The Woman in Cabin 10
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware.
It’s good enough to be five stars. For many of you, I think it will be. It’s well-written and interesting. There are good characters and a fun, escapist, setting. The author keeps you guessing with plenty of twists and red herrings. AND Netflix is working on an adaptation starring Kira Knightly.
Why four stars?
I’m so glad you asked.
This book is more of a psychological thriller/ mystery. It delves into the main character’s mind so deeply at times I felt a little ungrounded. It has a cool effect but was a little uncomfortable and slightly graphic. So if you’re looking for strict cozy this book probably isn’t for you. Also, the ending was great but open-ended. I prefer things tied in a neat little bow.
If you’re up for a bit of grit and language, read it, and let me know what you think.
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The Review
*** There will be SPOILERS***
The Begining
Laura Blacklock is a journalist who’s been given the chance of a lifetime. Her boss is too sick to cover the exclusive and very expensive cruise line’s debut sailing so Lo (Laura) gets to go in her place.
If everything goes well she might get to cover the boss’s maternity leave when she has her baby. For that to happen she’ll have to pull herself together. Her excessive drinking, the presence of her ex-boyfriend, and the woman in cabin ten are all making being professional extremely difficult.
A few nights before she’s set to leave, and where this story starts, someone breaks into Lo’s apartment. She’s terrified and traumatised, but, thankfully, mostly unscathed. Physically. Mentally, she can’t sleep, she’s anxious, and she’s accidentally attacking her boyfriend when he comes home in the middle of the night.
The Hook
There was a woman in cabin 10. Lo knows because she borrowed mascara from her before dinner. But she doesn’t show up at dinner or anywhere else that first evening, and in the middle of the night there’s a scream and a splash off the balcony.
Someone has killed the woman in cabin 10.
Lo calls the crew. She knows how it feels to be afraid. She needs to stay safe and help the woman next door. Or at least find the killer.
The problem is that no one was in cabin 10. The man that was supposed to be there also had his flat broken into and his passport was stolen.
The Middle
Lo heard the scream. She saw the blood. She has the borrowed mascara to prove the woman wasn’t a figment of her imagination. But the head of security knows about her anxiety meds. He was told about the recent break-in at her flat. He’s sure she’s seeing things or making it all up for attention.
Between Lo’s sleep deprivation and anxiety, she could be persuaded to believe it. Except for that mascara. With the begrudging help of security and staff, Lo checks the ship from top to bottom for the woman she saw in cabin 10. She’s not there.
The mascara is stolen from Lo’s bathroom and a threatening warning is written on the mirror during her spa treatment. But something happened in cabin 10, and Lo can’t keep her mouth shut about it. She has to help that woman. She has to find the killer on board.
The Reveal
The woman from cabin 10 knocks on her door. She leads her down to staff quarters and traps her. Lo is in and out of consciousness and coherence.
Lo’s absence is noticed (though she doesn’t know that) and her friends and family back home are worried. There’s been a body found by fishermen. They are hoping it isn’t Lo.
When the woman comes back Lo recognizes her as the owner’s wife, Anne Bullmer.
She’s not though. Anne, a billionaire by the way, has been battling cancer for years. she’s sick and weak, or was she faking?
No. The woman in cabin 10 was faking. That splash, it wasn’t the woman in cabin 10. It wasn’t her blood on the glass. It was all Anne’s, and the woman in cabin 10 had been pretending to be her ever since.
Funny that the owner’s girlfriend happened to look remarkably like his wife. It was almost as if he’d planned it all along.
The End
The owner, Richard Bullmer, killed Anne. He told the woman in cabin 10, his girlfriend, Carrie, that it was an accident. He convinced her that they had to get rid of the body or it would look too suspicious and the police would think he killed her and that she helped.
Carrie just wanted Lo to keep her mouth shut and stop digging so she wouldn’t get hurt.
But Lo knew he’d planned it. Richard Bullmer had intended to kill his wife, and he had no intentions of letting Lo or Carrie live either. They knew too much.
Lo convinced Carrie of the danger. Carrie let her go, staying behind to make it look like a forced escape.
Another body was found in the North Sea.
After days of running and hiding, Lo gets help and safely goes home. The other body was Richard Bullmer. The first body was Anne Bullmer. After months of wondering what happened to Carrie, a mysterious deposit shows up in Lo’s account. It’s from Carrie.
Stay tuned for The Woman in Cabin 10 book club ideas.
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