I really enjoyed this book by Ruth Ware. It seemed like it was a little different from her usual stories but I found it to be one of the best of hers that I’ve read, right up there with In a Dark Dark Wood. Loved Jack, her love for Gabe, and her devotion to finding out the truth about what happened to him.

This is probably my favorite of Ruth Ware's books that I've read. It was super compelling and fast-paced, and I could not put it down once I started reading it. I think I read about 90% of it in one sitting.

Jack and her husband Gabe are pentesters, meaning they test security systems. Until reading this book, I did not know was a thing, but it sounds like a pretty interesting career. One night after a job, Jack comes home to find Gabe dead, and from there, everything goes bonkers.

Jack immediately becomes the main suspect, but then somehow manages to not only sneak out of the police station while being interviewed but also evade police for days in order to find who really killed her husband...all while being on the brink of sepsis. While much of the plot is unbelievable, I was able to suspend my reality enough to truly enjoy this story.

Jack was a compelling protagonist, and I was on the edge of my seat to find out what happened next. I also enjoyed her sister Hel, who was loyal to a fault. I did not enjoy the character of Jeff, who's backstory I felt was unnecessary to the book. He felt like a character that was included in this story solely to be a plot device.

I enjoyed the main twist, which I did not find as predictable as some of Ware's other books, but some of the smaller twists were more meh for me.

Overall, this was a thrilling and fast-paced book that I enjoyed and would recommend to others.

Read if you enjoy:
✔️ Whodunit mysteries
✔️ Strong female leads
✔️ Incompetent police plots
✔️ Fast-paced stories

Zero Days is a Ruth Ware mystery, although in many ways, not as compelling as her books usually are. There is a marriage and a murder, but some of the layering is not as effective as I have found to be true of other Ware novels. Don't get me wring, I did enjoy this book. It was easy to escape into the story and into Jack's life. In some sequences, especially onboard the train, I could imagine Jack's life more fully. Ware creates an exciting opening, which grabbed by attention right away. Jack's story begins with an exciting escape sequence, followed by an arrest and a murder, and then, an effort to solve that same murder.

Jack is an interesting character. Readers do not have much of an opportunity to get to know her well, since much of this book does read like the script for an action movie, which would be quite effective on screen But action films tend to be rather one-dimensional and that is the failing of Zero Days. More depth and more complexity in character development would have been welcome. For example, Jeff is a cliche. Jack's sister is too briefly described, and the one female police officer, could be any police officer. They are blank, unfinished characters, which is often true in many police procedures, but Ruth Ware does not write simple police procedurals. Jack is the only fully, or nearly fully, realized character in Zero Days.

I did like Zero Days and read it quickly. I just wanted more, which is why my review is a 3.5, bumped up to 4 stars. I do want to thank the author and publisher for providing this ARC, in exchange for my honest review. I hate spoilers, and so I am not about to provide any. Thank you also to NetGalley for suggesting Zero Days.

Ruth Ware is an author who is hit and miss with me. Sometimes I love her books and sometimes they lie there. However, her ideas are usually rather interesting so that’s why I keep wanting to read her books. “Zero Days” is an interesting one. I knew about pen tests, though not by that name (I rather thought it was smart of an acquaintance to hire hackers to get into her website and then fix said holes; and I worked at a company that often had physical pen tests done) - so I found that part of the story really interesting. I found Jack an interesting character, though I did wonder why upon receiving an email she didn’t immediately think “this is odd” and investigate earlier than she did, but maybe that’s just me. Overall, this was a rather good fun ride - there’s a good set-up, there’s a lot of thinking, there’s a lot of super creative spy-type stuff, there’s technology, and there’s using wits. I’m not sure how I felt about the who-done-it (I figured who hadn’t done it pretty early) only because a) it seemed obvious one the story got rolling, and b) it really bothered me. That being said, I did like Jack’s sister a lot and Ms. Ware’s description of four year olds was pretty great. If you enjoy Ms. Ware’s other books, pick this one up.

Jack and her husband, Gabe, work in a risky industry. You'd think it'd be no surprise that Gabe turns up dead. What is surprising, Jack is the number one suspect. Follow along with her journey to prove her innocence.

This book was great! It was a quick read for me and left me wanting more each time I had to put it down. I felt that the twists and turns were slightly predictable, but Ruth Ware has a style of writing that leaves readers guessing even when they feel they know how everything will turn out. The plot was smooth and I found myself rooting for Jack as she embarked on her mission.

I liked the countdown style of the story as well and I think that added to the suspense. The novel starts days out from "Zero Days" and counts backwards to zero. For me, this left me wanting to get to the zero day, as I knew some resolution would be reached by then. It was an interesting concept and one I really appreciated.

There were moments of this book that were very technical when it came to writing about the IT/technology world. Most felt easily explained, however, having no background knowledge on certain tech terms made me occasionally need to reread a sentence or section. I don't feel like it took away from the book, more so just something to know going in!

Overall, 5 stars and one of the best, quickest read books I've read in awhile! Ruth Ware does it again!

*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title.*

This book is a bit of a departure from Ruth Ware’s usual style. While it is very fast-paced with plenty of tension and suspense, it is more of a techno-thriller than anything else. There were plenty of suspenseful scenes with the main character throwing herself out of windows or over fences or off moving trains, but I found myself questioning her choices quite often. And to be honest, I did not really understand, nor care to understand, what was at stake throughout the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the advance copy.

Jack and her husband Gabe are an adventurous couple who test security systems for a living. They have a great life until Jack comes home to find someone has slit Gabe's throat. From there, the book takes on the story of a Jack as a fugitive, running for her life while trying to find out who took Gabe's.

While this story held my attention and kept me wanting to read more, the die hard Ruth Ware fans may be disappointed as this is not the type of book we've come to know and love from her. Nevertheless, it is an incredibly fun read that will have you hanging on until the very end.

I was not a huge fan of this. I tend to enjoy Ruth Ware's work, but this was just a miss for me. I felt like this was sort of an obvious clues, obvious plot that was also sort of unbelievable, and I could kind of tell who the culprit was going to be in the first third of the book. I was also just not a fan of the general premise, so it wasn't super shocking to me that I didn't like this overall. Hopefully her next work will hit it out of the park for me!

This is a favorite Net Galley author of mine . Ruth Ware always entertains with a suspensful thriller that captivates her readers. Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher. My review opinion is my own.

Jack and her husband run a business together that test computer and hacker security of secure buildings and corporations. Jack is a expert at breaking and entering and showing a business where the weakness is in their security.and her husband is brillant at the computer end . Unknown to her he is working on a top secret project that no one wants exposed. When Jack is on a job her husband is murdered in their home and she is quickly blamed for his murder. She soon realizes she has been set up. As she cleverly escapes the police station before her arrest she is in survival mode with only her sister and one friend to count on. As she investigates and is on the run she soon realizes who she trusted was not their friend and she is out to prove who killed her husband.

This was a exciting read to conclusion. It is pulse pounding action as Jack saves herself until she can prove she is not at fault for her husbands death. A fun read that is a great escape.

LoveRuth Ware I liked this one too. However I didn't feel there was any cliff hanger, thriller moments. It seemed so very mild almost cozy mystery feel. I really missed that on the edge of your seat reading.

I’m a big fan of Ruth Ware. That being said this one wasn’t one of her best. The plot line was a little unbelievable. I read it in one day but I felt it was underwhelming.

A quick read with main characters that you’re rooting for. A few of the clues were so obvious that I was frustrated that Jack is so smart but didn’t see them, but I’ll give her a break. She had a lot going on.

Ruth Ware’s new novel, Zero Days, felt different from her other novels. Jack and her husband, Gabe, are pen testers. They delve into security systems for large companies to find any weak spots. When Jack comes home from one of these jobs, she finds her husband has been murdered and she is the no. 1 suspect. She is determined to find the person(s) responsible for his death and clear her name.

From reading other novels by this author, I was expecting lots of twists , turns and surprises but they just were not there in this newest novel. I think it was rather clear what was going to happen at each stage. I felt there was an underlying theme of good vs evil. For every rotten character, there was someone willing to help just out of the goodness in their heart. For every loss there was a gain. For every injustice there was justice.

Even though this felt different from her other novels, I enjoyed it. It was a nice change. I liked the good/evil balance, the hope that life balances out. In my opinion , fans of Ruth Ware are going to enjoy this latest novel. I will be looking forward to her next novel.

Another incredible page-turner from Ms. Ruth Ware. A stellar book that everyone will be reading by the pool this summer. I loved the character detail of Jack and Gabe's relationship. I loved the slow background of the sister's relationship throughout the book. I also loved that I knew nothing about pen testing and learned so much about it as I read through the book.

A great book and I would say it is one of my favorite reads of 2023! Highly recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and Galley Press for my advanced reader copy.

Zero Days was a bit different from Ruth Ware's usual mystery/thrillers, in that it was more of a techno-thriller in the vein of The Fugitive. Jack (Jacinda) and Gabe are a married couple who do penetration tests on organizations to test for security vulnerabilities, both physical and cyber. After their latest test doesn't work out as planned, Jack returns home to find Gabe has been brutally murdered. Though at first the police are sympathetic, soon they begin to suspect Jack, forcing her to go on the run using her penetration skill set to evade capture and try to find the real killer. Injured and on the lam, Jack must use her few resources and try to figure out who she trust if she wants to stay our of prison by solving the murder herself.
Though I really liked most of her earlier novels, I wasn't as thrilled with Ware's past two. But Zero Days was definitely a return to form for her, even if the subject matter was somewhat unlike her usual fare.

I was excited to see that Ruth Ware has a brand new book coming out in June 2023. This book fell short of my normal 4-5 stars I usually give her books. Jack and her husband are security experts and hack into security systems. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Pub date: 6/20/23
Genre: thriller
Quick summary: Jack and husband Gabe are security experts - but when he is murdered, she finds herself on the run.

This book was a like, not a love for me. It's a popcorn thriller that moves quickly, and it's easy to read in one day. But it got to be a bit too over the top as Jack raced around a la THE FUGITIVE, and the story behind Gabe's murder wasn't as compelling as it could have been. I think I prefer Ware's more atmospheric thrillers, like THE IT GIRL and THE TURN OF THE KEY.

If you enjoy fast-paced thrillers like FALLING, you might like this one! I can see readers enjoying this one by the pool or beach.

Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start with the fact that I read this in just over 24 hours! I've loved Ruth Ware's writing since I stumbled upon The Woman in Cabin 10 many years ago, which is amazing by the way if you haven't read it. For this one we are introduced to Jack and her husband Gabe in the middle of what appears to be some awesome spy/alias break-in type of fun. Jack is in the building trying to access how to get into a company's server room, with Gabe in her ear guiding her while he is safely tucked away at home. Or so we think. After an unsuccessful exit, Jack gets taken to the police station to sort things out. Turns out Jack and her husband are "Pen Testers." They are hired by companies to test their security systems and find the flaws. Both in terms of accessing the buildings and of their software systems. After finally being released Jack heads back home after a very long day. Upon returning though, she finds Gabe has been brutally murdered in their home. She soon discovers the next morning that she is the prime suspect. A goose-chase of sorts follows while Jack starts a mission to find out who killed her husband and why, all while dodging the police and figuring out whom she can trust.

This book was such a fun suspense filled ride. I literally couldn't put it down and stayed up way past my bedtime reading. If you like a good thriller or loved Alias, like myself, I think you'll really enjoy this one. Thank you NetGalley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Simon and Schuster Book Club Favorites for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love Ruth Ware's books and this one is no exception. It's a little different than her previous novels in that it's like a female.modern day Jason Bourne. The main character is smart, savvy, determined and will literally give her life to find out the truth about her husband's death.

To me it was a little obviously who was involved but it was well written and kept you interested up to the very end.

This book immediately moved to the top of my TBR pile when I received this ARC.

Thank your netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love Ruth Ware’s books and Zero Days is one of her best. Fast-paced from the first chapter, it is a thrill ride as we follow Jacintha (Jack) Cross in her race to solve a horrific and personal crime before the police pin it on her. I read this book in one day! It was so compelling and the story plowed forward. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a thriller.