Here, all were potentially off the table, so my interest began to wane.

I like to be surprised, but I need some sense of ground rules. At the same time, it made me really concerned that I couldn’t believe anything that happened. I actually got a bit frustrated at the constant reference to her drinking and emotional state. Making the main character’s POV misleading, unreliable, or potentially drug-induced only works for so long. Much of the intentional confusion gets in the way of the book for me. I found myself intrigued by the story but ultimately disappointed in the ending for two reasons. But in addition to discovering the body, we need to find out what reasons someone might have for this mystery as well as how it could connect to Lo’s burglary. Of course, someone could’ve snuck on or off at some point, and the manifest might be intentionally missing a name. In a locked door scenario, we know the killer must be on board.

There is a certain humorous tone in the book, referencing some plots from Agatha Christie in a way that make you laugh out loud. Was this all her imagination, or has someone been gaslighting her? Problem though… no one else heard the noises, there is no body, and Lo has been taking anti-depressants and drinking a lot. When she boards, she meets someone that no one else has met… and then one night, it appears the woman is murdered. Her boyfriend returns and helps her through it the next few days, but then he leaves for Moscow while she’s assigned to work the cruise as a reporter. One night while he’s away, her place is burgled, and she’s attacked by someone who seems intent on harming her. Lo, our main character, is in a shaky relationship with a boyfriend. Ruth Ware quickly captured my attention with this one, and I am continually happy to read through more of her books this year.

What a nice surprise when it was not this same story! This book takes place on a cruise ship in northern Europe, and it’s about something strange happening on the vessel. For some reason, I assumed it was a cabin the woods where someone was terrorized and it personally connected to the victim’s life somehow. The Woman in Cabin 10 is very different than I expected it to be.

The woman in cabin 10 review