Zero Days is the latest offering by bestselling author Ruth Ware. The thriller centres around Jack (Jacinthia) and her husband Gabe who are a team of security penetration experts. She is the one who physically breaks into companies while Gabe works remotely on his computer hacking the systems. After one long night of work, Jack returns home to find Gabe murdered. While Jack must deal with this tragic loss she becomes suspect number one according to the police and Jack must race against the clock to solve his murder while fleeing the police.

What I liked about this book:
-enjoyed the tech aspect of the novel particularly when Gabe and Jack worked together to penetrate companies
-the building tension and pacing of the story
-the cat and mouse between Jack and the police
-London and English countryside setting
-strong bad ass, action hero-eqes Jack

What I didn’t like about the book:
-great start and ending but the middle seemed like filler
-repetitive at times
-more character backstory for Gabe and other secondary characters
-the villain was too obvious, more intrigue needed
-Jack’s actions frustrated me at times especially when she was in serious need of medical attention
-felt like the story has been done before

My rating: 3 out of 4

My overall takeaway: This was a solid thriller for readers who enjoy a good tech/spy action thriller of someone being pursued by law enforcement. Fans of cat and mouse thrillers will enjoy this read. Ruth Ware is one of my favourite authors, however this was my least favorite book by her. I think I was expecting more mystery and less action.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada Gallery/Scout Press for this eARC.

"Zero Days" by Ruth Ware is an absolutely phenomenal thriller that had me hooked from beginning to end. Ware is one of my favorite authors, and this latest book did not disappoint. From the intricate plot to the beautifully drawn characters, every element of this novel is masterfully executed.

The story follows the protagonist, a journalist investigating a high-profile case that has the potential to upend the political landscape. As she delves deeper into the mystery, the tension and suspense build to a fever pitch, culminating in a shocking twist that left me reeling.

What I love most about Ware's writing is her ability to create a sense of unease and dread that permeates every page of the book. Her attention to detail and her talent for crafting complex, multidimensional characters make the story feel authentic and grounded in reality.

"Zero Days" is a true page-turner that had me up late into the night, desperate to know how the story would unfold. It is a testament to Ware's skill as a writer and her talent for crafting engaging, thrilling novels. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery or thriller. Ruth Ware is an instant-buy author for me, and "Zero Days" is a must-read for fans of her work.

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Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for sharing an arc of this book with me!

I have read most of Ruth Ware’s books and really enjoyed most of them. This one, however, was not for me. Some of this was my own fault, I was so excited for a new Ruth Ware novel that I didn’t read the synopsis before requesting it and starting to read it. It is about a woman whose husband is killed and she quickly becomes the primary suspect. I am not a fan of sad reads and as you can imagine this one had a major theme of grief.

It was also less of a mystery for me than an action story which is not personally my thing. There is, of course, the mystery of who is responsible for the death of her husband, but I found the reveal rather predictable and it didn’t give me that “I can’t stop reading because I have to know” feeling. The focus felt more placed on her running from the police.

Overall, it was my least favourite Ruth Ware novel, but if you are looking for an action story with a strong female lead who is dealing with grief then this might be for you!

This book was so good! I love Ruth Ware! Her books always hold so much suspense, twists and leave you on the edge of your seat. I will definitely recommend this book to everyone!

I enjoyed the fast pace and the rising tension, and the book was a smooth, enjoyable read. The way concrete details of a life on the run are addressed (where to get food? How to get in touch with people if you need to ditch your phone? What happens if you get your period?) fleshed out the story and made me connect to the main character.

I'm not a huge fan of thrillers, and I think I'm the perfect audience for this book - it's quite character driven for a thriller, and the fact that the main protagonist of this 'race against the clock' story is a woman sets it apart in this subsection of the genre. That would definitely be something to highlight for readers like me!

I usually enjoy a good Ruth Ware novel and this one was as anticipated - fast moving, not a lot of substance but I enjoyed it as I was reading it - not unlike a bag of not so fancy potato chips! Really liked the main character "Jack" or Jacintha and would have loved for more character development or depth given to her and maybe less action? I figured out who the "baddie" was way too early on - so obvious unfortunately so at times it felt like a long haul until Jack caught up. I did appreciate how grief was depicted - something that Jack would never get over but would learn to live with and would never stop loving. If you are looking for a somewhat gripping, action forward beach read - put this on your list!

I was disappointed with this latest from Ruth Ware. The plot was clunky and obvious and I guessed at the ending way too early on. The main character also spent the entire story evading police when she didn't need to, her choices were silly.

I had previously read 1 chapter sneek peek of this book offered and knew after that I needed to read it. Does this author ever disappoint I think not. This book was full of adventures that had you rooting for the outcome to be a good one. I loved how this book ended I won't say anything more as don't want to give spoilers.
If you haven't already, definitely add this book to your reading list asap!!!

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Ruth Ware's books are hit or miss for me, and unfortunately this thriller just did not thrill me in the slightest.

When security system tester Jack returns from a job to find her husband murdered in their home, she quickly ends up a suspect. Evading police, she works to solve the murder and clear her name.

This book has a very basic plot, with a lot of over explaining. There were lots of things happening that should have been exciting (e.g., escaping the police), but they just were not. I felt no motivation to continue reading to see what happened, and only pushed through because this was an ARC. It was quite easy to connect the dots, yet everything was explicitly explained through Jack's repetitive and unrealistic interiority. It really bothered me that she had a job that required her to notice EVERYTHING, yet she struggled to make connections. I did not enjoy the ending, nor find it redemptive at all.

If you enjoyed Ware's other books, and are looking for something light, you might enjoy this one. Zero Days releases June 20th.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, and Ruth Ware for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Gabe and Jacintha (Jack) are professional hackers for hire. One very late night after a job goes wrong, Jack arrives home to find Gabe has been murdered. After reporting the murder to the police, Jack soon realizes that she is the number one suspect, and goes on the run trying to find the real killer and the reason behind Gabe's death.
This reminded me of a James Patterson book, minus the short chapters. It was an easy read, and action packed spy-type novel with a straightforward hero-on-the-run plot. It's not what I expected picking up a Ware novel, and wasn't her typical writing style.
I'd certainly recommend this to fans of Patterson or anyone who likes fast paced action.

Zero Days by Ruth Ware was a solid on the edge of your seat thriller that was definitely a page turner. This is my seventh book by Ware and it will most definitely not be my last.

Zero Days follows a badass woman named Jack and her husband as they go about their daily work as specialists who break into places and test the security of companies. This job in itself is heart pounding. All is well until Jack returns back home after a mission to find her husband dead at home and the only suspect in his murder is her. Jack flees the police and begins a life on the run with no money and no contact with the outside world. Can Jack prove her husband's innocence or will she make a clean escape and put the past behind her?

Overall, this book was definitely a different book from Ware. I have really enjoyed her ghost vibey books and her locked room mystery style books and this one was a little different from her. I needed to know what was going to happen to Jack and I felt the need to keep turning the pages. This book held my interest and overall I enjoyed it. I did feel that by the end I was ready for it to conclude and I did feel like it carried on. If I were to rate the books that I have read from ware, this one would fall in the top 3. I do think I prefer Turn of the Key to this one as I really enjoyed the setting and ghostly vibes. Thank you to Netgalley, Ruth Ware and Simon & Schuster Canada for this advanced copy! If you are a fan of fugitive books, this definitely needs to be put on your TBR. This hits the shelves on June 20th!

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Zero Days releases June 20, 2023

Jack and Gabe are a husband and wife team. They’re penetration testers, which essentially means that they test the durability of the security systems of the companies that hire them, with Jack performing the physicality of the buildings, and Gabe handling the digital hacking.

On their latest job together, Jack gets caught by security, and they don’t believe that she is who she says she is. To make matters worse, both the contractor that hired them and her husband aren’t picking up her calls from the police station to verify her story.
Hours later when Jack is finally released and back home, she finds her husband slumped over his computer, dead in a pool of his own blood.
Who murdered him? Is it connected to their security job? Why is Jack the number one suspect?

This was a pretty straight forward and surface level read with not a ton of excitement.
It spans roughly a week, and is broken up into daily sections. The title is derived from a zero-day exploit.

Things I could have done without:
- the 4 year old twins pooey bum’s
- having a life threatening injury progressively get worse for the entire duration of the story
- the pregnancy and suicide at the end
- having the main character compare herself to Osama bin Laden as she’s evading cop cars

Usually Ruth Ware's books are a hit or a miss for me but ware's newest one Zero Days was a hit.

I was hooked from the beginning. From the first page. I think I read this story in about 4 hrs. One sitting. The was no way. No how I was putting it down.

A rollercoaster ride full of suspense,drama and twists. A definite recommend

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for allowing me to read this intense story.

All thoughts and opinions are my own and aren't influenced by anyone else

I had a hard time putting this down! Plot twists are riveting as Jake races around hiding in London and the countryside while tracking down Gabe's killer.

Jack & Gabe are professional security penetration specialists, they are also wife & husband. When Jack returns home from a security job she finds Gabe murdered in their home office. When "it's always the spouse" mentality has her escaping the police station, things really heat up.

I volunteered to read an ARC from Scout Press (Simon & Schuster Canada) through Net Galley.

Zero Days was fantastic! It was so fast paced and I had to keep stopping to break the relentless tension and pressure. In fact, the only word I can use to describe how this book made me feel is claustrophobic. Ruth Ware has done it once again and this is why she's one of the biggest names in this genre.

2.5⭐ Jack and her husband Gabe work as testers of security systems to find their weakness. After one paeticular job, Jack returns home to find her husband murdered and herself the prime suspect.

So, I had high hopes for Zero Days since I have read and loved all the previous Ruth Ware novels. But unfortunately, this is my least favourite of all her novels. For sure, many will still love this book, it's not a complete disaster, but for me there was nothing new or exciting here. While it started well and ended well, the entire middle felt like filler with a not very imaginative cat and mouse game between Jack and the police. Much of the novel was spent (wasted) on describing her festering wound or her loss of Gabe. This over-all plot and story has been done countless times before, this one should have had a fresh take on it. The culprit was easy to figure out right from the beginning, due to a lack of any other plausible characters.

It's not a terrible book, just not very original plotwise, and a bit repetitive at times. But I still love Ruth Ware, she can't be expected to knock them out of the park every time.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Fist l must thank NetGalley as well as the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Who will get her first? The cops, the infection, or the bad guys? Non stop, fast paced thriller. Sure you may figure it out, but is that really the end of things?

Alright well I think this made me want to try to read more of Ruth Ware's novels. I was hooked from the very beginning. I couldn't put it down, as I plowed through. I read through 100 pages in about an hour.
It started off intense, and adorable, because I loved Jack and Gabe together. Then shit goes down, and my heart was broken, into a million pieces. Jack decides that the cops are against her and bolts trying to figure out what actually happened to her Husband, which hell yes babe!

Whoa, it was an intense ride.

Then there was one sentence that made me be like "hold up, no not you."

"And then he leaned down and kissed me."
I had to stare up from my book, and look out into space, like "nahhhh nope you were involved in this."

Overall, I really enjoyed it. Jack definitely risked her health to figure this out, and im amazed she survived. The ending came together perfectly too. I really loved it!!!!

My ARC was provided by the publisher via net gallery in exchange for an honest review.

WOW WOW WOW!!!

Ruth Ware has done it again!

This book had me reading late into the night and if I'm honest, between meetings as well.

ZERO DAYS follows Jake on a journey to find her husband's killer.

The pages cannot turn fast enough and you will be engrossed in the story from the first paragraph, I promise!!

What a thrill ride! Jack’s character sucked me in from the beginning, and I agonized over all she endured. This is one of those thrillers that gets your pulse up with the cat and mouse chase setup and the impossibly high stakes. Loved it!