The Woman in Cabin 10

Every avid reader has their favorite authors. For me that’s Erica James, Penny Vincenzi, Lesley Pearce, Joy Fielding, to name but a few. When I need something to read, I check out those names first because I know their stories won’t disappoint.

However, since my favorite authors seem to be in hibernation, as they had nothing new on the shelves, I had to look for something else.

For me this is always a gamble, as I’ve tried quite a few authors over the years whose book I tossed aside after a few pages, wondering how the heck this got published in the first place.

My latest gamble was ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ by Ruth Ware.

I liked the look of the book (goes to show that some people do judge a book by its cover), while the synopsis seemed promising.

In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, 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…

With surprising twists, spine-tingling turns, and a setting that proves as uncomfortably claustrophobic as it is eerily beautiful, Ruth Ware offers up another taut and intense read in The Woman in Cabin 10—one that will leave even the most sure-footed reader restlessly uneasy long after the last page is turned.

‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ carried no less than 402 reviews on Amazon, but I’d rather didn’t read them. For one, many amateur reviewers give away part of the story without a spoiler alert warning, and two … I put little or no stock in other people’s opinion. After all, what’s good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander.

I made the mistake of starting ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ shortly after midnight. I was only going to read for ten minutes or so, but before I knew it, it was 2:00 a.m.

I resolved not to read that late again, but the next night it was 2:30 before I turned the light off.

Near the end of the book going to sleep was not an option, I had to know how the story ended.

So, if you’re planning on reading ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’, prepare to turn page after page, wondering what will happen next. Prepare to chew your lips and bite your nails.

I gave ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ a five-star rating.