In a Dark, Dark Wood
*AUTHOR OF THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 and THE LYING GAME
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER
*SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
An NPR Best Book of the Year * An Entertainment Weekly Summer Books Pick * A Buzzfeed “31 Books to Get Excited About this Summer” Pick * A Publishers Weekly “Top Ten Mysteries and Thrillers” Pick * A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year * A BookReporter Summer Reading Pick * A New York Post “Best Novels to Read this Summer” Pick * A Shelf Awareness “Book Expo America 2015 Buzz Book” Pick
What should be a cozy and fun-filled weekend deep in the English countryside takes a sinister turn in Ruth Ware’s suspenseful, compulsive, and darkly twisted psychological thriller.
Sometimes the only thing to fear…is yourself.
When reclusive writer Leonora is invited to the English countryside for a weekend away, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. But as the first night falls, revelations unfold among friends old and new, an unnerving memory shatters Leonora’s reserve, and a haunting realization creeps in: the party is not alone in the woods.
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER
*SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
An NPR Best Book of the Year * An Entertainment Weekly Summer Books Pick * A Buzzfeed “31 Books to Get Excited About this Summer” Pick * A Publishers Weekly “Top Ten Mysteries and Thrillers” Pick * A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year * A BookReporter Summer Reading Pick * A New York Post “Best Novels to Read this Summer” Pick * A Shelf Awareness “Book Expo America 2015 Buzz Book” Pick
What should be a cozy and fun-filled weekend deep in the English countryside takes a sinister turn in Ruth Ware’s suspenseful, compulsive, and darkly twisted psychological thriller.
Sometimes the only thing to fear…is yourself.
When reclusive writer Leonora is invited to the English countryside for a weekend away, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. But as the first night falls, revelations unfold among friends old and new, an unnerving memory shatters Leonora’s reserve, and a haunting realization creeps in: the party is not alone in the woods.
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Readers say *In a Dark, Dark Wood* offers a twist-filled psychological mystery with a tense, creepy atmosphere that grips many by the second half. The...
I can't say I enjoyed The Woman in Cabin 10 as much as I enjoyed In a Dark, Dark Wood, Ware's debut novel. As per expectation, the plot twists and turns a few times as the reader is teased into the novel's resolution. A solid read, though, I find it most interesting that Ware says she's surprised that readers think the book is "scary" at times.
All and all not too bad of a read. I might of liked it a bit more but was not a fan of the main character so it was difficult for me to care about her. Actually none of the characters particularly wowed me.
This book hovered somewhere between a creepy horror book and a psychological/murder mystery. It could’ve gone either way but the beginning didn’t really match the end. You cant really do both of those things in one story. The book was enjoyable though, a quick read and if did have you guessing throughout. I just would’ve went about things differently and wouldn’t have marketed it as a ghost story.
I enjoyed reading this book - it was my first mystery/thriller! It was a bit slow initially and the set up of the creepy atmosphere was decent but it started feeling very predictable. My initial thoughts about the plot were correct :)
This review contains spoilers
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Let's see. We have an aggressively telegraphed villain whose dubious character and cruelty are mentioned early and often – so much so that one marvels at the protagonist's stupidity in further involvement. We have key characters whose motivations for malice range from threadbare to implausible. Tons of filler content (how much detail do we really need on the status of Nora's gradually fading bruises?). We have every "thriller" cliche enlisted to dull effect (yes, you can tick amnesia off the list); and a denouement that actually involves the narrator allowing the acknowledged murderer who has returned to harm her, as well, to brew her a nice cup of tea (which tastes terrible! And super bitter! And is probably poison! But it's warm and stuff so what the hey!).
Never mind plot points that revolve around someone not getting over a heartbreak ten years prior (when she was sixteen). It's just too stupid. The upside is that it makes me feel 100% confident that with the bar this high I could totally write a bestselling thriller, because it's unlikely I could write one any less plausible, less tense, or less credible.
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Let's see. We have an aggressively telegraphed villain whose dubious character and cruelty are mentioned early and often – so much so that one marvels at the protagonist's stupidity in further involvement. We have key characters whose motivations for malice range from threadbare to implausible. Tons of filler content (how much detail do we really need on the status of Nora's gradually fading bruises?). We have every "thriller" cliche enlisted to dull effect (yes, you can tick amnesia off the list); and a denouement that actually involves the narrator allowing the acknowledged murderer who has returned to harm her, as well, to brew her a nice cup of tea (which tastes terrible! And super bitter! And is probably poison! But it's warm and stuff so what the hey!).
Never mind plot points that revolve around someone not getting over a heartbreak ten years prior (when she was sixteen). It's just too stupid. The upside is that it makes me feel 100% confident that with the bar this high I could totally write a bestselling thriller, because it's unlikely I could write one any less plausible, less tense, or less credible.
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