The Woman in Suite 11

The Woman in Suite 11, Ruth Ware, author; Imogen Church, narrator
Ruth Ware has written a sequel to her best seller The Woman in Cabin 10. Many of the characters have returned in this book, chief among them is Carrie, and the love/hate relationship between Laura/Lo Blacklock and Carrie continues. However, where the first book was an edge of the seat, page turning experience, this was a chore to get through. Laura Blacklock has become a whiny, cursing, naïve woman who makes a wrong decision at every opportunity. She has not matured over the last decade, although she has married and now has two children.
When she is invited to a travel conference at a new hotel in Switzerland, by the Leidmann Group, she goes off to Europe hoping to show more interview Marcus Leidmann, the patriarch, a man with a Howard Hughes reputation for reclusiveness. She is only just returning to the world of travel journalism and the Financial Times has offered her a byline if she can score the interview and produce a worthwhile piece. She is hoping to restart her career. She leaves her husband Judah in charge of her two small children, Eli and Teddy, and reenters the corporate world with some trepidation, but also excitement.
Once in Switzerland at the Hotel du Lac, she discovers many of the passengers from the Aurora Borealis are also there. She was almost killed on that ship, about a decade ago, and her memories are still alive and well, causing her to have violent nightmares and to require medication. Then, surprise, surprise, she is summoned to Marcus Leidmann’s suite and discovers Carrie is there. She agrees to help Carrie escape from the clutches of Marcus Leidmann, because after Carrie almost got her killed so many years ago, she had come back to ultimately save her life. Carrie now confesses that she has been with Marcus for years and has been forced to do things that are horrible and has no way out without her help. He is powerful and has threatened her if she leaves him. Having dual citizenship allows Lo to have two passports, one of which she loans to Carrie. Carrie has thought it all out, and soon, they both flee the hotel. The fact that Lo realizes it is a foolish and dangerous thing to do, but rationalizes it to herself, does not excuse her foolish complicity. It stretches credibility to believe that a woman who has been a successful journalist, who already survived an attempt on her life brought on by the very Carrie, would endanger her own life again, now as a mother and wife, with a scheme designed by Carrie that was supposed to give her plausible deniability and keep her safe. To help Carrie escape from the clutches of Marcus Leidmann, she could wind up in danger again or in prison herself. Carrie is already wanted for murder and has been hiding since their last encounter.
One must suspend disbelief in order to believe that Lo could be that naïve and/or incompetent. One has to suspend disbelief for most of the events that follow. This book is not an edge of the seat thriller at all. This book is a painful, unsatisfying effort that forces the reader to endure constant cursing (I lost count of how many times the “F” word was used in some form by so many of the characters), constant whining, apologies that fall on ears that should be deaf, but aren’t, and immature and thoughtless responses to dangerous and impossible situations that seem to come up at every turn.
This book is overly dramatic, overly emotional, repetitive and unrealistic. After about 16 hours of listening, I realized that I should have stopped early on, as I wanted to, but I hoped it would improve. Unfortunately, it got more outrageous, and for me, it had few redeeming features other than the narrator who was superb, though she too often over emoted because of the nature of the verbiage. This is billed as book two, and obviously, the door seems to have been left open for another to follow. Although I really eagerly awaited this one, I am not sure that the next one will tempt me. The characters were caricatures of themselves! show less

A decade has gone past since the events in "The Woman in Cabin 10". Lo is now married with two children, but she longs to work as a travel journalist again. When she is invited to the opening of a luxurious hotel in Switzerland, it seems like it's her chance to get into the game again, especially as she might be able to secure an interview with an elderly tycoon who usually is utterly secretive. Once she has arrived at the hotel, though, she meets several people from her past, and things start to get strange.

Ruth Ware's style is effortless and easy to read without being simplistic, and that is what kind of saved this book. I liked the narrative voice. The plot itself was getting on my nerves, and the novel was a slog over long show more stretches, despite some surprising twists. It was hard for me to emphasize with Lo because her actions are so naive and I just wanted to shout at her.
I still wanted to know how it ended and there were some good scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat, but still, this does not compare at all to the first book and I wish it was much better. show less

Ten years after the traumatic events on the cruise ship Aurora, Lo Blacklock is a stay-at-home mum of two in New York, married to Judah, and desperate to restart her journalism career. When an invitation arrives to the press opening of Le Grand Hotel du Lac — a stunning luxury chateau on Lake Geneva owned by reclusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann — she jumps at it, pitching an exclusive interview with Leidmann to the Financial Times. But from the moment she arrives, things feel off. Bizarrely, three other guests who were on the Aurora ten years ago are also in attendance. Then she finds a note in her room: come to Suite 11. It's Carrie — the woman who imprisoned Lo on the ship but also ultimately saved her life — now living as show more Leidmann's mistress and claiming he's abusive and dangerous. She begs Lo for help escaping. Lo, despite every sensible instinct, gets involved. Marcus is found dead. Lo becomes a suspect. What follows is a cat-and-mouse chase across Europe toward England. Ruth Ware's first ever sequel, timed to coincide with the Netflix adaptation of The Woman in Cabin 10 starring Keira Knightley as Lo. Reviewed as fast and propulsive in the final third, but slower to start than Ware's best standalones.

[May contain spoilers]
Carrie has been orchestrating things from the start — she kills Marcus and Lo ends up careening across Europe partially trying to help her and partially trying to clear her own name. The twists come fast in the final act, possibly one or two too many according to some reviewers. Lo ends up in serious legal jeopardy before things resolve. The consensus is that it's a fun, propulsive page-turner but not quite as atmospheric or gripping as the original — the mystery is slightly less elegant, and Lo makes some frustratingly naive decisions that strain credibility given everything she supposedly learned ten years ago.
What I think: You'd probably enjoy the ride — it's compulsively readable especially in the back half, and the Lake Geneva setting is lush. But as a sequel it might feel like a slight step down if you loved Cabin 10. show less

Ruth Ware has been a summer porch staple for me for years. Unfortunately, it was too hot to sit on the porch this year. When I picked up the book and opened the front door, I was met with a blast furnace. The thermometer is at a solid 98 °F (36.67 °C). I believe I'll stay on the couch with the cat, thanks.

The book was fine on other, cooler days. It's full of easy to guess twists and turns. Lo is back and just as over-excitable as I remember her in The Woman in Cabin 10. Not the brightest bulb, but she's not the dimmest. She is kind and forgiving. She's far too trusting, which can get cringe inducing at times. Mostly, Lo is likeable.

Ware has surrounded her with a cast of good guys and bad guys. There's a switch-up in the settings show more midway. The first part of the book is deluxe, the latter not so much.

Anyway, it's a fun, easy read. Just what I needed. With a big dish of ice cream. show less

I read THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 when it came out nine years ago, and it remains one of my favorite thrillers of hers. I still remember it being wild, nerve-wracking, and so much fun. That said, I don't think it really needed a sequel. I found the follow-up to be just ok. A good mystery, for sure, but not nearly as thrilling as the original. Lo was so naive and made some silly decisions! No maturity after nearly a decade? I was also bummed that so little time was spent at that amazing Swiss hotel. There were some entertaining moments, but I think it would have been better redone as its own thing. Maybe just too much time has passed since the fjords of Norway.

Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for a digital copy of this book. Opinions show more are my own. show less

I’ve read and enjoyed all of Ruth Ware’s books. Her latest is The Woman in Suite 11. This book is a follow up to The Woman in Cabin 10 with character Lo Blacklock. If you have read Cabin, you’re all set. If you’ve not read Cabin, you’ll have to make a choice as you would find out all the answers from 10 in this book. Sorry, I hope that makes sense!

Lo has all of the of the things she wanted - husband, kids, and home. It’s time to go back to work. When she receives an invitation to cover the opening of a new hotel, she jumps at the opportunity. And is shocked when her past catches up to her present…

There’s a lot going on in the suspense filled plot and a mystery to be solved. There are a lot of twists and turns and I had show more to be on my toes. The direction of who, when and where changes quite often. There were a few things that I just thought were awkward. Not sure why Mom and her ankle were even in the book. Nobody goes to see her.

This one is not one of my favourite Ware books, but I do like the author's work so I will happily pick up her next book. show less

It’s suspenseful, fast-paced, and a pretty good sequel to “The Woman in Cabin 10”!

📞 For Fans of:
- international thriller
- interconnected series
- on the run
- suspense
- thriller
- fast paced

✏️ Spoiler-Free Review
This book picks up 10 years after “The Woman in Cabin 10” when main character, Lo Blackwood, is invited to preview a hotel as she returns to the travel writer scene. However, when she gets there there are people she recognizes… a lot of people… from the Aurora ship, the cruise ship that changed her life 10 years ago. But why? And when someone asks her for help, can she pull it off?

I really enjoyed the suspense and build up of this story and it was so relatable and fast-paced that I was *almost* able to look show more past the incredulity of how incredibly stupid the main character can be. I wanted to call her stupid but would probably have done everything the exact same way that she did. I think that’s why I actually enjoyed this book as much as I did. Even though the main character makes some dumb mistakes, reading this book right after the first book made all the emotional decisions make sense.

📚 Book: The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware
⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5
✅ I would recommend to anyone who read The Woman in Cabin 10! Enjoyable as a back-to-back read! show less