Ware’s In a Dark, Dark Wood follows Nora, who has been invited to a former friend’s hen-do (bachelorette party to Americans). She doesn’t want to go, but another friend, Nina, convinces Nora. Perhaps she should have listened to her instincts to stay away. Especially given that Clare is marrying a man who dumped Nora after she became pregnant in high school.

The hen-do doesn’t go as planned. Instead, death pays a visit and the guests are trapped in this remote location with a killer in their midst. But why? And will they kill again?

I found In a Dark Dark Wood okay. Not horrible, but nothing to write home about. Ware can be long on the prose, which I’m cool with. The characters, on the other hand. I couldn’t really empathise with any of them. First off, if I don’t like someone, wild horses couldn’t drag me to spend time with them in a remote cabin. Hell no. And all of the characters, even Nora, felt superficial and shallow to me.

While I’ve enjoyed other books by Ruth Ware, In a Dark Dark Wood isn’t one I’d recommend to those new to her writings.

****Purchased and read for my own enjoyment.