The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
Travel journalist Lo Blackwood is heading off on what many people would deem the press trip of a lifetime; seeing The Northern Lights on-board a boutique cruise ship.
The assignment couldn’t have come at a better time. Lo’s flat was broken into a days earlier and she’s pretty shaken up. Time away is just what she needs.
When Lo witnesses the aftermath of a murder, she is informed that no guest ever checked into that cabin and no no-one is missing from the ship.
Lo Blackwood is a woman full of complexities, which shouldn’t be surprising considering most of us are but sometimes this leads to fictional characters (mainly women) being described as “unlikeable” as if likability is the only thing women should aspire to. Lo is relatable, even during the moments when you might not agree with her actions.
Like Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard, The Woman in Cabin 10 uses the difficulties with investigating crimes on a cruise ship to its advantage. What happens when a crime occurs on a cruise ship? What happens when even the ship’s security team doubt your version of events? How can you catch a killer when you’re in the middle of the ocean and no-one else believes a murder took place? Ruth Ware has crafted an Agatha Christie-esque style whodunit; a group of people in a confined space meaning the killer must be amongst them.
Full of tension and at times claustrophobic, The Woman in Cabin 10 is a clever thriller that sucks the reader in right from the get-go. This is one for the to-read list, especially if you’re a fan of crime fiction.
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