The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

This is the big break Lo Blacklock has been waiting for.  She has been marking time at a small travel magazine, waiting on a promotion that is unlikely to happen at such a small enterprise.  But a marvelous opportunity has fallen in her lap.  Her boss falls ill and is unable to go on a maiden voyage cruise and chooses Lo to go in her place.  If she does a good job, she can either get that promotion or make enough buzz to move to another job.

This should be an easy assignment to find plenty to write about.  The cruise ship is small, just ten suites.  It is the latest brainchild of the fabulously wealthy Richard Bullmar, a young entrepreneur whose every idea turns to gold.  This inaugural trip of the Aurora will have Bullmer and his wife, some of his friends and various media representatives.  They will go from England to Norway, which is his wife's homeland.  The hope is that they will get to experience the Northern Lights in addition to utter luxury aboard.

But things don't go well.  The first night, Lo is in her bed.  Yes, she drank too much at the first dinner but she knows when she bolts upright out of a sound sleep that something is wrong.  She hears a scream, then a huge splash as if a body has hit the water.  Looking next door from her veranda, she sees that the door is streaked with blood.  Surely someone has fallen into the ocean.

She calls the chief steward but things don't go well.  He insists that there was no one in the adjoining cabin even when Lo insists that she met the woman there before the dinner.  When she describes the woman, he takes her around to meet all the staff and there is no one that matches the description.  Since it is a small ship, there is only a handful of staff.  Even worse, the steward suggests that Lo was mistaken; that she was either intoxicated or that she is paranoid and looking for attention.  But someone believes her and that someone is determined to stop Lo before she can get the ear of someone who matters.  Will that person succeed?

Ruth Ware has written an intriguing thriller that will keep readers guessing.  The suspense builds quickly and the updates from Lo's home as her family and boyfriend start to suspect something is wrong add to the mystery.  Ruth Ware has had a couple of best selling mysteries and she is a new star in the genre.  This book is recommended for suspense readers.