NetGalley Top Reviewer

NetGalley Top Reviewer
NetGalley Top Reviewer

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

The Woman in Suite 11 (Lo Blacklock #2) by Ruth Ware

 Entertaining mystery thriller that is as predictable as it is entertaining. 

First and foremost, before you open this book, you need to know that it features many of the characters from The Woman in Cabin 10 and it's probably a really good idea to read it first if you have not.

Secondly, you must suspend any and all disbelief as this entire story will seriously strain any credulity you have. 

It's been 10 years since Laura (Lo) Blacklock experienced all of the traumatic events on the Aurora. Since her lucky escape from death, she's gotten married, had two children, and written a bestseller about her experience on that ship. She has, however, not worked at all since and wants to get back to her old career as a travel writer. Out of the blue, she gets an invite to the opening of a grand hotel owned by Marcus Leidmann, a billionaire. Lo manages to leverage that name with an old contact who works for Financial Times publication who encourages Lo to go to Switzerland and try to get an interview with the man. Lo does go to Switzerland and finds herself quickly in way too deep in a new and crazy situation. And it gets even more wild when she reconnects with someone from her past.

As always, Ruth Ware hooks the reader quickly and you're in way too deep before you realize that Lo hasn't changed a bit and she's still not experienced as much personal growth as we would have hoped. There are lots of twists and turns and many red herrings though a savvy reader will be able to guess where it's all going. The fun is in seeing how the author gets you there. Was this sequel necessary? Nope, not at all, but it was a quick read and kept me dialed in and amused.

I was able to listen to the audio book while reading along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. I liked the narrator, Imogen Church, only when she was voicing the main character. The way she did other voices, especially the kids, was almost cringe sometimes. (Maybe there should be a prohibition in adult books with narrators trying to imitate children.) The accents and male voices didn't fare much better. In any event, I do enjoy the immersive experience of both at once.

This is a sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10 and it should be read before this one.

Tags - travel writer, murder, naive, Britain, mystery, suspense, thriller 

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