The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
I am not normally a fan of most thriller-type novels…except Stephen King (of course!) and the ones I pick up are few and far between. But, let me just say that the hype on this one was pretty accurate. I was anxious, suspended in disbelief and completely engrossed in the story.
The story begins with a mysterious occurrence right from the start and it begins our “foggy” view of reality as well. Anyone who has ever been sleep deprived and tipsy knows that our judgement and perception of things becomes severely skewed. A person cannot function rationally on short burst of sleep and then be expected to make lucid decisions or react to life in a practical way. Lo is our “cloudy” lens for this novel and she is a great foil to the mystery occurring on the boat.
This story reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel, specifically Murder on the Orient Express. It is confined to a small space making it frustrating to understand how no other passenger knows what is happening. We are in international waters, throwing customary laws out the window. We have a plethora of motives by different passengers. We travel in luxury shrouded in suspicion. No one is who they seem to be.
I was so frustrated with a few aspects of the story but they added to my anxiety and suspense. First of all, why wasn’t the internet working? Lo was unable to email or text or call anyone! In this day and age of constant communication, that would be my biggest worry! The secret doors and passageways were so chilling. When Lo went for a massage and someone had slipped in while she was in there. That’s is frightening. Also the fact that the crew was able to access all rooms (just like in a real hotel) was worrisome. But probably the strangest was Lo’s kidnapping and imprisonment by the Woman herself!
My favorite part, and probably the most suspenseful, was when Lo escapes from the boat, barely able to get from the water to the pier. Then, arriving at the hotel and asking for help only to be betrayed by the hotel owner…then the boat comes back! That gave me chills. I really did not think that Lo would survive and I thought that everyone must be against her. It was a nail biter.
This book was such a quick read and it was so suspenseful that I think I need another thriller in the near future! Although a few little holes here and there, this book was well written, well thought out and delivered on suspense.
Were you frustrated with Lo, the main character? Why?
Were you frustrated with the other passengers? Why?
Did you think that Lo made up the story of the Woman next door?
Should her home invasion been tied to the experience on the boat? Why do you think it wasn’t?
What part got your heart racing the most?
Did you figure out who did it before it was revealed?
Did you enjoy this book? Do you enjoy the “Thriller/Suspense” genre?
This book had my heart racing the minute that Lo got on the boat. From there it was a very quick read with suspense left and right.
I did get frustrated with the main character, Lo, many times. I often felt like she was making the stupidest choices. Like when you are watching a horror movie and the character runs up stairs and gets trapped and killed by the bad guy… and you are yelling “No! Run the other way! Run the other way!” I guess it is easy for me to be a Monday quarterback and judge the situations of other.
I was frustrated that the other passengers did not believe Lo, but in hindsight I can’t really blame them. There was no proof of what Lo had seen–just Lo’s word.
I did start to doubt whether Lo had really seen a woman in Cabin 10 or whether it was a figment of her imagination. At first I thought her home invasion was linked to what was happening on the boat, but then when every started doubting Lo I did too.
My heart was racing when Lo fell off the boat, swam to shore and was in the hotel. I felt like she couldn’t trust anyone and once she overheard the conversation with the boat I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. “Run, Lo, run!!!” was all I could think of, and the poor thing was already so cold and tired.
I had a pretty good idea of who did it, but I will say the book was very good about throwing in red herrings and inserting twists and turns. I really enjoy the thriller genre and I loved this book and a fun, quick read. Great choice!! 🙂
It was a page turner for sure! I really enjoyed its unpredictability and bits of frustration with the main character. It made for an interesting story. I just picked up “In a Dark, Dark Wood” by the same author. I’m hoping for a similar reading experience.
Glad you enjoyed it too!