The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware: A Review

The Woman In Cabin 10

The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Author: Ruth Ware

Pages: 384

Release Date: April 11, 2017

Content notes: Mystery Novel some foul language

“I jumped to a conclusion that was so wrong, it was almost completely right.” 

Brief synopsis:

This book tells the story of  Lo Blackstock. She  drinks too much, has anxiety attacks, and works at a dead end job as a want-to-be travel journalist. However, if she can get over her constant hang-over, she has the opportunity to improve her work situation by filling in for her boss on an assignment covering the maiden voyage of a small luxury liner. But, after getting out and away from any land mass or any phone/internet coverage a murder occurs. AND, no one even knows about the murder except for Lo who has witnessed parts of the event through a drunken haze.

My thoughts:

I rarely read mysteries even though I like Hercule Poirot and I really really like Miss Jane Marple.  Lo is not at all like these characters, because she blunders around unprepared for her job assignment while needing her anxiety meds and constantly feeling seasick. I eventually started to like her after she began showing some inner strength, but most of the time she is a real mess.

There is a murder to solve in this story, but there are quite a few characters who are difficult to keep straight because they are so NOT memorable. But, to be fair I have found this lack of great characters in most mystery novels. These stories are about the clues and the mystery... not about the characters. 

The setting of this story is interesting. It is a small luxury liner (with only ten cabins) that is dizzyingly gilded and luxurious. It seems very suffocating to Lo, but that may be because she has claustrophobia. Did I mention that she is a mess?

The plot of the story is somewhat slow. So slow, that I considered putting it down. However, I plowed through. I am glad I did because the plot picks up and I became interested in Lo's welfare along with the danger she is facing. She turns out to be a fighter and a compassionate person. Also, she shows some real growth when she figures out that she had put her life on auto pilot accepting the status quo when she should have been exploring her options and taking control of her life.  Good for her. Witnessing a murder, knowing that the murderer might kill her next, and finding that no one believes a drunk causes her face a few facts. 

If you like to read mysteries, you will like this book because it has all the suspense elements and the pieces of clues to put together to solve the murder. I plan to read another book by this author because she seems to be a very competent and interesting writer. So check this out this book...especially if you enjoy mysteries.