In Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Suite 11, she returns to the characters Lo Blacklock and her friend/nemesis, Carrie. We met them in The Woman in Cabin 10. After resuming her journalism career following the birth of her second child, Lo gets a plum invitation to the press opening of a luxurious Swiss hotel. Unbeknownst to her, she will meet old colleagues from her earlier career, including Carrie. Thoughts of Lo’s traumatic entrapment in Cabin 10 come to mind as she deals with Carrie, the reason behind her invitation to the featured event, and, ultimately, Carrie’s strange request to assist her in a daring escape from a ruthless, domineering billionaire.
Ware can spin a tale with the best of them. My one complaint is her gratuitous use of the “f bomb,” seemingly present on almost every page and even used in her Acknowledgments–something I’ve never seen before. I don’t know if she thinks the language enhances her writing or if her publisher asks for it to improve her reach to the secular market, but her writing is plenty strong without resorting to such frequent use of an offensive term. Furthermore, most people just don’t talk like that.
I will miss reading her books.

reviewed September 2025