In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

I have utterly fallen in love with this author. Admittedly, I picked up this book after reading a truly awful thriller so anything would have looked good after that. However, after reading more of her work I am convinced she is the real deal.

In a Dark, Dark Wood is a unique and compelling tale. The premise is a woman gets invited to a hen do in a secluded forest house by her old high school friend who she hasn't spoken to for 10 years. I can't really say anymore without ruining the plot but trust me, it's really good. What's more, it's actually very original. I couldn't tell where this was going at all but I was with it every step of the way, unable to put it down. I read it almost entirely in one sitting and finished it on the same day I started it.

The characters are another strong point of this book. They all seemed like real people and having the majority of them being well-written females was just another bonus. I felt for the main character without her needing to really say much about her pain at all. This is an author who appreciates show don't tell and I am so grateful for that.

My only gripe with it was that it got a little rocky about 3/4 of the way through. It didn't quite drag and it was still very good but it didn't hold my attention in quite the same way. This thankfully gets fixed by the climax and it does finish on a strong point. This is also a perfect example of having a complex and detailed solution without making the setup ridiculously convoluted or hard to follow.

Honestly, I really can't recommend this book or this author enough. In a genre flooded with books ranging from terrible to okay, this is one of the gems. Please please give it a try.

Overall Rating:

.5