This novel makes one thing clear pretty quickly: it was written with prior knowledge in mind. Having never read The Woman in Cabin 10, I often felt unmoored, as if I’d walked into the second half of a conversation and was expected to keep up. Key relationships and emotional stakes are taken for granted instead of built on the page, which makes it hard to fully invest.
The setup should work. Travel journalist Lo Blacklock, sidelined by motherhood and a changing media landscape, jumps at the chance to attend the opening of a luxurious Swiss hotel on Lake Geneva. The owner is a reclusive billionaire, the setting is glamorous, and a late-night summons to Suite 11 launches Lo into another high-stakes mystery involving a woman who claims to be in serious danger. From there, the story turns into a fast-moving chase across Europe.
Unfortunately, the execution is messy. The book is overly long, padded with repetition, and weighed down by excessive profanity that feels more distracting than authentic. While the plot has plenty of motion and a few clever turns, the mystery never develops the chilling, immersive atmosphere I expect from Ruth Ware. It’s readable, but far from gripping—and not a great entry point for newcomers.
** Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for a comp of this title. Opinions are my own.