Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
This is my third Ruth Ware book, and I am so excited to continue reading everything she has published.
The Woman in Cabin 10 follows Lo Blacklock, a travel reporter going on a press trip aboard a private ship's maiden voyage. While on the ship, Lo witnesses what she believes to be a murder, and the more she investigates the situation, the more danger she seems to be in.
I have read some other reviews of this book and see lots of people who didn't enjoy the second half of this book because it gets a little wild. I enjoyed the over-the-top parts of this book and thought they had an adequate setup—specifically, the emphasis on makeup throughout the book.
What I really love about Ware's books is the way she writes suspense. I have yet to leave one of her books and not have been scared at some point. I listened to the audiobook, and at some points, I was so nervous I had to switch to the book because I needed the information much faster than an audiobook could deliver. While reading this book, I certainly felt the suspense. Ware slowly builds the suspense over time; she is masterful at layering elements that are unsettling until the reader and driving the reader to the same paranoia the character experiences.
I picked up this book because I am particularly worried about being murdered at sea. Cruise ships are notorious for not being able to prosecute crimes that happen aboard them. And I am notorious for worrying about everything. This will probably be the first of many mystery/thrillers set at sea I read.
I really loved the structure of this book. The way each part ends with a news article or social media interaction set a few days in the future was fantastic. It really kept my mind engaged with the timeline and kept me wildly speculating about what was happening.
Lo's character arc was also really well done; I loved seeing where she was in life at the beginning, the look at her past we get on the ship, and where her head is by the end of the book. It was really excellently crafted and made me emphasize a lot with Lo as a character.
I also really liked the way the villain was handled in this book. I am going to attempt to avoid spoilers here. I liked the way this book explored culpability and had Lo feel some level of empathy for someone doing something objectively terrible. I don't feel the same way Lo does about the event that kicks this book off, especially with what is reported later, but I still found seeing her thought process interesting.
I gave this book five stars. I had an excellent time with this Ruth Ware book; I considered giving it 4 stars because so many others were bothered by the over-the-top parts of this book, but I can't because I genuinely had a grand time reading it. I don't need to agree with the main character at all times to like them, and I also don't need to like a character to enjoy a book. I would recommend this to anyone who is also worried about being murdered on a boat and to normal people who just want to have a fun, creepy time reading a maritime murder.
