Most of Ruth Ware’s books are total page-turners, but Zero Days takes it up several notches. This is the kind of book that will have your heart racing from start to end. It’s fast-paced, the stakes are high, and our main character Jack has to endure a lot to find the truth behind her husband’s murder.

One of my favorite things about Zero Days is how tough, capable, and determined Jack is. Through her years of working as a pen tester, she’s developed the skills she’ll need to unravel this complicated mystery. Seeing her break out of a police station, sneak into a giant company during working hours, and break into a rather secure home demonstrate her out-of-the-box thinking and dexterity. I certainly couldn’t do half of what she does!

There aren’t many suspects to work with at first, leaving Jack at a loss for next steps. She also has more to think about than simply finding the real culprit: First of all, she’s a fugitive and doing what she can to not get caught by the police—everything from disguising herself to getting around without access to her credit cards. These constraints get in the way and force her to get creative. On top of that, Jack is injured throughout all of this, not only slowing her down, but putting her life at greater risk with each passing day.

Zero Days, as the name might suggest, is very technological and modern. This gets into the dark web, hackers, and more. I thought I wouldn’t like this, and worried it might go over my head. But in Ruth Ware’s capable hands, this actually turned out to be a fascinating and engrossing novel! It was still easy to follow (though I am a “digital native,” so most of these terms and concepts were familiar, even if my web skills aren’t quite up to Gabe’s levels).

This book gets rather emotional, as Jack is actively grieving the loss of her husband. But it also shows how complete strangers can be kind and justice can be served. There’s a certain desperation in Jack throughout the book, and a nothing-left-to-lose attitude starts to seep in, but she’s tenacious.

I did suspect certain people and events, and I was proven right about at least a few of them, but I enjoyed the whole journey to get there. I also loved the pen tester angle (super original!) and how it gave Jack a unique strength during the whole nightmarish ordeal.

Zero Days is smart, emotional, and super fast-paced. I was rooting for Jack the whole time and loved watching her work with what she had despite the odds stacked against her. This is a thriller not to be missed, and as much as I love all of Ruth Ware’s books, this is certainly among her best.

Thanks NetGalley,

I want to start by stating that this was not what I expected from Ware. I have read everything she has ever written, and this was a bit different. I'm not going to lie I didn't even read the description because I love the author and I wasn't sure I would like it from the beginning because techy espionage is not really my jam but I am so glad I stuck with it. I would definitely recommend this to my patrons and friends.

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.

Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery.

I appreciated getting an ARC for this book by Ruth Ware.

Unfortunately, this just didn't feel like Ware wrote it. It didn't have the same descriptions and characters I've grown to enjoy. I expected an atmospheric book with unique twists and turns. This felt way too straight forward and too "on the run" for me. I didn't need the vivid descriptions to be about Jack's gross injuries. I would have preferred it being about gothic places or characters. Also it's pretty easy to figure out the end when you only meet or hear about a few characters throughout the story.

Fast paced thriller set in the security world. Jack and Gabe are a married couple that have worked well together since day 1. Then their worlds are shattered and the wrong person is accused. Who can be trusted and who is really working on the other side?

Not among Ware’s best, but it’s very reliably what you want from her. Tense, twisty, and kept me glued to the pages right up to the end.

I am a long time fan of Ruth Ware, reading almost all of her novels, and this one just didn't throw the same kind of punch as most of the others. Her writing in the past has been so engaging that I flew through her books not being able to stand to wait to see what happens. Gobbling up the details that build to the big finish is what sent me straight to NetGalley when I heard she had a new novel coming out.
Zero Days though, this one just didn't have the pull for me. A madly in love couple, a murder, a false accusation...there is your first chapter. A woman on the run, determined to find answers and gets hurt in an escape, there is your second chapter. Then the rest of the book is running running running, change the bandage, it hurts, it's infected, gasp! This is harsh I know, but the repetitive narrative was too much. The last chapter or two did wrap up in some new excitement which I appreciated, and the epilogue was a pleasant surprise.
Overall, it's a three star for me, and I thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this pre-publication edition in exchange for an honest review!

What a great ride!

I think this book works best if you don't know anything about it going in, that way the first few twists really reel you in. I was immediately team Jack all the way, and wondering how she was going to figure everything out. The amount of near misses certainly kept me turning the pages. I think who is behind things was a bit predictable, but only because of the low number of characters you really are introduced to. I liked that it reads completely different than some of Ware's other thrillers, and from most I've read. I will go to town for a smart female MC skirting the law and bad guys every time.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3/5. This was a fast paced thriller that was enjoyable as long as you didn’t think too terribly hard. Fans of Ruth Ware will enjoy, but this in my opinion was not one of her strongest works.

This was a fast paced novel that didn't get bogged down in minute details. I enjoyed this page turner and its ultimate resolution. Any computer or hacking terminology was explained in a way that felt very natural. And the love story of Jack and Gabe felt very genuine. Overall a fun read.

⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙈𝙧. 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙧𝙨. 𝙎𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙪𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙’𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙧.

📍 Read if you like:
• Whodunit Stories
• Quick Reads
• Spy Books
• Fugitive Vibes

I am extremely disappointed by Ruth Ware’s upcoming release. It was one of my most anticipated reads, but unfortunately, I didn’t love this book. It kills me to give a Ware book a two-star, but this is my least favorite of her books.

This follows a “Fugitive” kind of vibe to it. It follows Jacintha/Jack and her husband, Gabe, who are both pen testers (hackers). While one of her jobs fails, Jack is removed from the building by security. Unfortunately, she has no idea where her husband is.

When she returns home, she finds her husband murdered. The murder weapon, a knife, only has Jack’s fingerprints so she becomes the primary suspect.

Jack is determined to clear her name and solve her husband’s murder, but unfortunately, she must be on the run at the moment - hence The Fugitive.

I didn’t really read the synopsis of this book beforehand. I just wanted to read it because it was Ruth Ware.

This definitely was a fast-paced thriller. I flew through it, regardless if I wasn’t enjoying it. There’s sort of a spy aspect to it, which I didn’t particularly love.

However, the story got so repetitive and I honestly didn’t care too much to see where it would go. Usually, I’m terrible at guessing endings, but it was quite obvious who the killer was from very early on.

Jack’s character was very frustrating at times. Some of the decisions she made were avoidable. I understood she was grieving from her husband’s death, but there was never a point in the story where I related to her.

The ending wasn’t very satisfying. After reading the entire story I felt a bit underwhelmed with the direction the book went.

As of now, I’ve seen so many great things about this book. It is Ruth Ware so I’m not too surprised, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. I wish I could’ve loved it, but the story just wasn’t for me.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Gallery/Scout for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

It isn’t my favorite Ruth Ware. It feels like a different genre altogether than her other books. Less thriller, almost all action.

That being said, I felt the writing wasn’t her best. The amount of times she referred to her husband being dead or describing the wound she had, it got to be repetitive. I wasn’t invested in the main character or the plot. The reveal was somewhat early but I had to push on to finish the book.

Luckily it wasn’t too long in length so it didn’t take a great deal of time to finish. All in all, it was a clever idea but it didn’t quite pan out.

Zero Days by Ruth Ware is an action-packed story about a woman’s journey to prove her innocence.

Ruth Ware is known for her locked-room style mysteries, similar to Agatha Christie stories. They’re full of tension, intrigue with a bit of psychological thriller components thrown in the mix. That said, Zero Days takes on a different format. While it’s still a thriller and a mystery, it’s told more in the style of an action film. It’s a new take on The Fugitive type storyline.

I liked it! I honestly thought it was a refreshing change. I don’t tend to read action stories like this often but it was entertaining. I kept thinking this is the perfect book to read on a flight.

Zero Days by Ruth Ware is described as a "thriller that combines Mr. and Mrs. Smith with The Fugitive." I think that's a pretty good description, except Mr. Smith dies in the opening chapters. And Mrs. Smith has to clear her name and figure out who killed her husband. This book was definitely action=packed, but I found it a little hard to believe at times. Still a fun read though. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

This book kept me wanting more and asking what was going to happen. The only difference between 4 and 5 stars was that there were a few things that I guessed were going to happen. Even with those the book kept my attention the entire time. This book is well written with only a few minor errors throughout. I would definitely recommend this book.

I liked Zero Days, it was fast paced/action packed right from the start. While the book centers around a lot of technical jargon of a Penetration Tester/White Hat Hacker it is well explained and very consumable. It becomes a bit of a detective drama/murder mystery/who-done-it, but very much in a good way. I found some annoyance with a protagonist’s actions at times, but I think that may be part of the intended flow and drama of the story. It was a very quick read, one of those can’t put it down summer books. I haven’t read other books by Ruth Ware, but I may pick up a couple as this book was quite enjoyable.

Please note, I received an ARC copy of this book for review from NetGalley, but that never influences my honest reviews of books or authors.

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books, and Ruth Ware for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

I was excited to read this thriller from Ruth Ware, but it didn't quite live up to the standard of other books of hers that I've read. Jack (Jacinda) going on the run because the police don't believe that she didn't murder her husband was thrilling, along with the fact that she has to figure out who did murder her husband; however, there was quite a bit of repetition.

Definitely a good vacation read, but not necessarily in my top favorites of Ruth Ware.

I have read most, if not all of Ruth Ware’s books and loved them to various degrees, but I think this was my favorite. I loved the start, where Gabe and Jack were doing the “pen test”, where she gets into a business to try to expose their weaknesses, and he is in her ear, guiding her through it. He is the hacker and computer expert while she is the physical presence, to break and enter and to place whatever computer hacking devices are necessary for the tests. As a couple, they are hired by the business in question to expose any sources of security weaknesses.
The book starts with a bang as Jack gets caught and arrested and then goes on from there. One plot twist after another, with Jack on the run and ill due to an untreated wound from hopping a wall and puncturing her abdomen.
Who can she trust? Who can she turn to for help? How long can she remain on the run from the law before they capture her or she becomes too ill to go on? Will she discover who is behind the reasons for all the events that occur?
This book kept me up too late and was entertaining as all of Ware’s books are. I enjoyed the connection between the criminal world and the digital world. I learned some things in the process of reading this. I never knew what pen tests were or what zero days meant in this context. I think my only critique was that I figured parts of the story out before they happened, which is probably more reflective of my own experience with this genre than anything actually related to the writing or this book.
Highly recommend for those thriller readers who want a compelling summer read and those Ruth Ware readers. Don’t miss this one!
#ZeroDays #NetGalley #GalleryBooks

With strong Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibes, ZERO DAYS was an exhilarating ride. The plot and pacing felt a bit different from Ruth Ware's typical slow burn formula but I appreciate that she attempted to try something new. It's exciting to watch an author evolve and not be pigeon-holed into a certain type of mystery/thriller. I have found Ware's previous books to be a bit more compelling but I like her boldness to try something original. I'll continue to read anything she writes!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review,

I'm sorry to say that this book just didn't work for me. I had recently wondered, after listening to several of Ware's audiobooks, how much of my enjoyment of them was down to Imogen Church's narration considering that the plots were always pretty formulaic and it was clear almost immediately who the bad guy was. And yet still, her books somehow kept me coming back for more.

This one really suffered without the benefit of Church's voice to get me invested in the characters and story. And frankly, it just wasn't that interesting a story. Jacinda (Jack) Cross comes home from work to find her husband dead in front of his computer, but soon the police are asking a lot of questions and it becomes clear Jack is being framed for his murder. She goes on the run, desperate to connect the dots and find her husband's killer. But will they find her first?

This book was slooooow. Not a lot happens other than Jack's internal monologue trying to parse through the clues (she's all alone, which I get, but it was hard not to get tired of it all being in her head), and extended descriptions of an injury she gets along the way and just how much pain she's in (which got repetitive and boring very quickly). Jack wasn't an interesting enough character to carry the book by herself, and there just wasn't enough of anyone else. Her husband was a hacker so there's a lot of tedious descriptions of app patches, coding, exploits, etc. that filled up space but didn't add much for me.

Now, on the plus side, the book tossed in a little twist right at the end that I wasn't expecting. So Ware still has it in her to be surprising. And it's entirely possible that the published copy will go through a few more rounds of revisions and flesh out the story a little more. But as is, this one was a miss for me. Having said that, I'll still probably check out future efforts by this author...I just might stick with the audiobooks.

**Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!**

This was not my first Ruth Ware novel and this certainly won’t be the last Ruth Ware novel that I read but it does not rank amongst her strongest works. “Zero Days” is essentially a “fugitive on the run” story with a central mystery that is exposed two-thirds of the way through the novel. That being said, the storytelling is propulsive and the novel keeps you engaged throughout. I was hopeful for an ending would produce a more satisfying reveal as this is something that I highly value in fiction. Ware’s other works had a bit more “punch” when it came to driving the narrative to the very end of the book. I am looking forward to what Ware writes next as I still consider her to be a formidable writer with consistently engaging stories.