Born Ruth Warburton in 1977 in the town of Lewes, England, Ruth Ware is a Sunday Times- and New York Times-bestselling author of psychological thrillers.
Ware’s fast-paced, action-packed, deeply chilling novels have won her international recognition and comparisons to none other than the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie.
Ruth Ware's books are so thoroughly engaging and suspenseful that you'll find you can't put them down until you get answers. These books will leave you (literally) breathless with unexpected twists and turns, disturbing characters, and incredibly tense interpersonal relationships and interactions.
These books are not for the faint of heart. There will be deceit. There will probably be murder. And there is sure to be a stunning conclusion that you don’t see coming.
So clear your schedule and get lost in one of the best Ruth Ware books for a page-turning frenzy.
In a Dark, Dark Wood
It’s been 10 years since Leonora (Nora) has seen her old best friend, Clare.
But when Nora gets an unexpected invite to Clare’s bachelorette weekend trip, she sees it as a chance to reconnect and right old wrongs between them.
The weekend is taking place at a big glass house in the middle of the woods, far, far away from any other civilization.
Tensions build between the friends, old and new, stuck in the house together until somebody is found dead. Now everyone’s a suspect.
The Lying Game: A Novel
Back in school at Salten, a boarding school near the cliffs of the English channel, Fatima, Thea, Isa, and Kate had been an inseparable group of four best friends.
Their favorite pastime was the lying game, a game where they would try to convince everyone, including faculty and their fellow boarders, to believe their outrageous stories.
17 years later, Kate sends a text to the other three, now adult women who have pushed their past far behind them. As the four women gather to discuss what has newly come to light, the buried secrets of their school days threaten to come to the surface.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
Hal, a conning tarot card reader, is in desperate need of some money. So, when she receives the letter that a large inheritance has been bequeathed to her by a grandmother, it should be the perfect fix.
The only problem is that Hal’s grandparents have all been dead for a while.
Hal decides to attend the funeral and claim the inheritance that has been wrongly left to her. After all, she makes a living using her cold reading skills to convince people that she knows the truth.
But when she arrives at the funeral, Hal finds herself at the center of a very wrong and dangerous mystery, one from which she cannot back out.
The Woman in Cabin 10
Travel writer Lo Blacklock has been given the perfect assignment. She is to spend one week on the North Sea aboard a luxury cruise with just a few other elite guests.
Lo’s week starts out great, full of relaxation, delicious food, and gorgeous, calm waters.
Then everything takes a turn. As new cold winds roll over the ship, Lo is awakened in the night by the sound of screams and runs to the window just in time to see a woman’s body thrown overboard from the cabin next door.
The only problem is that no one was ever checked into that cabin, and no guests are missing from the boat.
Could Lo have possibly imagined the terrible nightmare scene? Or is she stuck on a boat with a murderer, unable to convince anyone of what she saw?
The Woman in Suite 11: A Novel
This sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10 is set to be released in July, 2025!
Ten years after the events of the first book, Lo Blacklock is now a stay-at-home mom, happily married with two young children. Still, she misses the thrill of her old career.
When she receives an invitation to the opening of a new luxury hotel in Switzerland, and her old magazine asks her to conduct an interview with the elusive billionaire owner of the hotel, Lo jumps at the opportunity.
Encouraged by her husband, she sets off for Switzerland, but danger awaits.
As many faces from her past appear at the grand opening, Lo finds herself in a web of deceit and peril that could destroy her family life she has worked so hard to create.
This leads her to a cat-and-mouse game across Europe, with her life and the lives of her loved ones at stake.
One by One
The shareholders and top employees of the tech startup app Snoop are gathered at a cozy ski chalet up in the French Alps.
The purpose of the company retreat on the surface is to bond and relax, but the real issue on hand is the decision they need to make on whether they are going to sell their app for a billion-dollar buyout.
The tension is palpable as tempers are barely kept under control. When an avalanche leaves the nine of the Snoop guests and two chalet employees trapped in the lodge, and one major Snoop player nowhere to be found, the group tumbles towards disaster.
As more people begin to go missing or are found dead, the entire group is trapped between the danger of the cold and snow outside, and the murderer inside.
Everyone must fight for survival or they will be picked off… one by one.
The It Girl
Ten years earlier, introverted Hannah had arrived at Oxford and met her new roommate, dazzling “it girl” April Clarke-Cliveden.
By the end of the first term, they had formed a tight-knit six-person friend group. By the end of the year, April had been killed.
Hannah’s testimony helped lead to the conviction of a man named John Neville.
Now, Neville has died in prison. A young journalist shows up at Hannah’s door and presents her with new evidence that could prove Neville was never guilty at all.
Hannah is forced to relive that fateful night so many years ago.
She turns a questioning eye towards her friends, including her college friend turned husband Will, because if Neville is really innocent, one of them had to have killed April.
One Perfect Couple
Lyla has spent months working on her post-doctoral research, and it isn’t going anywhere. She’s unsure of her career path and is not getting along with her aspiring actor boyfriend, Nico.
When Nico begs her to audition for a reality show with him, one he believes will be his big break, Lyla reluctantly agrees.
Soon enough, the couple arrives on Ever After Island, a paradise in the Indian Ocean, to compete in challenges against four other couples for a cash prize. After the first challenge, tensions are already running high.
But, to make matters infinitely worse, a huge storm leaves them with no phone access and unable to contact the crew that left them on the island.
As the group joins forces to try and survive, contestants start to die, and the game becomes an all-too-real battle of life and death.
Zero Days
Jack and her husband Gabe work as penetration specialists, hired by companies to test their security by attempting to break into their computer systems and physical facilities.
After an assignment goes terribly wrong, Jack returns home to find Gabe dead in a pool of blood. Beside him lies the murder weapon, a knife with only Jack’s fingerprints.
As the police begin closing in on her as their prime, and only, suspect, Jack takes off. After she makes her escape, she is determined to track down the real killer in order to clear her name.
With no money or shelter and with compounding injuries, Jack’s life on the run is not easy, but she pushes through on her race against the cops, the killer, and the clock.
The Turn of the Key
Rowan Caine thought she found the perfect nannying job. Now, Rowan is telling the story from a jail cell where she is awaiting trial for murder, and one of the children is dead.
When Rowan first arrived at Heatherbrae House in the Scottish Highlands, she’s elated.
What could be better than a generous salary, a “smart” house decked out with the newest technological advancements, and the easy job of looking after two well-behaved children.
Rowan is trying desperately to explain how the events really went down when her job took a turn from idyllic to nightmarish.
She knows that she is not completely innocent, but she is sure that she is not guilty of murder.
