In a Dark, Dark Wood
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4.1 • 2.2K Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
*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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Wow, prepare to lose a day to this tightly woven thriller about a bachelorette party gone horribly wrong. Nora Shaw is a crime writer whose life is bottled up in routine. But her carefully managed composure begins to fall apart when she receives an invitation to attend a weekend getaway in honor of her estranged friend, Clare, who she hasn’t seen in 10 years. The tension that builds in this masterfully told tale of murder is so thick, we found it hard to breathe at times. First-time author Ruth Ware is witty and wicked—her pleasure in putting readers on edge is palpable.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of Ware's solid but somewhat derivative first novel, a psychological thriller, crime writer Leonora Shaw leads a solitary life in London but receives an invitation to Northumberland to celebrate the impending marriage of Clare Cavendish, a friend she hasn't seen in 10 years. Nora and Clare were once inseparable, but something drove them apart. Nora and her sarcastic school chum, Nina da Souza, another invitee, decide to make the trip to the remote cottage known as the Glass House, the site of the hen party weekend. Flashbacks show Nora in the hospital, where she's recovering from an accident that she can't quite recall and wonders whose blood is on her hands. From the catty conversations at the party, secrets from Nora and Clare's past emerge, particularly relating to Nora's former love, James Cooper. Ware does a competent job ratcheting up the suspense, but the revelations aren't as exciting as the buildup.
Customer Reviews
Takes too long
I read this straight through, but mainly to find out how it ended. Scenes were drawn out too long, and like Melanie, I just wanted to leave early. And the last sentence of the book was confusing, at least to me.
Predictable
The book moved quickly and kept my attention. However, I felt the plot line was completely predictable. From the "big secret" the main character was hiding for years, to the final murderer, I called it all before it happened because it just wasn't original.
Also, there was a lot of extras that had no point to the book. Example: Papa Begby? Matt? Cocaine? There was just a lot of extras that were added in and I was waiting for a point to why they were there, but they never came. Even in the end, having Matt email Nora, there wasn't a reason. It was just filler. And there was a LOT of filler. I found myself skipping paragraphs at a time because there was just no need for them.
Decent book, ok writing, predictable throughout and pointless fillers. Better luck next time.
Creepy bach party
Another great thriller from Ruth Ware