In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware should have been an interesting book, it should have been a fabulous and suspenseful book, but it was in fact not. Not because of the book itself, no, it was because of other books like it.
Nora is a fictional crime author, one who doesn't often leave her flat. She is invited to her once best friend’s "hen" party, a party for brides-to-be before their weddings. She hasn't seen Clare in ten years, so it is all a surprise to her that she is invited, that is until she finds out who the groom is. Once at the party site Nora, her old friend Nina, Clare, and a few of Clare's friends, Flo, Melanie, and Tom, start the party. Flo wants the party to be perfect, for some reason she feels Clare has saved her life, although we only find out a little bit about that. Nora finds out a devastating fact, and things wander around from there. In the end the reader sees Nora in the hospital, being questioned by the police, about the last day of the hen party, and a shooting that happened.
The issue I have with this novel is not on that is based on the novel itself, but instead it is based on other novels like this. I can compare this novel to Girl on a Train, Final Girls, Our Little Secret, or Tell Me What Happened Again. All of these books have one thing in common, they all involve a woman who has lost part of her memory after some sort of trauma or tragedy, and the police are wondering what happened, and trying to figure it out. In a Dark, Dark Wood, would have been better if it had been the first of this trope that I had read, but unfortunately, it was not, and the story is one that has already been told and I have already read.
While Nora could have been an interesting character, I think both Nina and Flo were more interesting characters, and I honestly wouldn't have minded getting to know Tom a little more. Melanie seemed to be a superfluous character, and besides being there to set Flo off a little more and make her seem a little more unhinged, she didn't seem to be a necessary character.
Beyond the fact that this is like a lot of other books I have recently read, it is actually well written, and more interesting than some of the others mentioned above. I do not think that due to this book trope being overdone that I will never read anymore of Ruth Ware's novels. In fact, I look forward to reading more of her books, I'm just not sure which. I need to get through more of my TBR pile before I pick up a brand new book and bring it home.
Nora is a fictional crime author, one who doesn't often leave her flat. She is invited to her once best friend’s "hen" party, a party for brides-to-be before their weddings. She hasn't seen Clare in ten years, so it is all a surprise to her that she is invited, that is until she finds out who the groom is. Once at the party site Nora, her old friend Nina, Clare, and a few of Clare's friends, Flo, Melanie, and Tom, start the party. Flo wants the party to be perfect, for some reason she feels Clare has saved her life, although we only find out a little bit about that. Nora finds out a devastating fact, and things wander around from there. In the end the reader sees Nora in the hospital, being questioned by the police, about the last day of the hen party, and a shooting that happened.
The issue I have with this novel is not on that is based on the novel itself, but instead it is based on other novels like this. I can compare this novel to Girl on a Train, Final Girls, Our Little Secret, or Tell Me What Happened Again. All of these books have one thing in common, they all involve a woman who has lost part of her memory after some sort of trauma or tragedy, and the police are wondering what happened, and trying to figure it out. In a Dark, Dark Wood, would have been better if it had been the first of this trope that I had read, but unfortunately, it was not, and the story is one that has already been told and I have already read.
While Nora could have been an interesting character, I think both Nina and Flo were more interesting characters, and I honestly wouldn't have minded getting to know Tom a little more. Melanie seemed to be a superfluous character, and besides being there to set Flo off a little more and make her seem a little more unhinged, she didn't seem to be a necessary character.
Beyond the fact that this is like a lot of other books I have recently read, it is actually well written, and more interesting than some of the others mentioned above. I do not think that due to this book trope being overdone that I will never read anymore of Ruth Ware's novels. In fact, I look forward to reading more of her books, I'm just not sure which. I need to get through more of my TBR pile before I pick up a brand new book and bring it home.
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