The blurb doesn’t do this book justice. As the book was really good. There were challenges with the fact it was a slow burn thriller. And I generally give up on slow burn books. The storyline kept me wanting to read into the small hours so much so that I finished the book in four days which is quick for me. I think I’ll try another book by Ruth.

The book was archived before our group could download it. We are sure that we would have enjoyed the book judging from the reviews it has received.

Book Review:
In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
Published by Vintage Books
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:
Nora hasn't seen Clare for ten years. Not since the day Nora walked out of her old life and never looked back.
Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen party arrives. A weekend in a remote cottage - the perfect opportunity for Nora to reconnect with her best friend, to put the past behind her.
But something goes wrong. Very wrong.
And as secrets and lies unravel, out in the dark, dark wood the past will finally catch up with Nora.

Review:
The mystery is compelling from the outset, with protagonist Nora waking up in hospital, so it was clear that something had befallen her on her catch up weekend. This psychological thriller keeps a good balance of mystery and intrigue, and the plot of meeting up with old school friends could resonate with many.
Although some of the reveals were not surprising as I'd already guessed them, I still enjoyed this a great deal and would recommend.

*I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.This is my unbiased review.

#BookReview #RuthWare #InADarkDarkWood #VintageBooks #NetGalley #Bookstagram

A weak mystery novel. Nora returns home to attend her friend Claire's Hen party in a glass house in the middle of the woods. Switching between two timelines, the past and present until they merge.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

In a Dark Dark Wood was set over a 48 hour period, from the start of the hen weekend and the tragic aftermath. Twenty Six year old crime author Leonora (now Nora) was seriously injured after a car crash. She could not remember what caused the crash, but she heard a policeman talking outside her hospital room saying it was murder.


Out of the blue Nora got an e-mail from a stranger called Flo, inviting her to a surprise hen weekend for Claire who had been her best friend at school. The weekend would be held in a secluded house in the country owned by Flo`s grandmother. Nora had not seen Claire for 10 years after she left school abruptly after her exams, unwilling to delve into the past she ignored the e-mail.

The next week Nora received another e-mail from Flo explaining she was Claire`s best friend and really wanted her to come. When Nora found out that her other school friend Nina would be there she 'reluctantly agreed to go.

The other guests at the weekend were Melanie who had just had a baby and theatre director Thomas. Once there Nora was shocked to discover that Claire was marrying her old boyfriend James. Nora was in love with James at school and she had never had a boyfriend since.

Nora knew she had made a mistake and wanted to go home. There was an under current of tension within the group, Flo had a manic air about her and wanted the party to be a success for her friend. Nina had a dry sense of humour and kept making sly remarks about Flo and Nora. Then unusual things started to occur in the house, unknown footprints were found leading to their back door and and the word murdered was spelt out during a Ouija board session. Forty eight hours later lying in hospital, Nora tried to remember what happened at the party....

In a Dark, Dark Wood was Ruth Wear`s debut thriller. This Is the fourth book I have read from Ruth Wear, and I have enjoyed every one apart from The Woman in Cabin 10. The story flowed nicely and the other guests at the party was reminiscent of a Agatha Christie who done it. My favourite guests were honorary hen Thomas, who was charming and enjoyed boasting about his life of excess. I also liked Nina a good friend with a dry sense of humour.

There were red herrings and twists and turns galore. I was glued to book wanting to know what happened at the party. When the reason why Nora had left school and her friends so abruptly 16 years earlier was revealed I felt so sorry and could talk sense her pain all these years later.

This was an excellent debut worth four stars. Without giving anything away the killers motivation was did not make sense which annoyed me. The character was portrayed as deceitful and manipulative, if that was the case they would never of confessed in the first place.


I look forward to Ruth`s next book.

It's clear early on in this book that secrets are being kept, What those secrets are, are not going to jump out at you right away. To know what secrets are being kept you have to read on, and then read on some more, and a little more and before you know it you are almost at the end. 
​It was quite an interesting story, It didn't grab and make me love it, it was just happy I plodded along with it. An easy read, although I have to say, quite a few times it got a little repetitive. 
​I believe this is a debut novel, so we should hopefully see this authors talent come out more in the next books. I will certainly read them. I have two more books on my TBR pile by Ruth Ware so I'm about to see what she has to offer. 
​I've given this  a3.5 star.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Someone's getting married. Someone's getting murdered.
In a dark, dark wood...
Nora hasn't seen Clare for ten years. Not since Nora walked out of school one day and never went back.
There was a dark, dark house...
Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen do arrives. Is this a chance for Nora to finally put her past behind her?
And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark room...
But something goes wrong. Very wrong.
And in the dark, dark room....
Some things can’t stay secret for ever.

*3.5 stars*

This is a very cool mystery/suspense novel. It dragged me in really quickly and set up the premise for an exciting story.

Somewhere around the halfway mark, however, it was like the handbrake was put on and all the good things about the start of the book disappeared, and were replaced by the boring, predictable storylines...

...and then the ending came out of nowhere, leaving me in a state of "What just happened?"

Hard to give this more than 3 stars or so due to the middle being so slow and definitely dragging the overall pacing and storytelling.

Worth a read and I will definitely see what else comes from this author.


Paul
ARH

I really wanted to like this book. It had a great premise and some great ideas but it never really gripped me. I didn't really believe in any of the characters or care about them. Didn't live up to the hype. Sorry.