(67)The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Lo Blacklock has had a really bad week.  Somebody broke into her flat while she was there. She wasn't hurt but it scared her to death and she has been on edge ever since it happened.  Lo, a travel writer,  is thrilled to have the opportunity to get out of town for preview trip aboard a new cruise ship, the Aurora.  The ship is hardly bigger than a yacht, but it is quite luxurious and Lo is looking forward to the time to get her head straight.   Until her second night on the ship when she sees a body being thrown overboard from the cabin next to hers.  When she calls for help - they told her that there was nobody in cabin 10 and all passengers are accounted for.  Lo, and some of the others, start to question her sanity.  Maybe the stress of the last week has caused Lo to crack.  When Lo finds a message for her that says "Stop Digging" does she realize that she did see something that night.  But what?  And who?  Will Lo be able to figure out what happened before "they" come after her too?


It is very rare for me to get scared by a book.  I have the ability to compartmentalize what I read or watch to keep from letting it interfere with my real life.  I don't know exactly why (it could be the Supernatural binge watching is partly to blame), but the first few chapters of The Woman in Cabin 10 kind of terrified me.  Being home alone and having somebody break into the house is one of my worst fears.  Ruth Ware transferred my fears to paper in such a brilliant way that it kept me awake the night I read that part.  I was relieved, like Lo, when it was time to get on the boat, thinking that no matter what happened on the boat it would be better than what had happened.  Honestly, I found parts of the time on the ship to be a little boring. A bit of a let down after the heart-pounding first pages. The passengers on the ship are all a little - weird.  Well, maybe eccentric.   I wasn't all that connected to Lo as a character, her instability, was a turn-off for me.   She did have good reason to be a little unstable, but her behavior on the ship was borderline embarrassing. I will say that things picked up the last third of the book, after Lo figured things out. Her life was still in grave danger at that point, but the story came to a satisfying conclusion.


Bottom line - Ruth Ware made a name for herself with the hit In A Dark, Dark Wood (which I have not read yet, but I will) while The Woman in Cabin 10 has some elements of terror, it was not quite as enthralling as I had hoped.  I would love to hear what others think, so be sure to let me know what you think after reading it.

Details:

• The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
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• Pages: 352
• Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
• Publication Date: 7/19/2016
• Buy it Here!