In a Dark, Dark Wood

"I think this is the worst book I've ever read," I said disappointingly."Are you sure?" she asked wonderingly."Yes. I believe so," I replied assuredly.

I should have known better. When I saw the reviewer comparing this book to “Gone Girl” and “Girl on a Train,” I should have moved on to another book. Because the reviewer was correct. This “thriller” is just as pointless and irritating as those. There is little or no explanation for the actions of the protagonist or the other characters, none of whom resemble real people; I could find no reason to care what happened to any of them. The plot seems strained, barely held together, and the action sort of “limps” to the conclusion. I thought the entire book just silly.I apologize for the rant. But I cannot understand these editorial reviewers giving such glowing recommendations to such unworthy pieces of writing.

As many reviewers have already written, the plot is LUDICROUS and the tea scene at the end is absolutely MADDENING.This book was slow and I was sort of shocked when the murder happened at about 50% of the book (I read it on my Kindle so I don't know page numbers.) I thought to myself "How are they going to fill up the rest of this book?" And I was spot on: this book could've ended at the 50% mark and I would've liked it more. On the plus side: it's an easy read that you can finish on a domestic flight.How they are going to turn this into a movie is beyond me. No doubt, it will be a boring movie.Basically, here's the book so you can save your money (there are no real spoilers):0%: Meet Nora5%: Start ludicrous plot line10%: Meet a motley crew of annoying characters25%: Tequila and cocaine50%: Murder (an alcohol and drug-fueled murder? Ruh roh!)60%: Nora can't remember what happened.70%: Nora still can't remember what happened.80%: "Oh why, oh why, can't I remember what happened?" asks Nora.90%: Eureka, Nora remembers what happened!95%: Nora's having tea with the murderer because killing someone sure makes me thirsty for some Earl Grey.100%: Thank God this book is over.

I’m not sure why this book has so many reviews touting how frightening it is: “Be prepared to be…really scared”, “Read…-with all the lights on”, “Read…Before bed at your own risk”, etc… Because of these reviews, I WAS prepared…and eager…to be scared.I wasn’t.This book has some suspense, and it is intriguing. It’s a good read, and I recommend it, but scary? It’s about the same terror level as a flickering light in a storm, which may make you go, hmmm, or uh-oh, but unless you’re an hysteric drama queen, it’s hardly frightening.In addition, it's ludicrous. You will be ready to throw this book at a wall when you, if you, make it to the ending. There's NO WAY women are this stupid...just drink the tea. Yeah.As for its comparison to Gone Girl, there is some merit there. I won’t spoil it by getting into why. It seems there’s a popular trend of female power being sinister. It reminds me of another obscure book I discovered recently, Polly Ticks which captures this much better. Wow. That book stuck with me. Talk about a sinister turn…I guess I must admit to finding sinister women interesting, and I highly enjoy these books. Not sure what this says about me…

It wasn't at all "scary" as had been touted by Stephen King and Reese Witherspoon. What planet are they living on???

Certainly a great debut novel. Once again, though, the protagonist is a hot mess, all but destroyed by a failed relationship with a man. To give Leonora Shaw credit, though, her life in London was going well until she agrees to attend a bachelorette style weekend in the gloomy English countryside, if by well you mean that she lives alone, has almost no social life and no interest in forming a romantic relationship with anyone. She's a successful, reclusive author of crime novels (Kind of like me, but I'm way older than she is and not nearly as successful). She doesn't even have a dog or a cat. The supporting cast of characters is fascinating and original, and I loved the Agatha Christie type limited list of suspects, and the way the story points the reader toward one and then another, not revealing the true culprit until the breakneck-paced, bitter end. The setting looms dark, large and menacing throughout (After all, the title is In a Dark, Dark Wood.). Tons of gothic foreshadowing, which I love. I'll definitely read Ruth Ware's newest book, The Lying Game. I'm officially a fan now.

Good lord this was a badly written book with a wafer thin plot line. Had such high hopes. It is likened unto Gone Girl in a lot of reviews. Gone Girl isn't the best literary work to begin with but at least it was entertaining and not too predictable. This was drivel.

Entertaining, a little light and frothy. It read well, and kept me engaged for a few hours. Not haunting, not revelatory, but solidly amusing. I don't mind that the characters are largely unlikeable; I'm not sure what people's obsession with likeability is...most real people aren't likeable. Why do readers want a protagonist to be their best friend? All cuddly-fluffy-warm? It's bizarre. Can't you just let s story be a story?

I like mystery / thrillers. In fact they are my favourite genre. This book fits neatly into that category, it is not a horror. What it is, is implausible, unrealistic, and nonsensical with one of the most annoying protagonists since Girl on the Train.[SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS][THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!]So firstly Nora heads to the Hen Do, in the middle of nowhere, of a woman she has not seen in 10 years and she hasn’t even been invited to the wedding. Then we are meant to believe this grown adult female, is still coming to terms with the end of a relationship. A relationship that ended 10 years previously when she was 16 years old. It ended because she was pregnant and he buggered off. Or so she believes. We then find out Clare actually sent the text, dumping Nora so she could get in with James (the guy who buggered off.)We are meant to believe Clare, would rather kill James, than have it come out that when she was 16, she sent a text which led to the end of her best friend’s relationship.We are also meant to believe that James, on discovering the truth, was willing to end things with his current fiancée over a prank she did, at the age of 16, which caused the end of his teenage relationship. A relation which lasted SIX MONTHS!It’s entirely predictable. I was about 4/5 chapters in before I correctly guessed exactly who the true villain was and exactly the nature of “The Text” James sent, which led to the end of the relationship. Nora is immature and it leads me to question the mindset of an author who thought this was a plausible storyline.It is a page turner as you do want to find out the end. In that regard I will give it 2 stars instead of 1. But if you have not read it, don’t bother. Really. Don’t.

I have written about Ruth Ware's book 'The Woman in Cabin 10 (see one star) and now there's this. Oh dear! Words, words and more words. Ware can fill a library with words and get no where. And that’s the problem with Ruth Ware’s writing. She writes too much. Yes, she’s a capable writer but it is far too self-indulgent. The expression ‘less is more’ has never crossed her keyboard. The result is that she digresses lavishly on too many small things, drags out tension far too long and then struggles to wrap up endings . The effect is that the novels stutter. Just when things get going, Ware slows it down with prolixity.And now there's this novel. Same vein. But it is such a silly story that totally lacks credibilty. The protagonist is yet another woman with a peanut for a brain surrounded by characters cut from a cheap chic lit mag with all the intelligence of an average tree log. None is likeable. Don't waste your time. You've read it all before and probably given up as well. If you want a good female mystery writer, read the Australian Jane Harper.

This was a ridiculous story. For a thriller to work for me, it has to be something that could happen in real life. This was just nonsense. And do people really talk about a “hen” as opposed to a hen party? It sounded so silly.It was also written in American English, which always annoys me when the story is about English people living in England: words like snuck, gotta, skeet, and snit really jar. “Pocket money” is called an “allowance”, and “murder” is curiously described as “homicide”.

This is a most ingenious melodrama. When Leonora gets a most unexpected invitation to a remote hen party, the scene is laid for the coming together of a number of sharply disinctive people. Out of their inter-relationships grows an arresting plot and increasing friction and suspicion. The location, largely cut off from contact with the outside world, coupled with an increasingly supernatural influence ratchets up the tension towards an explosive climax. If you are seeking plausibility, this may disappoint, but I found it an enthralling read.

I was attracted to this by its atmospheric cover and great title. The narrator is Nora, who is unsettled by an email inviting her to the hen party of an old friend that she has not seen for ten years. Despite her misgivings she goes along for a weekend at a remote cottage. When she gets there she begins to wish she hadn't gone after all, and things are about to get a whole lot worse.The idea for this is excellent, although not original I enjoyed it. The thing that really makes this special is the brilliant location. The cottage is actually a glass house surrounded by towering trees, proving to be both claustrophobic and giving the characters the unnerving feeling of being watched. Combine that with the lack of mobile reception and the feeling of isolation is complete.Ruth Ware does a good job in creating uncertainty about each character so we never fully trust any of them. There are some very spooky moments in the night, as this plays out like a scary film, although it is not as dark as some other thrillers out there. I did think the characters seemed juvenile for their ages. Some things were highly improbable but sometimes for me that is a good thing! It was addictive reading, with an easy writing style and a great debut. ( If you enjoy this you would probably also enjoy The reunion, by Amy Silver.)