Book Review: Woman in Cabin 10

The Woman in Cabin 10 Book Review

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 (goodreads). 

I really liked In a Dark, Dark Wood, as you can read in my review i gave this novel a ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review. However, i do not feel like this was as good. While these two novels are not related, and all Ruth Ware's novels are not part of a series, i still hoped this novel would have a great story line with Ware's already great writing. Unfortunately, it did not hit the mark for me. Out of all four of her novels, this was my least favourite. 

This novel is about Lo, she suffers from extreme anxiety. After a break in at her apartment and a fight with her boyfriend, Lo continues with an assignment from work; to go on a week long luxury cruise. This assignment could help land Lo with the promotion she is looking for and get their travel magazine on the map. 

The assignment is to write about the luxury cruise ship; Aurora. This ship only carries 20 passengers within 10 cabins total. 

Late in the evening, Lo is awaken by a loud scream and a splash from the next door cabin. She goes out to see blood on the balcony from this cabin; from cabin 10. After calling security, they search cabin 10 and find nothing. The guest that was supposed to be in cabin 10 never made it however Lo remembers borrowing make-up from a girl staying in that cabin. Security confirms that no guests are missing. No one believes Lo, but she swears someone was staying in that cabin. Lo now has to figure out what is going on, who was that woman, and who was thrown over board? 

This novel had a very The Girl on the Train vibe. Woman sees something, no one believes her... It's a story we've seen before. 

i really wanted to like this book, i really liked Ware's first novel but it was a story i had heard before. 

I give this novel ⭐⭐ review. Only reason i did not give it a one star is because Ware is a great writing and this novel was no exception. The writing was well done however the story was lacking.