What is it about a luxury cruise with strangers that feels like the perfect recipe for paranoia? In The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware, we get a sharply contained thriller that dials up the tension without needing twists that scream look at me. If you’re craving a modern whodunit with old-school vibes, this one might be calling your name.

And let’s not forget you can also enjoy The Woman in Cabin 10 Netflix adaptation now!

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What is The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware all about?

Travel writer Lo Blacklock scores a swanky press trip aboard a boutique cruise ship, only to witness something she absolutely wasn’t supposed to see. When no one believes her, things spiral fast into psychological unease. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware blends Agatha Christie nods with modern fear, isolation, and just enough chill to keep you guessing.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware Book Review

I’ll be honest.  This was an impulse buy.  One because I’ve been in the mood to read thrillers and mysteries lately again (something I used to LOVE) and second because while I was reading the blurb for this book there’s a comparison to Agatha Christie.  Now, that right there made me make a full stop and click the buy button.  Even if it wasn’t quite true I just had to know and this was something that would probably hit the spot for me.  I’m so glad I wasn’t wrong!

While I don’t think this is of Agatha Christie’s caliber (rabid fan here, watch out), I admit that Ruth Ware pens a solid page turner with this one.  THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 had me riveted all the way through.  It doesn’t have any big ups and downs, or massive twists.  It’s just a good mystery, trying to decipher the clues given and figure out what happened.  I think that’s something that Ms. Christie did well in her stories, and on that Ms. Ware kept me interested as well.

Lo is a journalist going on a trip that should be advantageous to her career on a luxury cruise with only a few cabins.  She’s there to mingle.  But she has a hard time doing that at first because of her house had been broken into just a few days prior to her leaving.  Distraught and unable to sleep well, she’s not at her best and finds herself in an environment that is not her normal anyway.  And then she witnesses what she believes is a murder and a body being thrown overboard from the cabin next to her.  Except there is no one staying in that cabin and everyone on the boat has been accounted for.  Her investigative nature doesn’t let it go and she has to figure out what happened to the woman in cabin 10.

I liked that this book doesn’t want to throw any crazy twists out there.  I almost expect that nowadays so my mind is always thinking of those unexpected scenarios and looking for the most outrageous solutions.  This isn’t what you’ll get with this book.  And I was very happy about that.  In a way it did make me go back to the times of reading older mysteries when things were still mind blowing and there were always great explanations behind the events, but they weren’t fabricated to twist the reader into knots.  So kuddos to Ms. Ware for that.

This was a solid read that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could.  A testament to a talented author that made me care about even a heroine that I really didn’t have much of a connection with.  I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author!

About The Woman in Cabin 10 Netflix Adaptation

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is set to hit screens on Netflix on October 10, 2025, starring Keira Knightley as Lo. The adaptation is directed by Simon Stone and co-written by Stone, Joe Shrapnel, and Anna Waterhouse. With the book’s already cinematic tension and atmospheric setting, this one’s got serious screen potential. If you’re the type to read the book before the movie drops, now’s the time.

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