Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

I’d heard The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware mentioned a few times before it popped up as the Audible Daily Deal, and it actually turned out my Mum read it on holiday last year! I love a good thriller/mystery so I downloaded it straight away for when I’d finished The Raven King and needed to dive straight into something easy-listening to stave off the book hangover. It definitely did the trick.

TL;DR Lo Blacklock is a travel journalist on a private, luxury cruise who thinks she witnesses a murder. The only problem is, cabin 10 was always supposed to be empty, and no one else saw the woman before she vanished. Is Lo losing her mind, or is something more sinister going on in the Fjords?

As a big cruise fan I couldn’t wait to listen to this audio book and imagine myself on board the ship, cruising the Norwegian Fjords with the characters. I haven’t done a Fjords cruise yet, but my Mum’s been a few times and I’ve seen the photos, so I could picture the setting no problem. The ship was a little more difficult, as it’s only a ten cabin mini cruise ship, like a large yacht really, but with the same finery inside, just on a smaller scale. I don’t get claustrophobic on cruises, but I can imagine feeling really uncomfortable and panicky on a ship that small with the same ten other people every day, and that’s before the events of the story take place!

The overall feel of the story is very Agatha Christie – a small number of people in a remote location with nowhere to go and no escape from the murderer in their midst. Think And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express. There are also elements of The Girl on the Train, Lo is quite a heavy drinker to begin with and it’s her drinking that leads her to question what she saw and whether she imagined or dreamed the whole thing. It’s well paced and tense throughout, and there are a couple of really surprising twists that I didn’t see coming!

At the beginning of the story, Lo’s flat is burgled while she’s sleeping, and when she gets up to see what’s going on the burglar slams the bedroom door in her face and locks her in. This encounter is pretty terrifying, especially for a woman who often sleeps alone when my husband is away with work (luckily we have a dog so I live in hope she’d scare off any potential attackers). I wanted the burglary at the beginning to have deeper implications than it did, but ultimately it served to put Lo on edge from the very beginning, seeing danger and threats everywhere and explaining some of her reactions later.

In addition, Lo suffers from anxiety and takes medication, which has no bearing on her state of mind at the time of the incident, but is used against her by some of the other characters when they find out. I think this is quite a good representation of the stigma mental health issues can suffer, as well as showing that her mental illness doesn’t impact on the plot or make her an unreliable narrator.

The Woman in Cabin 10 is a pretty easy read, perfect for holiday reading and anyone who likes a good murder mystery a la Christie and Hawkins. Lo isn’t always a very likeable character, she’s quite standoffish and rude, and coupled with her heavy drinking she did remind me of Rachel from The Girl on the Train. Ultimately though, I did find myself rooting for her, as I wanted to know what was really going on onboard the cruise ship and whether she was going to be the next victim, or if it was all an elaborate hoax.

I gave the book 3.5 stars, because I did enjoy it and got through it quite quickly, and the twists towards the end were surprising to me, but it wasn’t quite up to the standard of Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train.

Have you read The Woman in Cabin 10? What did you think? Am I the only one who obsessed over Judah? Please tell me I’m not alone!

Lyndsey

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Fight like a YA girl tag

I was tagged by the fabulous Eva @ Brilliantly Bookish to do the Fight Like a YA Girl tag, which was created by Krysti @ Wine and YA. If you don’t already follow both of these awesome ladies, go check out their blogs now!

THE RULES

Thank the person who tagged you.
Mention the creator Krysti at YA and Wine
Match at least one YA girl with each of the themes below.
Tag as many people as you like!

Warrior girls

Katniss from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

If Katniss Everdeen isn’t a warrior, I don’t know who is. Volunteering to replace her younger sister in the Hunger Games, fighting twenty two other teens to the death to be crowned co-victor alongside Peeta. Her survival skills, as well as her abilities with a bow and arrow, are second to none. She’s compassionate and kind, as well as brave and clever, and that to me is the hallmark of a real warrior.

Girls who fight with their mind

Hermione from Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

There is one girl in particular who comes to mind when I think of girls who fight with their mind, and that is of course Hermione Granger. If it hadn’t been for her, Harry and Ron would have been killed in book one. Her book smarts and willingness to do the research always saved the day (especially in book two!). Rather than being a love interest, or a damsel in distress type character, Hermione brought so much to the trio and the story wouldn’t have been the same without her.

Girls who fight with their heart

Clary from The Mortal Instruments by Cassie Clare

I can’t think of a YA heroine with more heart than Clary Fray. She’s got so much love to give, whether it’s her mother, her father-figure Luke, her best friend Simon, her new Shadowhunter friends (who are more like family), or Jace. While the series contains a lot of conflict and fighting, it almost always comes down to love and kindness winning the day. Clary’s answer is always to be more understanding, more generous and less judgemental when it comes to resolving conflict.

Girls who are trained fighters

Mia from Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

It was actually quite difficult to think of any female characters who are trained fighters, it usually seems to be that the boys are trained fighters and the girls are naturally-talented, special snowflakes, if they can fight at all. Mia Corvere from Nevernight was the only girl that I could think of from my recent reading, and boy is she a good example. The training she undergoes in the Red Church couldn’t be more intense and dangerous, she literally loses limbs and almost dies several times, but she manages to get through it and comes out as an incredibly skilled fighter.

Strong girls of colour

Inej from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Inej is one of the strongest women in all of literature, let alone WoC, after everything she has been through and the hope and love she’s still capable of. Growing up as an acrobat before her family were slaughtered and she was thrown into a brothel and forced into prostitution, and then being rescued by Kaz and employed as his spy for the Dregs. How she manages to keep her dream alive of owning a boat and sailing anywhere she wants with her own crew is beyond me. She’s a warrior queen.

Girls who fight to survive

Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth

Being divergent, Tris is in danger if she’s ever found out, so she seems to be fighting for survival from the very beginning. Gradually, it becomes more about doing what’s right and overthrowing the corrupt rulers, exposing the truth etc. but mainly it’s about her own survival.

Girls who are weapons masters

Lada from And I Darken by Kiersten White

Lada is probably the most accomplished female soldier I’ve read about, she’s certainly the strongest willed and bravest of YA heroines I’ve come across. She practically forces the soldiers to train her and eventually takes charge of the army, successfully earning the men’s respect and loyalty. And this series is set in the 15th century, making it all the more impressive. I know it’s a Vlad the Impaler reimagining, but I’m really hoping the sequel will broach the whole Dracula aspect of Vlad’s legend!

Girls with kick-butt magical powers

Aelin from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

I couldn’t do a list about feisty and strong YA heroines without including Aelin Ashryver-Galathynius, now could I? Her fire powers are so epic that there is no bottom to her well of power and she is at risk of getting lost if she delves too deep. Just look at what happened towards the end of Empire of Storms! She’s a goddess, wink wink.

Strong girls in contemporary novels

Starr from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I’m cheating a bit here because I haven’t actually read this yet, but I’m doing a buddy read starting next week and it’s sitting on my shelf staring at me. From the reviews and tweets I’ve read, Starr sounds like a phenomenal heroine, and I’m really looking forward to getting to know her next month!

Seriously fierce girls

Nesta from A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Of course I had to include this incredible, kickass woman in this list. I really didn’t like Nesta in book one, she started to soften slightly in book two, but in book three she became a truly strong and selfless woman and one of my favourite characters in the ACOTAR series. I wish she’d had more chance to build relationships (you know the one I mean!) but her character arc was perfect, she really grew and changed over the course of the three books, and that will have to do (for now…).

Most anticipated book with a strong leading lady

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff & Now I Rise by Kiersten White

Cheating again! I can’t decide which of these books I’m looking forward to more. Now I Rise was released last week, and Godsgrave comes out in September, but who knows when I’ll actually get round to reading them both! #TBRproblems

And there you have it! OK, I tag Breeny @ Breeny’s Books and Lia @ Lost in a Story. If anyone else fancies giving this tag a try have at it, and don’t forget to tag me so I can read your posts!

I’m taking part in Camp Nano this month, so I won’t be posting quite as much as usual, but normal scheduling will resume in August (which is my birthday month!).

Lyndsey

Pitch Wars #pimpmybio

Hi guys! I’m entering Pitch Wars next month, which – for those of you who don’t know – is a competition where you submit your polished manuscript to up to four potential mentors, and if you’re chosen you get to work with a mentor for two months to perfect your manuscript and pitch for the agent round in November.

I’ve also entered #MenteesHelpingMentees, which is a pre-Pitch Wars raffle to win a query and first 10 pages edit by a past mentee. Wish me luck! (Update: I got picked!! The fabulous Kristen Clouthier read my query and first ten pages and gave me some amazing feedback, thank you so much Kristen!)

As part of the whole Pitch Wars event, Lana Pattinson has created the #pimpmybio blog hop, where participants share their bio and a brief summary of their WIP and both mentors and potential mentees can hop around and get to know everyone. From what I’ve seen, the biggest benefit of Pitch Wars is the community and the friendships that are formed, so I wanted to take part and hopefully make some new writer friends!

About my WIP

Seventeen year old Aria Colling is a changeling. She’s the daughter of a king from the Fair Realm who hid her in the Human Realm as a baby to protect her from the wrath of her uncle, the evil Celeste King.

Weeks before her eighteenth birthday, she’s kidnapped by a group of Fair soldiers and taken on a long and perilous journey to the kingdom of her birth, where she must take the throne when her ailing father dies.

Along the way, she discovers the poverty and war the Fair have suffered for over a century, and soon realises that she may be the only one with the power to defeat her uncle and his army of dark creatures. If she isn’t betrayed by those she has come to think of as friends first.

THE FAIR QUEEN is a YA portal fantasy for fans of THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING and THE REMNANT CHRONICLES.

I completed the first draft in January and it’s been through several rounds of edits and beta reads to make it the best it can be! It’s my first novel so I’m looking for a mentor who can teach me everything they know about editing and getting my MS and pitch ready to query. I love NaNoWriMo and work best with strict timelines and targets. Most of all I’m really excited to learn and improve my manuscript any way possible!

About me

I studied Modern Languages at uni, including European Literature, and I’ve been working in marketing for the last five years.

Aged ten, I wrote a poem inspired by Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes about Red Riding Hood, which the Ofsted inspector loved and took a copy to show round other local primary schools, so I’ve always been a creative writer.

I love having a project on the go at all times and I’ve had lots of different hobbies. I used to have an Etsy store where I sold my vintage teacup candles and Scrabble art, I also taught myself paper cutting and make presents for my friends and family.

I live in Lincolnshire, England with my military husband and our pointer puppy, Bailey, and when I’m not marketing, writing or reading I like to craft, cook and binge watch the latest Netflix craze.

I’m a huge YA fantasy fan, some of my favourite authors are Maggie Stiefvater, Leigh Bardugo, Cassandra Clare and Sarah J. Maas. I’m also an enormous Harry Potter fan, and can’t believe I have tickets to the Cursed Child play in December!

OK, that’s enough about me. If you’re taking part in Pitch Wars give me a wave in the comments and I’ll catch you on Twitter!

Lyndsey