So, I finally got around to reading The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware! The story follows Lo Blacklock, a travel mag writer, as she sets off on a ’boutique’ cruise ship (read large yacht) sailing around the Norwegian fjords. She’s there to do a piece on the ship and it’s amenities. Her first day aboard, Lo has to borrow mascara, and she knocked on the door next to her cabin. The woman inside seems irritated, but loans her some mascara. Much later that same night Lo is awakened by noises that bring back terrifying recent memories of being burgled while she was home. She looks out her balcony after hearing a splash, and sees what she thinks is a body sinking into the dark depths. When she reports the crime, Lo is informed that cabin 10 is empty, the person who was going to use it having cancelled. None admit to having ever seen this woman and no evidence of her exists. Lo turns detective, determined to find justice for the phantom deceased. Can she prove her truth, or is Lo in way over her head?

The story started off a bit slow for me, and I just wasn’t feeling Lo. I understand her behaviours influenced by the burglary, but at other times she just acted lost, indecisive, or hysterical, and a few times, I dare say, whiny. At one point I wondered how on Earth she’d gotten the job as a journalist. Things did pick after the first third of the book, and I really got into her efforts to find evidence of this mystery woman. I was surprised at the final outcome. It wasn’t quite what I expected. And Lo did change for the better by the end. A lovely read! Recommended!

***This book was purchased for my own pleasure, with no expectation of a review.