In a Dark, Dark Wood

I try to avoid books about cozy girls’ weekends because they always seem to descend into goopy sentimentalism and cutesy dialogue, but this novel (thank goodness!) turned that tired old trope on its head.

Psychological thrillers with twisty plotlines and complicated characters are my absolute favorite reads, and this one piles on the suspense as the questions and misunderstandings—and the danger––grow more sinister with each passing day.

My takeaway: attending a getaway in the forest with a bunch of people you haven’t seen in a decade is NOT A GOOD IDEA. Politely decline the invitation, then stay the hell away!

I was glued to every page of this book!

It’s a claustrophobic thriller with a startling visual image at its heart: an ultra-modern glass cabin in the middle of a deep, dark wood. At night, the light against the glass means you can’t see out – but anyone outside can see right in. I loved the way Ruth Ware turned the rickety old building cliché on its head, turning light from a source of comfort into a threat. 

This was the first Ruth Ware book I read, and it was the book that made me want to become a psychological thriller author. It asks the question, what if your friends aren’t really your friends? A dark question, indeed, especially when the main character believes someone in her friend group is out to kill her. In A Dark, Dark Wood transports the reader to a remote house in the woods where the main character, Nora, meets up with a group of people to celebrate the impending wedding of a friend, Clare, who she hasn’t seen in ten years. It… show more.