In a Dark, Dark Wood Book Review

Updated on January 27th, 2025

I started reading In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware during the Pinse trip back in June, but after the trip, I have not had much time to sit down and finish it until now.

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The night was drawing in, and the house felt more and more like a glass cage, blasting its light blindly out into the dusk, like a lantern in the dark. I imagined a thousand moths circling and shivering, drawn inexorably to its glow, only to perish against the cold inhospitable glass.

In a Dark, Dark Wood is Ruth Ware’s first novel, and it follows Leonora (Nora) after she was invited to her former best friend Clare’s hen do (bachelorette party) who she has not spoken to in 10 years. Nora reluctantly accepts the invite, and at first, everything seems fine at the remote glass house, but when the first night falls she realizes they are not alone in the woods.

My Review of In a Dark, Dark Wood

To being with, the book is not creepy, but the setting of the glass house in the middle of the woods is. Nora also makes references to people on the outside watching them like actors on a stage in the glass house, which adds to the creepiness. Nora herself is for the most part likable because she does what she thinks is right even though her actions can be questionable. However, Nora can be frustrating at times as well. I also liked Nina, Nora’s former school friend who she arrived at the glass house with. The other characters I found mostly unlikable, especially Flo, Clare’s maid of honor. 

Without giving anything away, the plot is fast-moving, and you figure out pretty early on what happened, but you have to figure out who did it. The plot also switches between the present of Nora at the hospital and the past of the events that happened during the hen do. There are red herrings throughout the book because Nora suspects each character at some point, so I did not figure out who did it until the end. Since I did not know who did it, I thought the ending was good. However, when I compare In a Dark, Dark Wood to Ruth Ware’s other novels I read, The Death of Mrs. Westaway and The Woman in Cabin 10, I think this one is my least favorite out of the three because I did not enjoy the plot as much.

Overall, In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware has a creepy setting with a mostly likable narrator, but the plot was a bit of a letdown compared to her other books.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 7/10

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Have you read In a Dark, Dark Wood, or any other of Ruth Ware’s books?