A review by kurtwombat
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 

This book has two tropes I find regrettable. Often each by itself is enough to make me want to pull out my bookmark and look for something else. 

 

The first is the obviously bad decision—the I REALLY DON’T WANT TO DO THIS THING AGAINST MY NATURE, MY BETTER JUDGEMENT AND THE COMMON SENSE OF THE READER BUT I WILL DO IT ANYWAY. In this case we could have avoided this whole escapade if the main character hadn’t waffled up a plot with a decision no one would make.  And that decision is a thorn that burrows annoyingly into the side of the book the whole way.  The main character even asks over and over, why did I do this? I kept hoping to get an answer but I never really did (the vague “I must have sensed something” concept is a cop out). 

 

The second is amnesia.  So frequent in fiction, so rare in life—annoying in both. It’s more a gimmick now than a legitimate plot device largely because you know the memories will flood back in a nick of time.  Despite this, I’m not mad about it’s use here. The amnesia element works quite well. It arises in a reasonable manner and the gradual return of memory is rather deliciously teased throughout much of the book. 

 

So with these opposing forces—how was the book? 

 

Surprisingly good. It moves quickly with a nice array of characters—each of which left an impression and continue to resonate long after reading the book. The use of location, landscape and house, heighten a tense atmosphere that kept feeling like it might veer off into horror—it's good when you are not sure if a “thriller” will become something worse. Kept wanting to get back to this one—wouldn’t have minded if it was longer.