Zero Days by Ruth Ware

Jack and her husband, Gabe, are penetrations specialists and they love their career choice. Gabe handles the IT part of the job while Jack is the feet on the ground (or body in the ceiling), honing her strength and endurance to get her into and out of the most physically demanding situations. The entire time she has Gabe in her ear, advising her and admonishing her as she does the pen test but often pushing the line on what she can successfully get away with. The risk is part of the adrenalin rush for Jack, part of the fun of the job.

Their last assignment was going to plan until it all fell apart and Jack finds herself in trouble. Gabe usually shows their "get out of jail" card proving they were actually hired to test a company's security system but this time Jack can't get Gabe on the phone. This never happens, Gabe is always available, never leaves Jack hanging at the end of a job. When Jack gets home she finds out why Gabe never answered the phone. He's dead!

And that is when Jack really sent my blood pressure rocketing. It's one thing to take risks on a job where you are being paid to do what you are doing. Once Jack finds Gabe murdered, during the police investigation she realizes that she's the prime suspect. With her in the investigators' sights, they don't have a reason to look for who really murdered Gabe, especially when some very incriminating evidence is discovered. Now Jack needs to use her penetration skills and physical prowess to find out who really killed Gabe.

I can't really relate to Jack. So often she knows she shouldn't do something, then impulsively does it, and then frets about how she shouldn't have done that. Other times she freezes at the worst moments, making everything worse. In fact, Jack is really good at making things worse. I have no idea what I would do in Jack's situation but I do know I wouldn't do what she does. Still, it was interesting watching her work from my own safe spot in life. Every time I thought things couldn't get worse, they get worse.

I wish we could have seen more of Jack's sister, Hel, and her precocious 4 year old twin girls. I can see I missed out on a lot of body emission verbiage by not having kids. My gosh, how to parents do it!

Thank you to Gallery Books, Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Ruth Ware is a favorite author for me, and I was so pleased to receive the arc for her latest novel, Zero Days. I really enjoyed this one. It had a different feel than some of her other books, but I was hooked from the very beginning. The pacing was great and the characters were interesting. As I read this, I kept seeing it play like a movie in my head. This would be a fantastic adaptation to screen. It carried with it so many emotions, and you really feel for the lead character, Jack. This was such a fast paced read, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Don't miss this one!

4.25 adrenaline stars

Ruth Ware consistently delivers for me! This one is a contemporary thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. Jack and her husband are security testing experts, hired by companies to find their weaknesses. The book opens as Jack is breaking into a building guided by her husband at home hacking in on the computer. When Jack finally makes it home, she discovers that her husband has been murdered.

Jack struggles to put her timeline together that evening for the police and she becomes their chief suspect. Forced to go on the run, she is determined to find her husband’s killer before they find her.

A cat-and-mouse game with lots of technology ensues as Jack races around London and escapes some near catastrophes. I loved her sister in this one.

I did predict some of the outcomes in this one, but I definitely enjoyed the thrill ride. I thought the ending was perfect too. Maybe MI6 has a new recruit?

I normally love Ruth Ware, but this one just didn’t hit home with me. The tech aspect and the characters just didn’t develop enough with me to enjoy.

One by One was the first Ware novel I found contrived, and the first one I didn't finish. So I'm pleased to be able to say that I finished Zero Days, which is pretty darn terrific.

Jack and Gabe make their living as professional hackers, hired by companies to test security measures already in place. When Gabe is murdered and Jack framed for it, she knows the police will take the easy route and not even pursue the truth. she takes off before she can be arrested and is determined to find the truth even it costs her her own life. Fast paced with lots of action, suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. Ruth Ware is one of the authors that got me really into domestic thrillers. Then The It Girl happened and it was so bad. I was afraid she had lost it. The description for this one sounded completely different than anything else she has written and it really delivered. It is a fun, light spy thriller. It reminded me of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, True Lies, and had Janet Evanovich vibes. All in all a welcome departure.

I am a huge Ruth Ware fan so was very excited to read her new book!!

What I loved about Zero Days:
1. The premise - a couple tests the security of companies - both physical and technical!
2. It was fast paced and you turned the pages quickly to see what was going to happen next!
3. Loved the title and how it worked with the format of the book!

What I wanted to be different:
1. Jack (our main character) seemed to strong to be true - both physically and emotionally.
2. Killer was obvious and that was kind of sad.
3. Wasn't my favorite of her books but still love her as an author and will look forward to reading her books in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books, Gallery/Scout Press for sharing this page-turning copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Expected publication date: June 20, 2023

Always clever and erudite, Ruth Ware returns with another installment in her unputdownable run as one of today's best thriller authors. I can't recommend this book highly enough. You would think Ms. Ware would have run out of ideas or tricks up her sleeve to make her highly addictive books interesting...but let me assure you, she hasn't. I couldn't put this one down until I had read the very last page. Anyone would enjoy this novel (or any of her books), so I repeatedly recommend them to all wholeheartedly! Especially this one. In fact, I think this might be one of my favorites!! Run and get this for yourself!

This technothriller is a bit of a departure for Ware, considered by many to be a modern Agatha Christie. While the action propels the reader, rather than the twisty whodunits of Ware's previous works, Zero Days reads more like Brad Thor or the works of other modern thrillers.

Ruth Ware has written more HITS than MISSES for me, but this wasn’t a favorite.

Known for her Agatha Christie style “locked room” mysteries, my PAST reviews for her books have often used the words, “GOTHIC SUSPENSE”, “ATMOSPHERIC” and “DARK”.

And, NONE of those words apply here.

This book is a complete departure from her usual work-a pure “adrenaline-fueled” thriller-which just doesn’t fit my PERSONAL taste.

Jacintha (Jack) Cross does the “Mission Impossible” type break-ins, aided by her husband, Gabe Medway who is a digital security expert and “hacktivist”. They are “Penetration Specialists” hired by companies to evaluate their security and expose weaknesses.

After a routine assignment hits a snag, Jack returns home to find that Gabe has been brutally murdered.

It turns out that Gabe has just acquired a “life insurance” policy which means that Gabe either feared for his life, or that someone else had applied for it under his name, to frame Jack.

Despite the fact that Jack suffered an injury that should be attended to at a hospital, she decides to RUN from Police, rather than cooperate-preferring to SOLVE the case on her own, and CLEAR their names.

For a woman with mad skills-she sure does make some questionable decisions!

I guessed the PERP early on, and I don’t personally enjoy the “FUGITIVE” trope. So, suffice to say, I missed the style of her previous work. If you enjoy “action movies” this will probably be a HIT for you!

Thank You to Gallery/Scout Press for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

Unfortunately this wasn't my favorite from Ruth Ware. I had a hard time believing the storyline and it was a lot of go, go, go. I'll continue to read/purchase her books, but this one didn't hit the mark for me.

This book had an interesting premise and character but failed to hold my attention. I thought I knew who did it and why about one-third through and only finished it to see if I was right. I was. The ending did not seem plausible to me either. Thrillers are not my favorite genre so maybe this would be better for others.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Ruth Ware for my copy of this book. This book is about Jacintha and Gabe, professional “pen testers” who are paid by companies to break in and test their security. Gabe controls the technology and Jack does the physical work of breaking in. One night after a routine assignment, Jack comes home to find her husband murdered. Not only is she devastated, but she quickly realizes that she is the police’s number one suspect. Instead of turning herself in, Jack goes on the run so she can figure out what happened to Gabe. She needs to find out who would want to hurt Gabe and who in her life can she really trust.

Thoughts: Zero Days was unlike any of Ruth Ware’s previous books. It read like a fast-paced spy novel or a female Jason Bourne. It was fun that the reader is not only looking for who could have committed the crime, but also why they did it. However, this book was not for me. It was frustrating that the characters were one dimensional and that their jobs replaced having a personality. There was SO much useless commentary in this book and it felt really repetitive. I found myself skipping forward just to get to something actually happening.

Jack made the worst decisions and frustrated me a lot. I appreciated that this book was about love and loss and grief, but that was such a big part of the story that not much else happened. If Jack didn’t care if she lived or died, as the reader, I didn’t care too much either. The reveal in this book was very obvious and the ending was cliche and unsatisfying. I love Ruth Ware’s writing, but unfortunately this was a miss for me. 2.5 stars.

This book started off strong, but I quickly grew tired of the constant running from someone, picking locks, jumping over things, etc. It felt like a lot of action but little plot. Gabe’s murderer was fairly obvious by halfway through the book. I ended up skimming the second half of the book just to get through it. I kept waiting for something to actually happen, but nothing did. I didn’t feel like any of the characters were really developed, resulting in no emotional attachment to any of them. I did like the technical aspects of Jack and Gabe’s job.

This was my first Ruth Ware book, so am now a bit leery of trying another one by this author.

I really enjoyed this one and would highly recommend this to any existing fan of Ware’s

I felt that in terms of background story, things were left a little too ambiguous. I could definitely see this as part of a series moving forward. I’ll be looking forward to the next book in line.

Although Zero Days started slow, it did pick up and I was completely dialed in to the plot at about the 20% mark. The story follows Jack who is trying to uncover who murdered her husband and why. When she realizes she is the one and only suspect, she goes on the run searching for answers . With lack of shelter and money, Jack struggles knowing who to trust and where to turn as she unravels the mystery. This novel contains quite a bit of "tech talk" and it could get in the way of the mystery at times. Also, Ware reveals the culprit less than 2/3 of the way through the book. There is a small, but satisfying twist at the end to look forward to.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books, Gallery/Scout Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Jack (Jacintha) and her partner (and husband) Gabe own a business where they try to penetrate building security both physically and online so that they can give the companies tips on how to improve. Jack is at a building doing the physical aspect of the security check (and hooking Gabe into the online aspect) when she is caught by security personnel. They don't believe her when she said she was hired to do the check since the company contact is not answering his phone, so the police take her into custody. Her former boyfriend (Jeff) is a police officer and when he finds out what is happening gets her freed. When she gets home to her house, she finds Gabe with a slit throat. Because she is in shock, she doesn't call the police immediately which leads them to question the timeline of her actions and before she know it she is a suspect. From there, Jack goes on the run and is nearly caught several times.

Despite figuring out who the bad guy was fairly early on, I did not know the motive immediately. The book had an action movie feel to it once Jack was on the run and I felt the author played fair with the mystery aspects of the story.

Working in IT, this book had everything I was looking for. Jack and Gabe work as pen testers, a job that requires them to break into companies and see if they can find weakness in the IT department. One of their tests doesn't go as planned, and because Jack was the one that physically went inside while Gabe did the leg work from the outer edges, when they can't reach the man that hired them Jack is taken to the police station.

When she is finally released she goes home, thinking that Gabe may not have been answering the phone due to being tired. Unfortunately, she finds her husband in a pool of blood with no signs or evidence pointing to an outside party. She is the only real person of interest. And before she can be arrested, she takes off to find out who killed her husband and to clear her name.

I wasn't totally shocked by the killers identity, but, the author has a great prose and keeps you turning page after page to see where the story will lead you. I really enjoyed this one.

Such an exciting read! I love all of Ruth Ware's novels and they just keep getting better and better.

This one starts out immediately with action as main character, Jack, is breaking into an office building. She's being lead by her husband, Gabe, via an earpiece as he navigates the buildings floor plan and security cameras. At this point we assume they are probably criminals, but most definitely likable ones. The action never stops from there. I couldn't put it down. Probably the most exciting read for me so far this year.