A review by jesscoast
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A popcorn thriller was just what I wanted -a closed door mystery with extravagant suspects, dodgy alibis, pointing fingers and betrayals, unravelling back stories, and people who are not who they say they are- and exactly what I got. I enjoyed this even more than In A Dark, Dark Wood. It was well constructed, clever, and a female protagonist who actually solves problems and is resourceful. A few loose ends never fully got tied up
like why did the maid spill info about letting a friend stay on the ship when she didn’t actually do that in the end
and a few instances were a little far fetched.  Lo wasn’t a particularly lovable or memorable protagonist, and she smartened up at the end which she didn’t seem to be able to do earlier in the plot, but the sequence of events gave her some benefit of the doubt. She always seemed to have the disadvantage of being hungry , sleep deprived, drunk or hungover, unmedicated, disoriented and generally queasy, to an effect that made the reader sea sick at times. Ware succeeded in creating a chilling, claustrophobic, and eerie setting that contrasted the luxury hospitality of the ship, which was a fun juxtaposition and went a long way to creating distrust for everyone above or below deck.

I was waiting for a post script twist, which I was happy to get in the end. Believable? Not really. Entertaining? Absolutely. Loads of dramatic effect and atmospheric prose? Of course.  All in all, it was what I wanted it to be.
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