Ruth Ware
Author of The Woman in Cabin 10
About the Author
Ruth Ware grew up in Lewes, in Sussex. After graduating from Manchester University she moved to Paris, before settling in North London. She has worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language and a press officer. In a Dark, Dark Wood is her début thriller. Ruth's show more second novel, The Woman in Cabin 10, became a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Ruth Ware at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on July 17, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario
Series
Works by Ruth Ware
We Will Be Watching 5 copies
L'heure tourne - Nouveauté Ruth Ware 2025 - Autrice de La Disparue de la cabine n°10 adapté en film sur Netflix (2025) 2 copies
Associated Works
Murder in Harrogate: Stories Inspired by the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (2024) — Contributor — 11 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1977
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Manchester University
- Occupations
- waitress
bookseller
press officer - Agent
- Eve White
- Short biography
- Ruth Ware (born 1977), alias for Ruth Warburton, is a British psychological crime thriller author. Her novels include In a Dark, Dark Wood (2015), The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016), The Lying Game (2017) and The Death of Mrs Westaway (2018). Both In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10 were on the U.K.'s Sunday Times and The New York Times top ten bestseller lists. She is represented by Eve White of the Eve White Literary Agency. She switched to Ruth Ware to distinguish her crime novels from the young adult fantasy novels published under her name, Ruth Warburton.
Ruth Ware was born in 1977 and grew up in Lewes. She studied English at Manchester University, where she developed a fascination with Old English and Middle English texts.
Before her writing career, Ware worked as a waitress, a bookseller and a publicist. She also spent time in Paris, teaching English as a foreign language.
Ware now lives near Brighton. - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- West Sussex, England, UK
- Places of residence
- West Sussex, England, UK
Paris, France
London, England, UK - Map Location
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware features a new-to-me type of protagonist. Laura Blacklock is a travel journalist invited to sail on the maiden voyage of boutique luxury liner Aurora. The cruise ship is headed to the Norwegian fjords to see the northern lights and Laura - who introduces herself as Lo - is on board to write an article about the journey.
After a few too many drinks over dinner with fellow guests on the first night, Lo sees a person being thrown overboard from the balcony next show more to hers, Cabin 10. The crew explain Cabin 10 is unoccupied due to a late guest cancellation and don't believe her account. The captain and owner of the ship conduct a full head count and confirm that every guest and crew member is accounted for. Nobody is missing.
An industry colleague - who happens to be Lo's ex boyfriend - suspects her anxiety medication might be to blame so Lo sets out to prove what she saw by putting her journalistic skills to work and investigating.
There was a little too much drinking on this work trip for my liking and I didn't like the nickname Lo, but they were minor niggles. There was a lot of time spent talking to crew members and trying to find the woman she saw in Cabin 10 the day she embarked and while I understand this was a necessary step in Lo's enquiries, it did grow a little tired. Thankfully the plot eventually moved on and the pace picked up again shortly after.
The isolation of the cruise ship at sea without phone signal or internet access created an Agatha Christie type scenario of sorts with a locked room mystery to solve. Only this time the characters were at sea although the isolated suspect pool was similar to that of One by One by Ruth Ware and I get the feeling the author loves to create these situational mysteries. The reader is left to decide if Lo is an unreliable witness or whether the woman in Cabin 10 did exist but was murdered and thrown overboard.
Published in 2016, I've seen comparisons to The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (published in 2015) however Lo was far less flawed than Rachel, making her a better protagonist capable of acting in her own best interests and furthering the plot in a more engaging way.
I recently watched the movie adaptation of The Woman in Cabin 10 starring Keira Knightley and Guy Pearce and definitely preferred the book. Understandably the movie cut out all the crew consultation but introduced new elements that just didn't happen in the book. One change gave characters a better motive, but that was the only improvement. I thought the ending of the novel was terrific and the 'last contact' between two main characters was an inspired choice by the author, completely absent from the movie. Overall, the book contained more danger and suspense making it far more entertaining and confirming the maxim that the book is always better.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is recommended for readers who enjoy mystery and crime thrillers and the sequel - The Woman in Suite 11 - has just been published. Guess what I'll be reading and reviewing next? show less
After a few too many drinks over dinner with fellow guests on the first night, Lo sees a person being thrown overboard from the balcony next show more to hers, Cabin 10. The crew explain Cabin 10 is unoccupied due to a late guest cancellation and don't believe her account. The captain and owner of the ship conduct a full head count and confirm that every guest and crew member is accounted for. Nobody is missing.
An industry colleague - who happens to be Lo's ex boyfriend - suspects her anxiety medication might be to blame so Lo sets out to prove what she saw by putting her journalistic skills to work and investigating.
There was a little too much drinking on this work trip for my liking and I didn't like the nickname Lo, but they were minor niggles. There was a lot of time spent talking to crew members and trying to find the woman she saw in Cabin 10 the day she embarked and while I understand this was a necessary step in Lo's enquiries, it did grow a little tired. Thankfully the plot eventually moved on and the pace picked up again shortly after.
The isolation of the cruise ship at sea without phone signal or internet access created an Agatha Christie type scenario of sorts with a locked room mystery to solve. Only this time the characters were at sea although the isolated suspect pool was similar to that of One by One by Ruth Ware and I get the feeling the author loves to create these situational mysteries. The reader is left to decide if Lo is an unreliable witness or whether the woman in Cabin 10 did exist but was murdered and thrown overboard.
Published in 2016, I've seen comparisons to The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (published in 2015) however Lo was far less flawed than Rachel, making her a better protagonist capable of acting in her own best interests and furthering the plot in a more engaging way.
I recently watched the movie adaptation of The Woman in Cabin 10 starring Keira Knightley and Guy Pearce and definitely preferred the book. Understandably the movie cut out all the crew consultation but introduced new elements that just didn't happen in the book. One change gave characters a better motive, but that was the only improvement. I thought the ending of the novel was terrific and the 'last contact' between two main characters was an inspired choice by the author, completely absent from the movie. Overall, the book contained more danger and suspense making it far more entertaining and confirming the maxim that the book is always better.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is recommended for readers who enjoy mystery and crime thrillers and the sequel - The Woman in Suite 11 - has just been published. Guess what I'll be reading and reviewing next? show less
First, I want to point out that stunning Gothic book cover: bleak foggy weather, black iron gate, and menacing magpies looming overhead... It fits this dark, atmospheric tale perfectly!
Harriet Westaway, who goes by Hal, ekes out a living as a tarot card reader on the pier in Brighton. Hal is alone in the world, and life is a struggle, especially during the off-season when clients are scarce.
Things are pretty bad for Hal, until one day she receives a letter telling her that she's been named show more as a beneficiary in her grandmother's will. However, the deceased Mrs. Westaway isn't her grandmother - but does that really have to matter?
Hal thinks that maybe her years of reading tarot cards will help her pull off a grand deception and walk away with the inheritance money. So, she's off to Mrs. Westaway's creepy ramshackle estate and the dark secrets hidden there...
This was an eerie, suspenseful, and well-written Gothic mystery. I could definitely see influences from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (which I loved). I enjoyed trying to figure out how Hal's puzzle piece fit in with this haunted family. The sinister atmosphere and delicious twists kept me glued to the pages.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. show less
Harriet Westaway, who goes by Hal, ekes out a living as a tarot card reader on the pier in Brighton. Hal is alone in the world, and life is a struggle, especially during the off-season when clients are scarce.
Things are pretty bad for Hal, until one day she receives a letter telling her that she's been named show more as a beneficiary in her grandmother's will. However, the deceased Mrs. Westaway isn't her grandmother - but does that really have to matter?
Hal thinks that maybe her years of reading tarot cards will help her pull off a grand deception and walk away with the inheritance money. So, she's off to Mrs. Westaway's creepy ramshackle estate and the dark secrets hidden there...
This was an eerie, suspenseful, and well-written Gothic mystery. I could definitely see influences from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (which I loved). I enjoyed trying to figure out how Hal's puzzle piece fit in with this haunted family. The sinister atmosphere and delicious twists kept me glued to the pages.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. show less
Rowan applies for what seemed like it should be her dream job but like the old adage' if it is too good to be true...' she quickly discovers that it isn't quite what she expected - it is in a remote area of Scotland; all past nannies, and there seem to have been many, quit after a very short period of time; there are rumours of ghosts; the children seem to take an immediate dislike to her; and the house is part old rundown Victorian replete with a poison garden and part modern 'smart' house. show more Still, the pay is amazing so she accepts when it is offered to her. Problems quickly arise with her attempts to navigate the 'smart' house and the fact that, almost immediately, the parents leave for a business trip - that and the odd sounds that interrupt her sleep every night. When one of the children dies, Rowan is the only suspect and is arrested.
Damn, author Ruth Ware really knows how to ramp up the tension in her latest, The Turn of the Key. Like the house, the story is kind of a hybrid of psychological thriller and gothic novel. It is hard not to make comparisons to Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier and, of course, Henry James especally in the title but this is not a criticism - it is definitely more homage than copy. Like the house, the story is a kind of psychological thriller/ gothic hybrid and much like early gothic novels, it is written as an epistolary narrative - Rowan gives her version of events in a letter to a lawyer and there are reasons to suspect she is an unreliable narrator. We only learn what really happened in letters she receives while in prison.
The book is full of twists and turns keeping the reader tied to the page. It is also creepy enough that said reader might want to put it down before dark. My only complaint and why I deducted half a star was the reveal near the end but it wasn't enough to interfere with my enjoyment of the book. A definite high recommendation for anyone who loves to be completely sucked into a thriller with strong touches of gothic.
Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Gallery/Scout Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less
Damn, author Ruth Ware really knows how to ramp up the tension in her latest, The Turn of the Key. Like the house, the story is kind of a hybrid of psychological thriller and gothic novel. It is hard not to make comparisons to Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier and, of course, Henry James especally in the title but this is not a criticism - it is definitely more homage than copy. Like the house, the story is a kind of psychological thriller/ gothic hybrid and much like early gothic novels, it is written as an epistolary narrative - Rowan gives her version of events in a letter to a lawyer and there are reasons to suspect she is an unreliable narrator. We only learn what really happened in letters she receives while in prison.
The book is full of twists and turns keeping the reader tied to the page. It is also creepy enough that said reader might want to put it down before dark. My only complaint and why I deducted half a star was the reveal near the end but it wasn't enough to interfere with my enjoyment of the book. A definite high recommendation for anyone who loves to be completely sucked into a thriller with strong touches of gothic.
Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Gallery/Scout Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less
The streaming app, "Snoop", is devastatingly successful, and the company is on the edge of a major buyout, that is, if the shareholders vote to do this. The founders, Topher and Eva, are torn, and the other three shareholders are being courted to encourage them to a choose side. Most of the pressure falls on Liz, an awkward individual when compared with the glamorous, beautiful people who head up this company. Though she doesn't work directly for Snoop anymore, Liz is included in the show more leadership retreat: It's her and eight other board members at a lush, remote French ski chalet for a little skiing, a little more pampering, and quiet a lot of back-biting business talk. Erin and Danny, the caretakers of the resort, notice all the tensions among the members of the group right away, but overall, it seems like just another wealthy, entitled corporate gathering. Meanwhile the weather on the mountain has grown increasingly dangerous, and then nine people go out to ski and....you guessed it... only eight returns. Fear and suspicion start to rear their ugly heads. Then we have an avalanche that cuts the chalet off from the rest of the world...no contact with the outside world whatsoever. Then another member of the group dies...this time it appears to be from poison, and then another one is murdered because of something she saw. The survivors split up to search for help before there's no one left. The story is mostly told in alternating chapters expressing Liz's and Erin’s point of view, Ruth Ware does what she does best...sets the stage for a "locked door" mystery and lets the tension and suspicion simmer and marinate until they reach the boiling point. While the reader will discover that the solution is maddeningly simple...the construction is nothing short of masterful. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 30
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 34,127
- Popularity
- #558
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
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- ISBNs
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- Languages
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- Favorited
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