I'm starting to think it's me that's the problem, first there was The Couple Next Door and now The Woman in Cabin 10. I can't see what the fuss is about. Granted this is nowhere near the level of The Couple Next Door, but even so, for me it's not worth the plaudits.
The story itself is good, it's intriguing, it kept me guessing, and towards the end it had me wondering what was going to happen to Laura Blackmore. But, the writing was just a bit disappointing. It felt like the same phrases were being pedalled out again and again, repeatedly telling us Laura felt nervous and unsure.
Which brings me neatly on to Laura, she was so bloomin' infuriating. I don't know what it was that irritated me so much, but, she was there to write a piece on the Aurora, and not once did she pick up a pen. And who would actually knock on the door of a stranger to ask to borrow a mascara in the first place? Honestly, I'd much rather just go without, especially considering she was so on edge because of the burglary at the start of the book. She wasn't going to get drunk and then in the next breath she was downing a drink. She wasn't going to say anything and then just as a character was walking away she interrupts them leaving. I mean - make up your mind!
It was just all so woolly and at times I felt like Ware was trying to reach a word count rather than adding anything of value to the story. Likewise none of the other characters were in any way memorable for me, each of them sort of blending into each other.
The ending of each Part with emails and newspaper reports also didn't add much of anything for me. I assume they were there to add to the tension but as I didn't really care about Laura they were irrelevant to me. The last stages of the book were rushed through, a blink and you missed it type of ending. It was just boring.
But it's probably me, no doubt I'll look at the book charts and find this a bestseller. There are so many more worthy books out there, of your time and of success; for me this just doesn't merit it.
