Helpful Score: 13
Laura "Lo" Blacklock is a writer for Velocity, a travel magazine. Due to her superior being sick, she gets the chance of her career when she gets to go on a cruise on the luxury private cruise ship, the Aurora. Days before she is to set sail she her apartment gets burgled while she is at home. As an almost lifelong sufferer of anxiety this has really thrown her off her game and she is pretty much a wreck. She boards the ship with a total of like 6 hours sleep for the last week, but she knows she has to wine and dine and make contacts.
That night as she get to her cabin, severely sleep deprived and drunk she passes out on her bed. A few hours later she is awoke by a noise that she thinks was a woman's scream, and then the sound on the balcony door opening in the cabin next to her, cabin 10, then a giant splash. She runs out on to her own balcony and thinks she may see something in the water, but she is certain she sees smeared blood on the plastic guard fence at cabin 10. She calls to have it investigated but when the security officer arrives the blood is gone and the room is empty. She knows it wasn't empty because she talked to the girl staying in that room and saw all her stuff all over the room. Now it is completely cleared out. Because of her pills, her sleep deprivation and her intoxication she is not the most reliable witness. Lo knows what she saw though and she is going to get to the bottom of this and find out what happened to the woman in cabin 10.
It seems that people either love this book, or hate it. I think the biggest problem some people are having with the book is the character of Lo. She is a completely unreliable narrator, definitely not bold enough to ever be a reporter, and very prone to anxiety and panic attacks. I liked that she was an unreliable narrator. It made the book more twisted because you don't know what is actually happening or what is in her head. I also thought that there was no way this woman could be a reporter. She was a nervous wreck, relatively timid, and awkward. Grated she worked for a travel magazine, but I still don't buy it. As for the anxiety and panic attacks, I found them completely believable and very demonstrative to how people treat you when they find out you have any sort of mental disorder. It is easier to write it off as crazy, than deal with an almost unsolvable problem.
Another thing I really liked about this book was it emulated And Then There Were None wear it is a small group of people, isolated, without any way to contact the outside world. You just can't go wrong emulating The Dame. The author builds the suspense very slowly and as a reader a lot of it is confusing. I believe it is meant to make you feel this way because the narrator feels this way. Then the suspense get more and more psychological, you don't know who to trust and what to believe. It was a great ride. The ending fizzled a little, but not enough to make it a let done.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a suspenseful, psychological story. The pacing is slow in the beginning but it picks up and becomes a book you cannot put down.
That night as she get to her cabin, severely sleep deprived and drunk she passes out on her bed. A few hours later she is awoke by a noise that she thinks was a woman's scream, and then the sound on the balcony door opening in the cabin next to her, cabin 10, then a giant splash. She runs out on to her own balcony and thinks she may see something in the water, but she is certain she sees smeared blood on the plastic guard fence at cabin 10. She calls to have it investigated but when the security officer arrives the blood is gone and the room is empty. She knows it wasn't empty because she talked to the girl staying in that room and saw all her stuff all over the room. Now it is completely cleared out. Because of her pills, her sleep deprivation and her intoxication she is not the most reliable witness. Lo knows what she saw though and she is going to get to the bottom of this and find out what happened to the woman in cabin 10.
It seems that people either love this book, or hate it. I think the biggest problem some people are having with the book is the character of Lo. She is a completely unreliable narrator, definitely not bold enough to ever be a reporter, and very prone to anxiety and panic attacks. I liked that she was an unreliable narrator. It made the book more twisted because you don't know what is actually happening or what is in her head. I also thought that there was no way this woman could be a reporter. She was a nervous wreck, relatively timid, and awkward. Grated she worked for a travel magazine, but I still don't buy it. As for the anxiety and panic attacks, I found them completely believable and very demonstrative to how people treat you when they find out you have any sort of mental disorder. It is easier to write it off as crazy, than deal with an almost unsolvable problem.
Another thing I really liked about this book was it emulated And Then There Were None wear it is a small group of people, isolated, without any way to contact the outside world. You just can't go wrong emulating The Dame. The author builds the suspense very slowly and as a reader a lot of it is confusing. I believe it is meant to make you feel this way because the narrator feels this way. Then the suspense get more and more psychological, you don't know who to trust and what to believe. It was a great ride. The ending fizzled a little, but not enough to make it a let done.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a suspenseful, psychological story. The pacing is slow in the beginning but it picks up and becomes a book you cannot put down.
Helpful Score: 3
I was so excited to start this book. It sounded just like the kind of exciting mystery I could sink my teeth into but it was disappointing. Started out OK and I'm trying to see clues for what is coming ahead and then the further I get into the story it just falls apart - rather lame. If you liked "Girl on a Train" you might like this. I did not like either of these books for the same reason; they both started out good then went downhill.
Very compelling thriller about a young travel journalist, Laura Blacklock (Lo for short) who is lucky enough to be going on a once in a lifetime voyage on a small cruise ship,the Aurora, to Norway and its fjords as an assignment for the travel magazine she writes for. A few days before the cruise, she experiences a break-in at her apartment that really freaks her out (she is already on anti-anxiety medication). Then on the cruise she hears noises from the cabin next door, Cabin 10, including a scream and what sounds like a body being dumped into the ocean. When she investigates, she also thinks she sees a smear of blood on the glass of the veranda. When she calls for help at 3:30 AM, the head of security on the ship doesn't seem to believe her especially since Lo had been drinking and taking pills. And then there's the fact that no one is supposed to be in Cabin 10 even though Lo had seen a young woman there earlier that day -- the room is clean with no blood or evidence that anyone had been there. Despite the lack of evidence, Lo won't believe that she did not see and hear the things she reported and sets out to prove that a murder had been committed. So did Lo imagine the whole thing? What really happened in Cabin 10 and what happened to the girl she had seen there who was wearing a Pink Floyd t-shirt? And is Lo now in jeopardy?
This was really a thrilling read that I had a hard time putting down. Ware is also the author of "In a Dark, Dark Wood" which I will be on the lookout for.
This was really a thrilling read that I had a hard time putting down. Ware is also the author of "In a Dark, Dark Wood" which I will be on the lookout for.
First of all, loved this cover. There's something about rubbing your hand over a book cover and actually feeling it that always pleases me. But as "they" say, "You can't judge a book by it's cover." That said, I didn't love the book. It wasn't bad just not very thrilling more blah than anything else. It wasn't a quick read, I had to push myself to finish it. Not sure I would have if it hadn't been a book club book. I liked the premise of the book and the murder mystery was twisty enough to keep me reading but I didn't connect with any of the characters at all. I found Lo particularly unsympathetic and found her final act to be totally out of character with how she was throughout the entire book. There were too many moments in the book where I really didn't care what happened next to outweigh the twisty moments.
While I figured out part of the who dun it, gotta admit I wondered for a very long time if the initial break in had anything to do with the murder.
All in all, not the best psychological thriller I've read but definitely not the worst.
While I figured out part of the who dun it, gotta admit I wondered for a very long time if the initial break in had anything to do with the murder.
All in all, not the best psychological thriller I've read but definitely not the worst.
Good book but it could have gone a lot deeper into why the wife was disposed of at sea. This was a pretty important element that the author seemed to touch on and then simply disregard. I'll probably try her other book but if that is the same, I'll probably ignore this author in the future.
A real page turner that has you guessing all the way through.
I really liked reading this book. Held my attention from beginning to end. A must read. I only rated it with 4 stars because I reserve 5 stars for the books I want to read a second time.
The main character in this book is so awful I couldn't even bother finishing the book. I had been looking forward to it as I had really enjoyed the author's previous novel, "In a Dark, Dark Wood". But, despite feeling any sympathy for her because of an incident that starts out the story I found her annoying, childish and immature. I had the exact same reaction with "Girl On a Train" and couldn't finish that one either. Maybe if a reader enjoyed (or suffered through) that one they will make it through this book.
I don't know if the author fleshed out any of the other characters in the book but to the point I managed to get through it seemed they were equally irritating.
I don't know if the author fleshed out any of the other characters in the book but to the point I managed to get through it seemed they were equally irritating.
It was a suspenseful page-turner. I enjoyed it. Thanks
WOW! I had such mixed reactions to the first half of this book. I'm so glad I didn't give up; in fact, I read second half of book in one day, just couldn't put it down.
Lo Blacklock is a travel writer who is handed an opportunity of a lifetime to sail on an exclusive luxury yacht for its press cruise. She's one Hot Mess tho, her personal life in shambles as she deals with being burgled (traumatized and injured), her alcoholism, her anxiety and claustrophobia. Geez! Despite my not caring for her as a person, she narrates a hell of a story!
No spoilers here, you'll have to read the book. And while there were a few scenes where I just shook my head and thought, "Poor choices." it all seems to work.
This is my first Ruth Ware book and I've become an avid fan.
Lo Blacklock is a travel writer who is handed an opportunity of a lifetime to sail on an exclusive luxury yacht for its press cruise. She's one Hot Mess tho, her personal life in shambles as she deals with being burgled (traumatized and injured), her alcoholism, her anxiety and claustrophobia. Geez! Despite my not caring for her as a person, she narrates a hell of a story!
No spoilers here, you'll have to read the book. And while there were a few scenes where I just shook my head and thought, "Poor choices." it all seems to work.
This is my first Ruth Ware book and I've become an avid fan.
