A review by rachelrreads
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

3.0

Since I started reading Ruth Ware in 2024, it was only fitting to kick off 2025 by reading (finishing) her first thriller! This was an average, quick read, locked-room mystery thriller. I like that Ware kept the story moving with short chapters — especially a few that alternated past and present in the first half —but ultimately the story and the twists were pretty well-trod territory. I also thought the protagonist Leonora (Nora) was often annoying and overly negative, though it turns out in the end she had many reasons to hold a grudge — and she was ultimately a sympathetic narrator worth rooting for. I'll keep on my Ruth Ware path, but this wasn't my favorite. Still, Ware's debut proves that she understands the tropes and tricks of the classic locked-room thriller genre.