Synopsis:

Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea.

At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard.

The problem? All passengers remain accounted for and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Personal Thoughts:

Rating:

Here goes my long overdue review of The Woman in Cabin 10 which I have finished reading in January 2021.

This thriller novel follows the story of Laura (Lo) Blacklock who is a journalist for a travel magazine and is assigned to join a week on a luxury cruise ship—the Aurora—set to sail from London to Norway. And there are a handful of guests invited; to Lo, this is a chance to show her true skills as a journalist, plus, a week-long stay at a luxury cruise is the perfect time for her to unwind. The Woman in Cabin 10 is a chilling and suspenseful thriller with the perfect setting.

First and foremost, I would like to mentioned that the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous and I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t one of the reasons why I bought it. I really enjoyed reading The Woman in Cabin 10 as it tackles not only the murder that the protagonist have witnessed, but also how she copes with her anxiety and mental health. Given that the mystery of the murder that enveloped her stay at the Aurora was neglected by the people around the ship, she embarks on a mission to uncover the truth about the horrific event.

The first part of the book was kind of slow, but quickly picked up as soon as she stepped in the Aurora and I am glad that I pushed through with it because it was such a thrilling reading experience. Ruth Ware did a great job in making the readers question everything that’s been laid out in each chapter. I was back and forth with my theories, especially towards the end. At some point in the book, I even started to think that, with everything Lo has been through at the start of the book, she was inadvertently making everything up in her head. I was starting to question my theories, too.

Overall, this book was unputdownable and I loved every bit of it. I can’t wait to read more from this author.