In a Dark, Dark Wood - Ruth Ware - Book Review

 

This year, reading has been on the downside. I do not mean the numbers, but the variety and the experience. I have been struggling to maintain the pace for the past three months. I have been catching up on the missed experiences shortly after I landed upon this book. Ruth Ware's 'Turn of the Key' was interesting for me. I decided to go ahead with the read.

Leonara (aka Nora, aka Leo) is a writer who lives in a studio apartment in London. She is a recluse with minimal contact with other people. One day, she receives an invitation to the hen party of her erstwhile best friend, Clare. She is hesitant at first due to a bad past involving Clare and her fiancé, who is Nora's boyfriend. They arrive at a glasshouse in the English countryside along with a couple of other guests. As the party starts, things go awry and Nora realises that not everyone is here to celebrate. What happens at the party forms the rest.

First of all, the novel has a decent storyline. A handful of characters that at times tend to irritate us and not. The tagline was to get scared, but there was nothing scary about the novel. The so-called flashback was easily guessable. But there were multiple places where there was a lead to flashback until the climax, and this really tested my patience. The story started well, but quarter past into the book, it felt dragged at places. The characters were well written, even though a few of them irritated me at times. The writing style and language were simple to follow. The climax seemed rushed and cinematic. The unwanted length in the middle portions could have been used at the end for a more refined climax. Plus, the book cover was a major turn-off.

In short, a normal one-time read marred by slowness at places. Don't be fooled by the title or tagline. A wannabe thriller that can be a quick read.