In a Dark, Dark Wood

By: Ruth Ware

Narrated by: Imogen Church

*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.

First time listener of this author.

What an amazing book. It kept you in suspense because you would have never thought the person behind the chaos was who it was (Sorry, I don't want to say to much). Let me just say that the book was well written and as you listen you will become more and more drawn into the story.

excellent suspense

great suspense and mystery truly enjoyed it. Right up there with girl on a train.

Decently written, but nothing special

My first Ruth Ware and I did enjoy it despite it being completely predictable and based on a ludicrous situation. Her writing style carried it off but the story was ridiculous, the characters unlikable, and the ending totally expected, both murderer and motive. Yet I kind of liked it anyway, because the pacing was good enough to get me through it in a timely manner and the performer was good.

Like a nine-hour TicTacToe play-by-play

The story was slow at first, then interesting, then irritating. It became totally predictable. The only suspenseful thing about the ending was how the author would wrap it all up without actually using the word "duh". I loved the narrator, and I really wanted to like the story. But I figured out the ending at hour six, so the rest was just sort of torturous. For the heroine, Nora, to be a crime writer, she constantly made amateur blunders that someone with only decent common sense would have avoided. She also came across as such a weak person, trapped by her own adherence to the mildest of social etiquette, that it was distracting. I caught myself saying out loud, "Leave! If you don't want to be there just leave!" Also, the foul language was off putting, as if adding stronger language would create a stronger story. The author makes a point in the first chapter that Nora doesn't usually swear, but by the next couple of chapters is dropping f-bombs like a pro, as do all the main characters. All in all, given the title and the graphic, I expected the book to be thrilling, gripping, creepy in all the right ways, and it just wasn't.

Enjoyable. Not Amazing.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Depends on the friend. Parts of this book are enjoyable and I'd recommend it for airplane or beach reading. That said, it gets pretty repetitive (a problem I found with Ware's other book, The Girl in Cabin 10) and the main character starts to feel whiney very, very fast. It also wasn't hard, at all, to figure out what was going on and why which made it kind of frustrating.

Would you be willing to try another book from Ruth Ware? Why or why not?

In the right mood, yes. Ware's books are simple and fairly fluffy. But sometimes you don't want an epic or a classic, you just want something light and easy. Ware is perfect for that.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes. I actually think this would be more successful as a film than as a book.