Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

39 reviews

phantomgecko's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

On one hand, the mystery was interesting, the thrilling bits intense, and the structure was fun. Having mixed media from the future opening each section was a nice choice for suspense building.

On the other hand, although realistic, alcoholic characters are boring to read. Congrats, half your problems are directly your fault, and I don't feel sorry for you at all. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Murder, Death, Confinement, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Gun violence

e1eanorgrace's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Exactly what I want in a page-turning thriller, enjoyed the writing style and the first person narrative. I totally bought in and felt the stress of the protagonist as tensions rose. That being said, there are plot points that are unrealistically convenient,  I personally didn’t find them glaring however. Nice and tidy ending too which some people may not love but I was satisfied with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Alcohol, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicide and Sexual harassment

dchaburk's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Confinement

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Murder

babudarabu's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Violence

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Kidnapping, Classism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

bobbeym's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was my first book by Ruth Ware and it was a roller coaster of a ride.  It's hard to say too much though without giving away major spoilers.  The writing was well done, the characters well fleshed out and extremely realistic in their behaviors, IMO.   The details and scenery were stunning -- I could absolutely imagine myself on the boat touring Scandinavia (just hopefully with less drama!).     I loved the twists and was caught off guard at the end because I didn't see it coming.  This is definitely an author to add to my Must Read list.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Murder, Incest, and Cancer

gturner92's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It was a pretty good book. I didn't think I'd like the way it was set up with the conflicting time lines especially if I was not paying attention but once I noticed I needed to pay attention it worked well. I liked the fact that it didn't take on an obvious and trite storyline but came with something new and fresh. It definitely made me tense so that's a good thing. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders

underthetreereads's review

mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“I knew what it was like to be that girl — to realize in an instant, how incredibly fragile your hold on life could be, how paper-thin the walls of security really were.”

Lo is a travel journalist who gets the opportunity to advance her career by traveling on a luxury cruise’s maiden voyage. It quickly becomes a nightmare when she seemingly witnesses a murder in the middle of the night. Already suffering from the aftermath of being attacked in her own home, Lo must discover exactly what happened and how to make others believe her when there’s no evidence of a crime.

Lo is a delicate character. She’s suffering from chronic anxiety and depression, along with having just been attacked. She also seems to have a drinking problem. It altogether has proven her to be a very unreliable narrator, but she’s the only one we’ve got here.

First of all, what kind of journalist investigates a crime and doesn’t take any notes? She may have been a travel journalist, but she clearly stated she used to want to be an investigative reporter and that desire partially compelled her to continue her investigation on the ship. But there are literally no notes in sight, which is even worse as she’s knowingly putting herself in danger. 🤨

Anywho, 😮‍💨 this was unfortunately a very slow read for me. The primary drive pushing me to not DNF were the few passages set in the future which provided a more compelling mystery to me than the actual murder.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. But it took some pushing through first to get there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Gaslighting, Alcohol, Addiction, Cancer, Murder, and Alcoholism

Minor: Vomit, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

katyamwade's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Mental illness

keliza23's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Violence, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement

Moderate: Murder

fraise's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Murder, Blood, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual harassment, and Domestic abuse

To contextualize some of the content warnings: the drug use is

prescribed antidepressants, but they are a vector for abuse.

somewhat relatedly, the gaslighting is

someone suggesting the MC is delusional, but the extent to which the person saying is actively trying to gaslight her isn't clear. also, content warning for home Invasion.