Reviews

Zero Days by Ruth Ware

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corneliadolian's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

clairereads322's review against another edition

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adventurous

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

4.25

12rhys23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Slightly annoying, less than likable lead- typical Ruth Ware. Plot was okay, but lacks any mystery for whodunit. The perp is embarrassingly easy to figure out almost immediately, though the author treats it like a reveal in the final 20% of the book.

The real joy of the book is watching how Jack, the female protagonist on the run after her husband is murdered, eludes police capture and evades being caught while she investigates the crime.

Ending was very eye rolling.

3/5 stars. Not as good as some of her other books, but way better than Cabin.

kdulong's review against another edition

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4.0

ero Days is the story of a husband and wife team of penetration specialists that break into businesses to find their weaknesses. After her husband is murdered, Jacintha “Jack” Cross becomes the primary suspect and chooses to go on the run to evade the police so that she can find the real murderer.

I typically love Ruth Ware. She is so good at slowly revealing clues in a mystery that her style reminds me of Agatha Christie. However, her latest novel is a departure from her typical style. This isn’t much of a mystery. For the first 200 pages of the novel, Jack can’t even think about who killed her husband since she is on the run and concentrating on not being arrested. Once she actually begins her investigation, she immediately determines who is behind the murder. This isn’t a story about who killed Jack’s husband, but instead, is a story of Jack evading the police to prove her innocence.

My rating is 3.5 which I did round up to 4 stars since I am sure many readers will enjoy the cat and mouse tale of her on the run trying to evade the police. However, I did not enjoy that aspect of the book. For as smart as Jack was supposed to be, she made a lot of bad decisions. I face-palmed myself many times while reading this because I could not believe the stupid decisions she made. I understand that she was in mourning and may not have been thinking clearly, but she didn’t even listen to her own sister.

I’ve seen reviews calling this “Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets the Fugitive”. I understand the Fugitive part of it, but not the Mr. and Mrs. Smith aspect. Jack Cross was not an assassin, and I would compare her job more to that of the team in the television show Leverage.

I think this book is best for those who enjoy the “woman on the run” trope and it is best not to think of this as a mystery. If you enjoy that trope, you will enjoy this.
16s

spicycronereads's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I listened to this as an audiobook. And first, let me say the narration by Imogen Church was top-notch. Whatever the awards are for audiobook performances, I hope she gets one. I felt so emotionally connected to the character and so emotionally invested in the story because of her performance.

I’m not even sure I would’ve felt the same if I had been reading it with my eyeballs. Even so it’s a pretty intense story with lots of twist and turns.

and I think this is the only time I have ever been happy about a surprise pregnancy

The pacing, the characters, the twist and turns, and the resolution all add up to a five star read for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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