In a Dark, Dark Wood

Author: Ruth Ware

Rating: ⭐ 4/5

Date Read: 2016/12/02

Pages: 311

Kati recommended this one to me awhile back; I believe I told her I was in need of a book that would allow me to turn off my mind without reminding me that most light reads are written for people far less intelligent than I. I’m probably paraphrasing here, but I imagine my comments were similarly snobbish and out of touch with reality. Anyway, I promptly ordered the book from a seller on Amazon, felt satisfied by the whole ordeal, and put it in a basket to read later. I guess later is now.

In a Dark, Dark Wood is about a bachelorette party gone wrong. This is quite wonderful, as I too feel a general sense of malaise surrounding bachelorette parties. More specifically, I disdain the current cultural milieu, in which I’m expected to spend hundreds of dollars (and my precious days off) to travel somewhere middling, only to be told that I must wear black and that I must order rounds of shots and dance to insipid pop songs whilst surrounded by strobe lights, when I’d really rather stay in with a book and go to bed early. Also, there are rarely strippers. You’d think that, after going to all that trouble, someone would at least pay a hot man to pretend to be a firefighter and then take off his spandex uniform while we all drink Manhattans and watch.

(Dear married friends: it was, of course, an absolute honor to attend your wedding festivities, and I’m so happy that I was able to celebrate the commitment you made to each other! Your marriage is an inspiration to me, unless it ended in divorce, in which case I never liked that asshole anyway.)

In a Dark, Dark Wood takes the unease that some many of us feel about the three-ring circus the wedding industry has become and examines just how far this can go. The world is wonderfully atmospheric, and populated with psychologically interesting characters. The result is a smart thriller that actually kept me guessing until the big reveal.