In a Dark, Dark Wood

Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Galley/Scout Press, 2016
Pages: 352
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Sometimes the only thing to fear. . .is yourself.

Leonora, known to some as Lee and others as Nora, is a reclusive crime writer, unwilling to leave her nest of an apartment unless it is absolutely necessary. When a friend she hasn't seen or spoken to in years unexpectedly invites her to a weekend away in an eerie glass house deep in the English countryside, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. Forty-eight hours later, she wakes up in a hospital bed injured but alive, with the knowledge that someone is dead. Wondering not "what happened?" but "what have a I done?", Nora tries to piece together the events of the past weekend. Working to uncover secrets, reveal motives, and find answers, Nora must revisit parts of herself that she would much rather leave buried where they belong: in the past.

Review: This is Ruth Ware's debut novel. Not my favorite of her novels, that honor goes to The It Girl or The Turn of the Key, but if you can let yourself fall into the story this was a solid book. My biggest criticism that I never really did get past, was why did Nora attend the girls weekend in the first place? She's reclusive, she hasn't kept in touch with Claire, and didn't seem interested in addressing events that happened 10 years ago. Had the author done a better job convincing me as the reader that this hen party was Nora's jam, getting into the story would have been easier.

Ruth Ware Novels
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
The It Girl
The Lying Game
The Turn of the Key
The Woman in Cabin 10