In A Dark, Dark Wood

I enjoyed In A Dark, Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware, but it has a bit of a slow start, with too many references to Leonora’s Big Unmentionable Secret before the plot gets going or we learn much else about Leonora. I need to know a little bit more about a character to make me invested in her secrets. But you should speed-read through the heavy-handed references to My Unspeakably Terrible Secret to get to the suspenseful, creepy page-turner inside.

Like in The Hunting Party, several old school friends, who might not even like each other anymore, reunite for a weekend in an isolated cabin. Leonora hasn’t seen Clare since high school and didn’t even know she was engaged, but when she’s invited to Clare’s bachelorette weekend, she feels obligated to show up. Along with their old friend Nina, Clare’s creepily fawning new bestie, Flo, and some of Clare’s new friends, Leonora spends the weekend in a rural cabin. Naturally, they get snowed in right away and lose the landlines.

Like in The Turn Of The Key, the story flash-forwards to Leonora in the hospital after the bachelorette weekend. I didn’t love these —  I thought they slowed down the hen night suspense and didn’t really provide more character development or more suspense in the investigation. Instead, we kept flipping back to Nora in the hospital, trying to remember things and being questioned by increasingly suspicious police investigators.  Whatever, I get it, she looks super guilty, now can we get back to the secrets in the woods?

I loved how carefully plotted this whole novel was, just like the other Ruth Ware novels I’ve read. Every odd thing that Leonora notices (footprints to the garage, Flo’s weird Clare-style clothes, misplaced phone, etc., etc.) comes back later, with significance.

In A Dark, Dark Wood is more focused on the plot than the characters, but I did notice that Nina’s relationship felt developed and believable, even though we only see her girlfriend Jess for about a second.

I don’t usually love the Unspeakable Secret plot device, and this is exactly why. I wish Leonora’s Tragic Unspeakable Secret had slipped out earlier, because by the time it was explained, this was less of a dramatic revelation about Leonora’s backstory, and more duh, obvs, Clare did it. It’s never good when the protagonist feels slow to catch on to the plot. I also thought Leonora’s obsession with Jamie made her a little too childish. Teenage love can have a supercharged intensity, but the way she was still hung up on him so many years later made her feel half-formed. This worked because it made me worry more for her when she was in danger. Lee is just a little girl! But I also wanted adult reactions, not just sad little girl. There’s a mild payoff at the end, though.

Overall, a good suspense novel, but not quite as good as The Death of Mrs. Westaway or The Lying Game.

This post is my submission for this month’s Booknificent Thursdays.