The Woman in Cabin 10 Book Review

Synopsis:

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 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…

Synopsis of The Woman in Cabin 10 is from hardcover version, 340 pages, copyright 2016, and published by Scout Press.

Find Ruth Ware: |Website | Twitter |Amazon Author Page |

Review:

If you are looking for a great suspense/mystery summer read, then you should check out The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. This psychological thriller is one you’ll want to read in a day! If you enjoyed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins then you will like this book.

This is the first book I have read by Ruth Ware. I have heard about her first novel In a Dark, Dark Wood, that was published in 2015, but decided to read her latest work due to a recommendation from a friend.

I was surprised how The Woman in Cabin 10 got me hooked so quickly at the beginning and how it made me want to read more and more. I practically consumed this book within a few days!

So let’s take a look at what was so good about the book.

Great Pace

First and foremost, what I liked the best was the pacing of the book. Wow, I really enjoyed this book for its fast pacing. It moved right along and was intense and taut with suspense.

Ware is great at making the story exciting through her skillful writing.

I found parts of the book heart thumping adrenaline exciting. It was a roller coaster ride all the way to the end of the book.

Great Story Line

I have to admit, that on reading the book jacket I was not really impressed with the story line, thinking that it would not be hard to figure out what ‘who dunnit’ on a small luxury cruise ship with only a few cabins. Oh, how wrong I was!

What a lovely surprise to see the story taking different twists and turns. Ware artfully injects these right when you start to wonder where the story is going and wham, you take a turn.

In fact, the story will keep your mind going different directions until you get some real clues and facts. At this juncture, the story line gets even more hair-raising.

Realistic Protagonist

I love it when the main character is likable and realistic.

Lo, the protagonist is just that. Lo is  not your perfect, high maintenance kind of woman. She is your regular kind of person who likes to drink when she parties, is on anti-depressants, and has dreams of working her way up the corporate ladder.

I liked Lo because she is imperfect- she’s not that great at her job and also has boyfriend problems. In fact, Lo is  a mess but does a decent job of keeping it together with the mess she’s in after just being burgled, then having a fight with her boyfriend and going on the cruise for her work so she can advance her career.

Wisely, Ware gets us to empathize with Lo right at the beginning of the book when she is burgled in her flat. You start connecting with her and her situation immediately.

I enjoyed how Ware stirs up your emotions through the accurate and realistic portrayal of the main character. Ware writes great descriptions of Lo’s feeling and you can really relate to them.

Great Ending

I thoroughly enjoyed the ending.

It was a satisfying read. It was full of suspense all the way to the end of the book.

The buildup of the suspense was very powerful and kept me on the edge of my seat.

I didn’t really think about how the novel was going to end because Ware takes you through a nail-biting climatic ending and with a nice twist as well.

As all great endings, it tied all the loose ends together.

My Final Thoughts:

The Woman is Cabin 10 is a great psychological thriller that had many twists and turns. The plot is good and the main protagonist is someone you can relate to. The novel builds on suspense and is tense and exciting.

It would be a great summer read for those that are looking for a page turner and a satisfying read. It is a great suspenseful and entertaining novel.

I highly recommend you to check out the book.

The Woman in Cabin 10 is available here. Or listen to it for free with an Amazon Audible trial.

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