took me until the book finally explained what had happened until I figured out what exactly happened. I really had not figured out who was responsible up until the end, in fact I had no idea at all. Everyone looked pretty guilty to me.I loved Ruth Ward’s last book. ‘ In a dark dark word’s and could barely wait this one. Luckily, I preordered the book and it popped up on my kindle while I was on vacation just as I finished my previous book. It was a great book to read while travelling or any other time.

“The Woman In Cabin 10” (TWIC10) thrilling psychological whodunnit and is the second novel by Ruth Ware (read on Kindle).What do you do when you’re sure you’ve witnessed a murder on a small luxury cruiser…but all of the passengers have been accounted for and no one believes you? This is the fate of travel writer Laura “Lo” Blacklock who’s dream assignment has turned into her worst nightmare. With past traumas haunting her Lo has to battle inner demons as she is in her own in trying to get to the truth of what happened.As in her first novel Ware has set her book in a remote locale (a cruise ship in the middle of the North Sea) and taken her protagonist on a psychological roller coaster.TWIC10 has an interesting array of characters, a well used but excellently executed plot line that leaves the reader unsure of many characters fates until the end (the use of “future” events interspersed with the story’s narrative helps build the uncertainty) and a constant pace that doesn’t let up.If there is one minor gripe however is that the main character does tend to repeat herself and her thoughts throughout the book without really adding to the story.Overall though TWIC10 is a solid follow up novel which shows that Ruth Ware is a talented story teller and I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.With the feel of an Agatha Christie murder mystery with the essence of a Hitchcock thriller TWIC10 gets 3.5 mysterious murder victims out of 5.

fter thouroughly enjoying In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Turn of the Key, I had high expectations for Cabin. And there is a very good story in here, but it is buried under a magnitude of characters, none of them likeable. The protagonist, Lo Blacklock, is a reporter for a travel magazine, and thus you would expect to encounter an intelligent, professional and articulate woman. Lo however seems to be stumbling everywhere, either drunk or seasick, incoherent, obnoxious and hysterical. She makes all the wrong and stupid decisions one could make and halfway I was hoping she would just fall of the railing, leaving the story to be told through another character. No such luck.It’s a pity because with a more likeable persona and fixing a few holes in the story, this could have been a 5 star read, now 2,5 at most.

The claustrophobic trapped feeling you get reading this novel will send a chill down your spine. Intense and at times fearsome, the ephemeral feeling can give an acute sense of getting disoriented. And his is what adds to the reading pleasure of this novel- Brilliant in its plot and cunningly clever in the almost linear narrative. If you have enjoyed Woman in the Window or The Girl on the train, this read will not disappoint you.