Ruth Ware

Last updated

Ware in 2022 Ruth ware 2022 1.jpg
Ware in 2022

Ruth Warburton (born 1977), known by the alias Ruth Ware, is a British author. Her novels include In a Dark, Dark Wood (2015), The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016), The Lying Game (2017), The Death of Mrs Westaway (2018), The Turn of the Key (2019), One by One (2020), The It Girl (2022) and Zero Days (2023). Both In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10 were on the UK's Sunday Times and The New York Times top ten bestseller lists. [1] She is represented by Eve White of the Eve White Literary Agency. [2] She switched to the pen name Ruth Ware to distinguish her crime novels from the young-adult fantasy novels published under her birth name. [3]

Contents

Personal life

Ruth Ware was born in 1977 and grew up in Lewes. She studied English at Manchester University, where she developed a fascination with Old English and Middle English texts.

Before her writing career, Ware worked as a waitress, a bookseller and a publicist. She also spent time in Paris, teaching English as a foreign language.

Ware now lives near Brighton.

YA works

Before embarking on her writing career as Ruth Ware, Warburton wrote five young-adult fantasy novels, all of which were published by Hodder's Children Books.

Writing style

In her crime books, Ware's writing style is often compared to that of Agatha Christie. [4] [5] Ware has said that some aspects of her writing are directly inspired by Christie. [6] Ware's protagonists are usually ordinary women who find themselves in dangerous situations involving a crime. The first two of Ware's novels feature a murder mystery with a group of people trapped, or otherwise restricted from immediately escaping the dangerous environment. Christie was famously known for utilizing this plot device, in novels such as Murder on the Orient Express. [7] Ware and Christie both choose settings and situations that foster the sense of dread that propels their characters to paranoia and often they react violently as a result. These environments create a sense of isolation for the events to unfold in. [8] Ware's settings play a key role in drawing in the reader and are as essential and integral to her story as the characters.

Works

Ware has written nine psychological thrillers, as of 2024:

Film and television adaptations

Several of Ware's books have been optioned for screen.

Accolades

Ware's novels have won or been nominated for a number of awards and end-of-year lists:

Critical reception

Reviews of Ruth Ware's psychological crime thrillers have been generally positive. The Independent named In A Dark, Dark Wood as "this year's hottest crime novel". [40] [41] The Guardian praised In A Dark, Dark Wood's "excellent characterisation" and called the book's ending "mesmerising". [42] The Independent described The Lying Game as "gripping enough to be devoured in a single sitting," in a four-star review. [43] In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews' writer said "cancel your plans for the weekend when you sit down with this book, because you won’t want to move until it’s over." [44]

References

  1. Ruth Ware, www.ruthware.com/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017.
  2. Sue Leonard http://www.suejleonard.com/articles/beginners-pluck/ruth-ware/
  3. Virtual Interview with Ruth Ware. https://soundcloud.com/user-269339596/a-very-special-episode-interview-with-ruth-ware
  4. "Love in Suspense recommended read: 'The Woman in Cabin 10' by Ruth Ware". Happy Ever After. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  5. Cowles, Gregory (27 July 2016). "Inside the List". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  6. "Ruth Ware on Agatha Christie - Dead Good". Dead Good. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  7. Christie, Agatha (31 October 2017). Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Reprint ed.). William Morrow. ISBN   9780062693662.
  8. "'Scream' Meets Agatha Christie In 'A Dark, Dark Wood'". NPR.org. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  9. "In a Dark, Dark Wood". Penguin Books. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  10. "In a Dark, Dark Wood Setting". Book Rags. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  11. "In a Dark, Dark Wood". Ruth Ware. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  12. Zimmerman, Jean (18 August 2015). "'Dark, Dark' Doings In A Slick Debut Thriller". NPR Books. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  13. "In a Dark, Dark Wood". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  14. Gonzalez, Vilma. "Love in Suspense recommended read: 'The Woman in Cabin 10' by Ruth Ware". Happy Ever After. USA Today. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  15. "The Woman in Cabin 10". Ruth Ware. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  16. "The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware". Book of the Month. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  17. Ware, Ruth (19 July 2016). The Woman in Cabin 10. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-1-5011-3294-0 . Retrieved 26 August 2025.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  18. "The Woman in Cabin 10". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  19. "The Lying Game". Ruth Ware. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  20. "Summary and reviews of The Lying Game". Book Browse. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  21. Ware, Ruth (25 July 2017). The Lying Game eBook by Ruth Ware. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-1-5011-5619-9 . Retrieved 26 August 2025.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  22. "The Lying Game". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  23. Aikman, Becky (1 September 2017). "Suspense Fiction That Mines the Terrain of Female Guilt". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  24. Ware, Ruth (30 April 2019). The Death of Mrs Westaway. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-1-5011-5625-0 . Retrieved 26 August 2025.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  25. "Book Marks reviews of The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware". Book Marks. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  26. "One by One". www.penguin.co.uk. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  27. "The It Girl (B&N Exclusive Edition) by Ruth Ware, Hardcover". Barnes & Noble.
  28. Nolan, Tom (16 June 2023). "Mysteries: Ruth Ware's 'Zero Days'". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  29. One Perfect Couple. 16 July 2024. ISBN   978-1-6680-3229-9.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  30. "Reese Witherspoon is developing an 'In A Dark, Dark Wood' adaptation". EW.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  31. Gomez, Dessi (26 August 2025). "Keira Knightley Fights Denial And Gaslighting In 'The Woman In Cabin 10' Trailer". Deadline. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  32. Busch, Anita (16 August 2017). "Ruth Ware's 'The Lying Game' Picked Up By The Gotham Group". Deadline. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  33. Andreeva, Nellie (6 June 2023). "Ruth Ware's Novel 'Zero Days' Acquired By Universal International Studios For Series Development". Deadline. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  34. "The Reviewers' Choice Award: A Literary Award for Crime Fiction".
  35. Ruth Ware, www.ruthware.com/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017.
  36. "The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware." Book of the Month, https://www.bookofthemonth.com/best-books-of-the-year/the-woman-in-cabin-10-138. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017.
  37. "The Woman in Cabin 10." Simon & Schuster, www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Woman-in-Cabin-10/RuthWare/9781501132933. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017.
  38. "Dagger shortlists announced". Crime Writers Association. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  39. "Short Story Dagger".
  40. "In a Dark, Dark Wood." Penguin Books, https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1099571/in-a-dark-dark-wood/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017.
  41. Ruth Ware, www.ruthware.com/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017.
  42. Wilson, Laura (22 August 2015). "The best recent crime novels – review roundup". the Guardian. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  43. "The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, book review: A plausible mystery". The Independent. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  44. THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware | Kirkus Reviews.