Laura, a travel writer, is invited on a small cruise and sees a woman's body go overboard. But there are no passengers unaccounted for so no one believes her. She is determined to solve the mystery. Very well written with lots of plot twists and turns. Good suspense. I couldn't figure it out which is a good thing.
Helpful Score: 3
Well, one doesn't have to like the main character to enjoy a book!
Lo Blacklock was pathetic, she loved Judah but wouldn't commit, she had an anxiety disorder being treated with pills, she was claustrophobic, her head always hurt and she was an alcoholic. What a mess!
However, the book was riveting from beginning to end and I finished in two sittings since I had to make dinner!
If you like thrillers, you will enjoy this one.
Lo Blacklock was pathetic, she loved Judah but wouldn't commit, she had an anxiety disorder being treated with pills, she was claustrophobic, her head always hurt and she was an alcoholic. What a mess!
However, the book was riveting from beginning to end and I finished in two sittings since I had to make dinner!
If you like thrillers, you will enjoy this one.
Helpful Score: 3
Blah! This is one of the most boring books I have tried to read. I gave up and skimmed to the back to see the ending and still couldn't tell you how it ended. There are soooo many people on the boat - who are they, and why, and who cares?! I didn't even care about Lo and she's the main character (and an idiot - let me rephrase - a drunken, indecisive, weak, scatter-brained, idiot) I have another of Ruth Ware's books but I'm leery to give it a try...
Helpful Score: 1
If you liked The Girl on the Train, you'll like this book. Unfortunately I didn't like either book. But just move the main character from a train to a ship and VOILA!!
The good: the actual mystery was interesting but I figured it out in the first third of the book. I only kept reading to see if I was right. I was. The pacing is good and the actual writing is the only thing that saved this book from TT (Total Tediousness)
The bad: I want to be able to either root FOR or root AGAINST someone in the book. Mostly I didn't care about anyone. The bad guys were vaguely drawn. And the good guys... well who WERE the good guys? Certainly not the drunken pill popping protagonist. She can be summed up in 3 words. Dunk and Drunkerer. Oh and add whiny and rude to the list. I kept asking, right to the last page, What in HECK does her boyfriend see in her? I was almost hoping she'd be thrown overboard so the book would just END.
The good: the actual mystery was interesting but I figured it out in the first third of the book. I only kept reading to see if I was right. I was. The pacing is good and the actual writing is the only thing that saved this book from TT (Total Tediousness)
The bad: I want to be able to either root FOR or root AGAINST someone in the book. Mostly I didn't care about anyone. The bad guys were vaguely drawn. And the good guys... well who WERE the good guys? Certainly not the drunken pill popping protagonist. She can be summed up in 3 words. Dunk and Drunkerer. Oh and add whiny and rude to the list. I kept asking, right to the last page, What in HECK does her boyfriend see in her? I was almost hoping she'd be thrown overboard so the book would just END.
An above average whodunit with a plausible plot. I enjoyed it; a good, fast read. I didn't think the main character was all that awful, and it really didn't matter, the story is good anyway.
Good, but not a great book. Dragged at times for me. But then again, I'm a guy and maybe it just wasn't written for me.
Blah! I found the protagonist to be very unlikeable.. IMHO the story line has way too much needless descriptionâ¦
Disappointing. The main character (narrator) cusses way too much, drinks too much, and vomits more often than I want to read about. The story was implausible, especially the ending. A Girl on the Train knock-off that could be called Girl on a Boat.
I was unimpressed with this book. A lot of meandering build-up for not much depth as far as a plot is concerned. The protagonist is not well-developed and the other characters are shallow as well. Plus, this so-called reporter is such a wimp I found it hard to sympathize with her. The last quarter of the book was a bit more enjoyable simply because there was a bit more action, but, all in all, I'd recommend a lot of other books before I'd recommend this one.
Travel Journalist Laura "Lo" Blacklock has been given the task of writing about a new luxury cruise ship called "The Aurora" and its voyage on the North Sea. One night Lo wakes from a sound sleep when she hears a noise coming from the next cabin. Then she hears a splash which she believes was a body being dumped overboard. Lo immediately calls the ship's security officer for help and explains what she heard. A search of Cabin 10 shows that it was not occupied, even though Lo talked to a woman in that cabin earlier in the night. When everyone on board is accounted for, the ship's crew and passengers dismiss Lo's claims. She is beginning to question herself when someone leaves her a message to "stop digging".
This psychological thriller started out slow. Lo was a weak heroine who I found irritating and somewhat unlikeable. She was constantly popping pills for her anxiety, then drinking too much. I'm not surprised that the crew didn't believe her claims. I was even questioning if the whole scenario was something she cooked up in her head and actually believed happened.
The mystery itself was a simple locked-room mystery. The passengers and crew are at sea on a small cruise ship. The internet is not working, so there is no communication with the mainland. I did figure out part of the mystery, but not all of it. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Imogene Church who does a fantastic job with Lo. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
This psychological thriller started out slow. Lo was a weak heroine who I found irritating and somewhat unlikeable. She was constantly popping pills for her anxiety, then drinking too much. I'm not surprised that the crew didn't believe her claims. I was even questioning if the whole scenario was something she cooked up in her head and actually believed happened.
The mystery itself was a simple locked-room mystery. The passengers and crew are at sea on a small cruise ship. The internet is not working, so there is no communication with the mainland. I did figure out part of the mystery, but not all of it. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Imogene Church who does a fantastic job with Lo. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
This was a quick read that ultimately didn't live up to its potential. It's written using one of the most overused plot device to become popular over the last couple of years - the unreliable narrator - and the result is a book starring a woman too annoying for the reader to root for. Lo Blacklock (a ridiculous name too) is a mess - she drinks too much, is rude to everyone she meets, and exhibits no intelligence or professionalism that would make anyone mistake her for a competent journalist. The fact that she happened to be right about a crime having taken place has more to do with blind luck than anything else.
The real mystery, once it's revealed, was a let down. During the first half of the book, I at least was able to enjoy the book as I was curious as to what was really going on. But once that is revealed at about the halfway point, the book came to a grinding halt. From then on, it's just pages and pages of Lo talking to herself, working on the mystery in her head so the author can info dump on the readers. And when I finally turned the last page, I had trouble believing the book is actually over since at no point in the book did Lo even come face to face with the real killer! (The real resolution to the plot actually happened off-page without Lo even being present.) Talking about anti-climactic...
The real mystery, once it's revealed, was a let down. During the first half of the book, I at least was able to enjoy the book as I was curious as to what was really going on. But once that is revealed at about the halfway point, the book came to a grinding halt. From then on, it's just pages and pages of Lo talking to herself, working on the mystery in her head so the author can info dump on the readers. And when I finally turned the last page, I had trouble believing the book is actually over since at no point in the book did Lo even come face to face with the real killer! (The real resolution to the plot actually happened off-page without Lo even being present.) Talking about anti-climactic...
I listened to the audio version of these book and really enjoyed the narrator. I was frustrated with the main character because she seemed odd. If you only read the parts she spoke you would think she was mentally disabled. She stammered all the time and did not seem like the professional journalist she was supposed to be. Sure she was having trouble with anxiety but I don't believe she would have been sent on this trip. She just didn't seem capable of her job....or speaking. I did enjoy the book though and definitely recommend the audio book.
Very suspenseful
Lots of twists
Keeps you guessing
Lots of twists
Keeps you guessing
Great book! It held my interest from beginning to end. Im use to reading cozies so this book was a step in another direction for me. I loved it.
You really need to pay attention throughout the book so that the ending makes sense. I can see this coming out as a movie. I heard many people compare this book to, "Girl on the Train", I did not see any comparison whatsoever. This was not disjointed and hard to understand the way I felt "Girl on the Train" was. This is a solid mystery and I liked it!
You really need to pay attention throughout the book so that the ending makes sense. I can see this coming out as a movie. I heard many people compare this book to, "Girl on the Train", I did not see any comparison whatsoever. This was not disjointed and hard to understand the way I felt "Girl on the Train" was. This is a solid mystery and I liked it!
Book Description
From New York Times bestselling author of the âtwisty-mysteryâ (Vulture) novel In a Dark, Dark Wood, comes The Woman in Cabin 10, an equally suspenseful and haunting novel from Ruth Wareâthis time, set at sea.
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 forâand 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 wrongâ¦
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 10âone that will leave even the most sure-footed reader restlessly uneasy long after the last page is turned.
My Review
I found this book to be a quite a page-turner. I did, however, find a lot of the story to be unbelievable but it did make for a good fiction story. I think the characters were a little under-developed and hard to identify with but the plot did hold my attention. I look forward to reading more of Ruth Ware's books, especially In a Dark, Dark Wood which I have on order from my library. In the meantime, I am going to try her new release, The Lying Game. I would, however, recommend this book to those who like psychological thrillers.
From New York Times bestselling author of the âtwisty-mysteryâ (Vulture) novel In a Dark, Dark Wood, comes The Woman in Cabin 10, an equally suspenseful and haunting novel from Ruth Wareâthis time, set at sea.
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 forâand 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 wrongâ¦
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 10âone that will leave even the most sure-footed reader restlessly uneasy long after the last page is turned.
My Review
I found this book to be a quite a page-turner. I did, however, find a lot of the story to be unbelievable but it did make for a good fiction story. I think the characters were a little under-developed and hard to identify with but the plot did hold my attention. I look forward to reading more of Ruth Ware's books, especially In a Dark, Dark Wood which I have on order from my library. In the meantime, I am going to try her new release, The Lying Game. I would, however, recommend this book to those who like psychological thrillers.
Laura Blacklock is robbed days before embarking on the biggest assignment of her journalism career. She has the once in a lifetime opportunity to board a luxury yacht and write a travel piece on the experience. On the first night on the boat Laura believes she has witnessed a murder. But has she. Laura is prone to panic attacks, drinks too much and is suffering from PTSD from her robbery. Of course no one on the boat believes her, but someone is trying to get her to leave it alone. Wonderful mystery with a wounded main character, has you guessing even at the end
Very readable and well paced thriller. For once, the cover blurb describing it as "Agatha Christie meets 'Girl on Train'" is a pretty fair summary -- Ware manages to capture the claustrophobia of one of Christie's closed setting novels (Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Were None, for examples) with the rather more modern concerns of a young woman whose career has led her down a path of undermining friendships, and occasional blackout drinking. When she thinks she has heard something in the cabin next door to hers, can we trust her? Can she trust herself to get to the bottom of it?
Inevitably runs out of steam a little as it approaches the end, when we learn the full details of the Evil Cunning Plan that the narrator has blundered into. But Ware has great control of the pacing of the revelations: just when the reader might be getting a bit restive, and screaming "get on with it, woman" to our slightly hungover amateur sleuth, Ware reveals something that is a game-changer -- and keeps you reading. Nice twist at the end, too.
Inevitably runs out of steam a little as it approaches the end, when we learn the full details of the Evil Cunning Plan that the narrator has blundered into. But Ware has great control of the pacing of the revelations: just when the reader might be getting a bit restive, and screaming "get on with it, woman" to our slightly hungover amateur sleuth, Ware reveals something that is a game-changer -- and keeps you reading. Nice twist at the end, too.
An intriguing mystery with well-defined characters.
