What should be a fun, safe filled weekend in the English countryside takes a dark turn in the novel In a Dark, Dark Wood by author Ruth Ware. The story is written from a narrative point of view and split into two stories told in alternating chapters: the before and after. We are presented with the main character of Nora, or Leonora, being rushed into emergency surgery and with no clue as to what has happened.
After this hook of an opening and a few steps into the past, we find that Nora is a runner, a writer, living a quiet life seems happy enough with what she has. But, the ever-lingering question holds as the story progresses, Is she really happy?
Not long after the story begins strange occurrences begin as Nora receives an out-of-the-blue email for high school friends “hen do” (a British version of a bachelorette party), to take place in a remote cabin. The bride-to-be, Clare, and Nora haven’t seen nor spoken to each other in ten years since an undefined incident caused Nora to cut ties with her old life at 16. Even with the strange request, and Nora’s relatively loner lifestyle, she can’t resist the invitation which is breaking this decade-long silence.
As the “hen do” commences, we meet each of the guests, every one of them a suspect in a potential crime we already know may be coming. Flo, the host, an obsessive bordering pathological. Tom, the token man, who dodges explaining why his partner didn’t want him going to the shindig. There’s a sharp-witted doctor, named Nina, who cruelly brings up Nora’s past with the bride-to-be’s fiancé. And of course, there is Clare, the symbol of perfection and the bride to be.
The hours tick by, strangeness intensifies. The guests’ withheld secrets become more apparent. Mysterious footprints appear outside the cabin door, an Ouija board session goes freakishly wrong. The suspense and building of the mysteries grows. You will question who can be trusted. But, what happened in the cabin in a dark, dark wood? There will be no spoilers here, as you’ll have to pick up a copy and find out for yourself.
I was very excited to read Ruth Wares newest book In a Dark, Dark Wood. However, after a few chapters my excited began to wane. The story and its characters are well written, complex enough to feel organic and real. But the book itself felt too simple and predictable more than I could have liked to have read throughout the course of its many pages. Amazon as well as Goodreads give this a 4 out of 5 starts. It is clearly an easy read, with well written and developed plot. I am also giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars.
