Last week, I wrote about how I had greatly enjoyed Ruth Ware’s work on, “Into A Dark, Dark Wood” and this week, I have decided to bring you another story of hers called, “The Woman in Cabin 10.” I have said it before and I will say it again, I absolutely love thrillers and books that make me think. I often stray away from storylines that I can guess too quickly, or to be entirely honest, most romance novels. I think that often times, reading a thriller or a book that is somewhat of a brainteaser reflects the way we might deal with things in day-to-day life. In these stories, there are more commonly experienced emotions.
We experience uncertainty, indecisiveness, anxiety and sometimes, even panic. It is normal, natural and purely human to feel these things. The way these books are written can provide release to these feelings, as yours build with the characters as you move through the story. There is something comforting in knowing that although there might be chaos, it will come to an end as the book does.
We begin this novel meeting Lo Blacklock, a young up-and-coming travel journalist who sees an opportunity to take on more responsibility when her boss gives her an assignment on a small luxury cruise ship called the “Aurora,” whose maiden voyage is planned in the North Sea, in hopes to catch glimpses of its namesake. There are only 10 cabins aboard the Aurora and decks below containing the ship’s staff, the kitchens and the spa.
On the first night of this weeklong dream assignment, Lo is hurrying to dinner with the other select, esteemed guests. She feels strikingly out of place amongst those she has glimpsed so far, and These feelings only grow when happens to knock on the door of cabin 10 hoping there might be someone to lend her some mascara. As the door opens, Lo finds herself face to face with a beautiful, dark-haired, young woman in a band tee who also appears to be getting ready for the evening. The woman is abrupt and borders on being rude as she shoves the mascara in Lo’s direction and snaps for her to, “Just keep it,” as she shuts the door in her face.
Her uneasiness peaks later that evening, as she steps out onto her cabin’s balcony and sees someone pushing a body overboard from the balcony of cabin 10. She immediately reports the sighting to the ship’s head of security. When she does, she is informed that there was a cancellation in cabin 10 and was never occupied to begin with. After taking accounts of the staff and all on board, she finds that every single person is accounted for, and nobody seems to know a thing about someone being in the cabin in the first place.
While Lo is desperately trying to piece everything that happened that night together, she cannot so much as contact the mainland due to the spotty Wi-Fi.
With the boat nearing its first destination at Trondheim, Norway, she can feel the passengers snickering behind her back, and the head of security making her feel like she could have imagined it all. As Lo’s investigation grows more and more invigorating and dangerous, finds something much, much darker than she could have imagined.
I truly hope you all enjoy this review and possibly even go further to read the novel yourself. With such a slow burn style to this book, Ruth Ware allows you to find comfort in even the smallest of moments just so she can take your breath on the very next page.
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