IN A DARK, DARK WOOD

 

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.

Title: In a dark, dark wood

Author: Ruth Ware

Publisher: Vintage

Publication date: December 31, 2015

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐💫 

"In the dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house;

And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark room;

And in the dark, dark room there was a dark, dark cupboard;

And in the dark, dark cupboard there was...a skeleton."

I had read so many bad reviews about "In a dark, dark wood" that I was a bit afraid to read it, specially after not being very impressed with "The lying game" a few weeks ago, but, although it wasn't as good as some of Ruth Ware's latest books, I gotta say I quite enjoyed it.

In this, her debut novel, we can already glimpse how her writing and storytelling are clearly influenced by Agatha Christie herself. The slow build of suspense during the first half, a group of people stranded in a creepy atmospheric location (which she did superbly again in "One by one", imo) and the sense that something is very wrong while being unclear who's in danger or who's responsible for the uneasy feeling.

Ruth Ware is fantastic at creating creepy settings and in this case the glass house isolated in the woods gave me chills. That feeling of being in a showcase where anyone could look in while you could not look out or hide anywhere was so disturbing. Get some blinds, people!

Once the murder happened and things started to unravel I lost some interest as I don't think the secrets and motivations behind were that significant to lead to murder. Nora's secret was so frustrating! I can't actually believe any 26 yo would still be pining for her high school boyfriend and not be over their break up ten years before. That fact alone was creepier than the glass house! When all facts were revealed it was proved that it was all a case of lack of communication and that everything could have been avoided with a simple conversation. Hence, the climax itself was a bit disappointing.

It was also a bit frustrating to see how some characters that showed so much promise (I'm talking about Flo) almost disappeared in the second half, as I thought they would have played a bigger role in the story.

Despite this, the story was engrossing enough and the setting and characterization were pretty well done, making of "In a dark, dark wood" a pretty decent debut in the psychological suspense genre.