I went to the Harrogate crime writing festival last summer and decided to branch out into reading some thrillers and put The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware on my list as a recent classic.

The novel starts with Laura Blacklock (a name I instantly loved, given sisters Charlotte – Lottie – and Letitia – Lettie – Blacklock are characters in a fabulous Miss Marple book) being burgled when she is at home, left terrorised and terrified just before embarking on a work trip on a cruise ship, which she is covering as a travel writer. Exhausted, needing her medication more than ever, and not delighted to find an ex on board the small, luxury vessel, she is literally and metaphorically at sea, drinking too much, sleep deprived and desperate for a good night’s rest, when she is woken by the sound of a body being dumped over board.

Despite chilling warnings to stop digging, she is determined to find out what has happened to the woman in the next door cabin and puts herself in more and more danger as she tries to get to the truth. This plot takes twists and turns to a whole new level, raising the stakes in every chapter so that the protagonist seems certain to not get out alive. I was left wondering whether she was an unreliable narrator, whether the burglary had something to do with it, whether she was going to end up framed or dead herself, and more certain than ever that cruises are definitely not for me.

This is a great read for a plane or beach this summer (but perhaps not if you are on board a boat) and was a fun way to reacquaint myself with the thriller genre.