In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware is a psychological thriller that will keep you up late into the night trying to figure out what happened! Nora hasn't talked to her former best friend Clare for over ten years so she is surprised when she is invited to Clare's hen-do (bachelorette party) over a long weekend at a remote cabin in the woods. She is initially wary about accepting the invitation but, ultimately, her curiosity overtakes her good judgment and she accepts. She begins to feel uneasy almost immediately upon arrival (no cell service, an atmospheric location, and party guests who are not what they seem) and there is definitely an undercurrent of unfinished business between Nora and Clare. The narrative alternates between the events at the cabin and Nora waking up in the hospital after a terrible accident which she cannot remember (amnesia is such a tiresome plot device but it works here). The suspense builds and builds (I was holding my breath for the last few pages) to a dramatic conclusion back in the woods. I definitely wasn't expecting the outcome (in fact, many of the twists and turns in the novel caught me off guard) which is high praise for a thriller. I could really relate to the characters of Clare, the golden child who seems perfect, and Nora, who was always in Clare's shadow. Trying to figure out what caused the bad blood between them was very compelling and it was interesting to see how easily they fell back into earlier patterns of behavior. The narrative is fast-paced and kept my attention throughout so I highly recommend it.
Note: I hear there is a movie in the works and I can't wait to see what the glass house in the middle of the woods looks like!
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