©Gemma Day
Books by Ruth Ware
Ruth Ware is a British writer of twisty, psychological thrillers. Many of her books have been bestsellers and she has been translated into more than 40 languages.
The Woman in Suite 11: A Novel
by Ruth Ware
The Woman in Suite 11 is a sequel, written by Ruth Ware in response to reader demand to know what happened to Lo Blacklock, the heroine of her 2016 psychological thriller, The Woman in Cabin 10 (which is about to come out as a Netflix movie with Keira Knightley). In this book, Lo is getting back to work after having kids, starting with a weekend at a luxury hotel in Switzerland. (A reading tip if you don't like spoilers: get a friend to fold over the one-page teasers that precede parts one, two, three, four, and five of the book. These are sometimes internal thoughts, sometimes newspaper articles or a reddit thread but offer too much information about what's about to happen).
One Perfect Couple
by Ruth Ware
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware is a pageturner set on an island in Indonesia, where contestants from the UK have been brought to vie for the title of 'perfect couple' in a reality TV show. Ruth Ware is great at writing thrillers where you feel like you're there, participating in the experience alongside the main protagonist. In One Perfect Couple, her name is Lyla, a researcher on viruses, and you can't help but feel for her and her choices as she agrees to go in for the toe-curling reality TV format to support her actor boyfriend.
The Turn of the Key
by Ruth Ware
This is a fabulously unputdownable and atmospheric thriller, set in the Scotland Highlands, where the main character in the book takes a babysitting job. This is probably our favourite Ruth Ware book here at Five Books with creepy tech playing a sinister and all-too-realistic role.
“I’ve been listening to it as an audiobook with my daughters. It’s not exactly appropriate because there’s a lot of swearing, but the girls get very upset if I listen to it without them. It’s set in a fancy ski chalet in France and that’s all I’m going to say about it, because anything else will detract from the suspense (tip for crime fiction: never read the book blurb). Generally, I can say that Ruth Ware is hilarious on out-of-control tech and dreams up these things that you almost wish existed. I also like the way she looks at how outward professionalism interacts with what’s really going on in the main protagonist’s mind.” Read more...
Sophie Roell, Journalist
The It Girl
by Ruth Ware
A brutal murder in an Oxford college is the theme of Ruth Ware's latest psychological thriller. The story is told ten years on by her roommate and best friend, whose life has fallen apart since the crime.
The Lying Game
by Ruth Ware
The Lying Game by Ruth Ware is particularly memorable for its setting, a fictional town called Salten somewhere on the south coast of England, surrounded by water and salt marshes. The plot revolves around four women who went to boarding school together near there, are now grown up, but are brought together again when one of them cries for help.
The Death of Mrs Westaway
by Ruth Ware
If you've always been interested in tarot cards, this is the Ruth Ware book for you. A nice twisty thriller focused on a broke main character who gets tempted by an inheritance.
The Woman in Cabin 10
by Ruth Ware
A luxury cruise liner travelling through Norwegian fjords is the setting for The Woman in Cabin 10, a twisty thriller that captures the claustrophobia of being onboard a ship.
Interviews where books by Ruth Ware were recommended
Books Becoming Movies in 2025
As a way of choosing books, selecting those that are being made into movies should be a good way to go. Why spend millions bringing a book to the screen unless it has an unusually spellbinding plot or is a particularly wonderful evocation of a time and place? Below are some of the books film directors have seen worthy of turning into movies in 2025.
The Best Mystery Books of 2022
2022 was a great year for books in the mystery genre, with some great plots and unforgettable characters, at least one of which (The Maid) has gone on to start a series. Settings included everything from snowy Scandinavia to World War II Hawaii.
Best Crime Fiction of 2020, recommended by Sophie Roell
If you’re looking for escapism, crime novels can be a good way to go. Which is strange, given that nearly all of them revolve around murder. Sophie Roell, editor of Five Books and an avid consumer of the genre, picks her personal favourites published in 2020.
The Best Mystery Books of 2024
2024 was a solid year for mystery books, with books out from some of the best contemporary writers in the genre, including Tana French, S.A. Cosby, and Ruth Ware. The range of mood was also broad, with some wistful and nostalgic tales, and other books that are laugh-out-loud funny. Our best mystery books of 2025 list is now up and running.
The Best New Mystery Books of 2025
Welcome to our running list of the best mystery books of 2025, which we’ll continue to update through the end of the year. A broad range of books are filed under ‘mysteries’ these days, and we try to give a flavour of what’s out there. On this list, we also include books that have been nominated for prestigious awards, like the Edgars in the US and the Dagger Awards in the UK. Bear in mind that these are the best books of the previous year, rather than the very latest—with the advantage that they’re already likely to be in paperback.
