The Woman in Cabin 10

May 9, 2016
In Ware’s underwhelming sophomore mystery (after 2015’s In a Dark, Dark Wood), Laura “Lo” Blacklock thinks stepping in for her pregnant boss for a week-long jaunt on the new miniature cruise ship Aurora will give her a leg up at Velocity, the magazine where she’s toiled for years. A break-in at her London flat days before her departure does little more than set up Lo as an easily startled protagonist. Everything on the Aurora is sparkly and decadent, from the chandeliers to the wealthy guests, most of whom are either fellow travel writers or investors brought on by owner Lord Richard Bullmer, but Lo is distracted from the scenery—the ship is headed for a tour of the Norwegian fjords—by her certainty that she heard the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the water from the adjacent cabin. No one, unsurprisingly, believes her, or buys her story of a mysterious woman she saw lurking on the ship hours earlier. Those expecting a Christie-style locked-room mystery at sea will be disappointed. Agent: Eve White, Eve White Literary (U.K.).

Lo Blacklock is a travel writer who gets the opportunity to cover the maiden voyage of a small cruise ship, the AURORA. Imogen Church narrates Lo's story at a smooth, relaxed pace, giving warmth and charm to the character. The mystery is cleverly plotted, and listeners will question every event. Did Lo really hear a body being dropped overboard, or had she had so many cocktails that she imagined it? Church's powerful yet understated narration perfectly captures Lo's desperate emotional state when no one believes her and what she considers to be proof disappears from her cabin. Through her effective use of tone, Church maintains an atmosphere of ambiguity and subtle paranoia. S.C.A. Winner of AudioFIle Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine