06/29/2015
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. Agent: Eve White, Eve White Literary Agency (U.K.). (Aug.)

"An English psychological thriller...compared to Gone Girl and Girl on the Train."

An enchantingly unsettling thriller with mysterious characters and a classically spooky setting.

"Haunting."

The next Girl on the Train…Ware hews [close] to the new genre of twisty-mystery women’s books.

"A sinister mood lurks in [In a Dark, Dark Wood]."

"Likely to be the next Gone Girl."

I raced through this, totally unable to put it down...Dark, smart and compulsive.

"Who pulls a gun at a bachelorette party? The answers are unveiled with Gillian Flynn-style trickery."

"The pulse-quickening plot of In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware will keep you up until the small hours."

"Eerie and mysterious!"

"Just try to guess how sinister this plot can get (hint: VERY)."

The best thing about In A Dark, Dark Wood is the eerie atmosphere it creates for this ill-fated weekend, never overwrought, just ominous enough, the glass house where the guests are trapped ‘dark and silent, blending into the trees, almost invisible.’

"You’ll find it almost impossible to put this twisting, electrifying debut down...[The] foggy atmosphere and chilling revelations will leave you breathless.

In a Dark, Dark Wood packs a noirish punch that would make the Queen of Crime herself proud.

"Ruth Ware's stunning first novel (catch it before the inevitable film) digs into all the hidden horrors of female 'friendship'; suddenly, the old playground secrets come slithering out."

"So gripping. So glad my hen days are behind me. It’s going to be huge."

I started IN A DARK, DARK WOOD on an airplane, kept dipping into it whenever I was left alone, devoured another big chunk on the flight home, and after that surrendered myself to it until the last revelation had bloomed, the final surprise had exploded, and the bittersweet conclusive turn had folded the final page. Ruth Ware has written an exciting, and in fact amazing book that never stops circling around behind the reader and clapping its cold hands over her eyes.

WARNING: This book is hot. Do not pick it up late at night or if you are in a dark, dark wood...Ruth Ware has a gift. This British author’s first foray into fiction is a hit…it delivers a punch and keeps you guessing—an ideal August psychodrama that reminds us why mysteries remain such fun—except at night.

"If the premise might be the sort that Agatha Christie would have toyed with had she been a 21st-century graduate, Ware’s analysis of the power-games some women revel in – and the toxicity in the undertow of some female friendships – is more reminiscent of Sophie Hannah, Christobel Kent, or even Gillian Flynn and Harriet Lane."

Ware’s debut novel sets the stage for her to become a household name… Engaging, suspenseful and mysterious.

Fans of Gone Girl and Girlon a Train will love Ruth Ware’s gripping In a Dark, Dark Wood.Amnesia, a bachelorette party and alcohol fuel this twisty, suspense novel.

This much-hyped thriller is well performed by Imogen Church. A group of English women who don’t really want to be together gather in an isolated house for a weekend bachelorette party. Things go badly, and the protagonist, Nora, wakes up in the hospital with bruises and amnesia. Is she a killer? Church handles the toughest scenes—which recount the multicharacter hen party—with aplomb. She ably captures the essence and edginess of each woman, including unstable Flo; uncertain, reluctant Nora; strong-willed Nina; and bride-to-be Clare, Nora’s former best friend. The story includes a few scenes that are pretty unbelievable, and Church's performance makes them a bit more credible. G.S.D. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

2015-05-06
In Ware's debut, a reclusive crime writer reunites with a long-lost friend during a weekend hen party that goes horribly wrong. When Leonora Shaw wakes up in the hospital with memory gaps and a head wound, one of the first questions she asks is, "What have I done?" Through flashbacks, Ware slowly unspools the mystery, setting a truly spooky scene as six relative strangers gather at the isolated Glass House, celebrating the upcoming marriage of Nora's former friend Clare Cavendish, with whom she had lost touch 10 years before. Nora, sensitive and skittish and nursing some great secret about her past and her lost friendship with Clare, wants nothing more than to leave, but she feels trapped by curiosity, guilt, and obligation to Flo, the woman who planned the weekend and takes any complication as a personal affront. In classic Agatha Christie fashion, the first half of the novel is masterful in the slow build of suspense. Clearly, something is very wrong, but it's unclear whether it's Nora, Clare, Flo, or some outside intruder who is responsible for the chills and the deepening unease. Unfortunately, as Nora's memory returns, the truth and the climax ultimately disappoint, and Nora's timidity and secrecy become frustrating. The final reveal is pretty predictable. However, the success of the first half of the novel does speak to Ware's ability to spin a good yarn. Recalling such classics as And Then There Were None, she creates a unique setting for the psychological scares, and her characters, while somewhat stock, have enough depth to fool even savvy mystery fans for a while. Like the Glass House itself, this novel is "a tiger's enclosure, with nowhere to hide" and with a constant undercurrent of danger. Read it on a dark and stormy night—with all the lights on.