In a Dark, Dark Wood

By: Ruth Ware

Narrated by: Imogen Church

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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 Nora (Lee) 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 I done?", Nora (Lee) tries to piece together the events of the past weekend. Working to uncover secrets, reveal motives, and find answers, Nora (Lee) must revisit parts of herself that she would much rather leave buried where they belong: in the past.

In the tradition of Paula Hawkins' instant New York Times best seller The Girl on the Train and S. J. Watson's riveting national sensation Before I Go to Sleep, this gripping literary debut from UK novelist Ruth Ware will leave you on the edge of your seat through the very last second.

Includes an excerpt from Ruth Ware's The Lying Game!

©2015 Ruth Ware. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

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.

high school drama - YA?

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

Yes and no. It was ok. Very intense at moments which was fun but the end felt...obvious. And the main characters obsession over a relationship from 10 years ago (in her teen years) seems odd and sad. I found myself wondering what kind of adult doesn’t either move on or get into therapy. At one point I really thought I had purchased a YA book since most of the drama revolves around high school dating. Not the best thriller I’ve ever read but not the worst either.

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

Probably not, I’d worry that the same fault I found in this story would be present in her other books.

What about Imogen Church’s performance did you like?

Church did a great job! Very good at distinguishing voices and accents.

Did In a Dark, Dark Wood inspire you to do anything?

no

Any additional comments?

nice book, nothing terrible about it. Just annoying (due to my frustration with the main character) and the obvious ending.

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.

A Surprising Twist!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

ABSOLUTELY! I thought I had who the murderer was completely figured out, but was totally wrong. This is one of those stories that you could read again trying to figure out where the pieces of the puzzle were in the story that you missed the first time. All the characters in the story are beautifully written and extremely relatable!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Because one text can change everything.

This is my style of mistery

Great book , I love everything , the characters and the mistery. Ruth Ware is a treasure.

meh

a bit slow. the ending did not justify the build up. the ouch did not match the ouch as it were

Amazing !!!

I had been discouraged by audible reviews but I went ahead and purchased this because my friends had all recommended and boy am I glad! An amazing page turner in my opinion, stayed up and listened to it without a break cos I couldn't put it down! I can see why other reviewers thought there was "complaining from the character" but one has to realize that if any of us were in the characters situation we wouldn't be all rainbows and sunshine either... loved it !! And Imogen Church did an amazing job reading it!! Excited to read more from Ruth Ware.