In a Dark, Dark Wood - Ruth Ware Review
Ruth Ware is one of my new favorite voices in the thriller world. The Woman in Cabin 10 is a suspenseful ride on a private yacht that leaves you guessing until the very end. She also wrote The Lying Game in 2017, and this year had two novels released. The Death of Mrs. Westaway and In a Dark, Dark Wood.
In a Dark, Dark Wood has already been picked up by Reese Witherspoon and will be made into a movie at New Line.
The story follows a crime writer, Nora, who lives a happily solitary life. She jogs, she drinks coffee, she writes books. One day she receives an email for a bachelorette party at a cabin in the woods for Clare, a friend she hasn’t spoke to in 10 years.
Reluctantly she agrees as long as Nina goes along too, a friend from back in the day. When the girls arrive they are met with a very small group of other friends and the party begins. But then something goes super wrong, and someone is dead, and Nora realizes she should’ve never tampered with the past.
“It was growing dark, and somehow the shadows made it feel as if all the trees had taken a collective step towards the house, edging in to shut out the sky.”
For the first half of the book, the story jumps between Nora in the present and Nora at the cabin. It keeps you turning pages as you try to figure out what on earth could’ve really happened.
All the characters are very unique from each other and fully developed. While, in real life, I would hate Nora, in the book I really related to her and rooted for her. Nina is a great best mate with a lot of snarky comments but also a lot of love. And Clare is the perfect enemy – deliciously sweet and dangerous.
You’ll find yourself tearing through the story as you try and figure out what really happened between Clare and Nora, who died, and how!
And as the last few chapters come together, and everything comes to a head you fully fall for the twist. But unfortunately, on actual reflection, there’s a lot of plot holes and logic flaws that go along with this story. BUT, like most thrillers like this, you have to just go with it and enjoy yourself while it’s happening.
