The Woman in Cabin 10; Ruth Ware

                                                     The Woman in Cabin 10; Ruth Ware

Simon & Schuster Audio

Originally read in July 2016 - 

Reread/book group/ audio February/2020

Lo Blacklock is a journalist for Velocity, a travel magazine.  She's been given the work opportunity of a lifetime, a week on the Aurora, a luxury cruise ship.  Lo thinks that this assignment may be just what she needs to calm her nerves, as a few days earlier her London flat was broken into while she was at home.  Although she never got a good look at the masked crook and she wasn't physically harmed, emotionally she's a wreck and has been unable to sleep.

She boards the ship, destination Norway, but smooth sailing and calm nerves are not to be. Lo's first evening aboard she sleep deprived and spends a few hours dining with the small intimate group and drinking a bit too much.  Then she returns to her cabin she thinks she has witnessed the woman in the cabin next to hers (Cabin 10) being tossed overboard. She's pretty sure it was the woman whom she had borrowed mascara from earlier in the evening.

When Lo reports what she's seen to the crew member in charge, no one believes her. She is told that all the passengers are accounted for, and that cabin 10 is unoccupied. Determined to prove she's not going mad, Lo begins asking questions, perhaps too many questions for her own good.

The Woman in Cabin 10 is one of those mysteries that hooked me early on and kept me eagerly turning the pages.  The story is not perfect but, the characters are interesting and diverse and the setting awesome for the way this story played out. The sometimes paranoid protagonist, who at times had more guts than brains helped to make this a fun read.

Although I forgot parts of this one, my original rating (trying the audio this time) remained the same. Fun listen. 4/5 stars

Neighborhood Watch; Cammie McGovern

Title: Neighborhood Watch

Author:  Cammie McGovern

Setting: Connecticut

Publication Year: 2010

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Edition: audiobook 

Reader: Coleen Marlo

Source: Library 

Date Completed: 5/2012

Rating: 4/5

Recommend: yes

Have you ever read a book and not realized you had read it previously until you were almost done with it?  That's what happened to me with this book.  Not until the end did it start to sound very familiar, but I merrily listened along and then checked to see whether I read it -- yup (hardcover 2010) when the book was first released.   Oh well, although my rating is still the same, I think I even enjoyed this audio version even a bit more (2) years later.  Here's my take....

Hey, who among us book lovers would not be drawn to a story about a somewhat sad-sack, former  librarian who spent (12) years in prison for a murder she didn't really commit?  This is what happened to Betsy Treading in Neighborhood Watch.  Betsy was accused and confessed to the murder of her neighbor, Linda Sue.  She confessed, not because she did, but because she couldn't remember, and a bloody nightgown was found in her house.

When Betsy is released from a Connecticut prison, her lawyer suggests she snoop around her old neighborhood a bit, to see if she can come up with anything that may lead to finding Linda Sue's killer.

The story is narrated by Betsy and the story quickly engages the listener.  Betsy doesn't remember much about that night, and she did have a history of sleepwalking, a history of childhood trauma which has caused her to block out painful memories, and she did dislike Linda Sue.

Although most of the old neighbors have moved, Betsy slowly begins to piece together what likely occurred the night Linda Sue was killed.  This audio book was read by Coleen Marlo who did a great job.  You'll be guessing along the way who was involved in the murder. A fun audio book.