What is the Best Book by Ruth Ware? Let’s discuss all her books and figure out what are your favorite and what are the right ones for you to read?
Read and Rank: What is the Best Book by Ruth Ware?
Books Written by Ruth Ware in Order
In a Dark Dark Wood (2015)
- Vibe: bachelorette party gone wrong
- For fans of: unreliable narrators, gaslighting and spooky gatherings
The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016)
- What: Travel Thriller. This book is on my list of Travel Thrillers Set on Airplanes Boats Cars and Trains
- For those who like gaslighting, epistolary elements, and a claustrophobic feel.
MOVIE NEWS FOR THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10!
Ruth Ware and Netflix have announced that The Woman in Cabin 10 will be a Netflix movie. Release date to be announced!
The Lying Game (2017)
- What: an I Know What You Did Last Summer vibe
- Old school friends with a secret
The Death of Mrs. Westaway (2018)
- What: a girl receives notice of a mysterious inheritance
- A Knives Out vibe
The Turn of the Key (2019)
- A modern Gothic, complete with a governess (well, nanny) a spooky old house (well, a smart mansion) and some creepy Victorian children (well, just regular kids….)
- You can find my review of Turn of the Key here!
One by One by Ruth Ware (2020)
- A closed-circle mystery set in the Alps
- My Spoiler Discussion for One by One is here.
The It Girl by Ruth Ware (2022)
- A “we used to be friends, a long time ago” vibe
- Dark Academia (well, an Oxbridge setting)
- My Review of The It Girl
- Come talk Spoilers for the It Girl!
Zero Days by Ruth Ware (2023)
- A heart pounding thriller with a techno focus
- My Review of Zero Days
- My Zero Days Spoiler Discussion
Zero Days Movie News!
Universal Pictures has optioned the book. This means that it MIGHT move forward into development (hiring a screenwriter and attaching a director, producers and even stars. Fingers crossed!)
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware (2024)
- This one was REALLY different and is more a survival story that her classic suspense and thriller books
- Check out my Review of One Perfect Couple
The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware (2025)
Lo Blackstock is BACK and on another travel adventure. I’ll be reading it soon!
Themes in books by Ruth Ware
Ruth Ware writes classic mysteries, often with a psychological component.
Many of her books have the “group of friends with a secret” trope, including In a Dark Dark Wood, The Lying Game, and The It Girl.
Another common theme is a character who finds themselves in a perilous situation with a group of people, like The Death of Mrs. Westaway, Turn of the Key, One by One, and One Perfect Couple.
Most of Ruth Ware’s books take place in the UK. I think the only exceptions are One by One, which is set in the French Alps, and One Perfect Couple, set on an island in the Indian Ocean.
Several of Ruth Ware’s books have epistolary elements. The Turn of the Key is told in letters by an imprisoned girl to her lawyer. The Woman in Cabin 10 incorporates social media posts. One Perfect Couple incorporates journal entries.
And many of Ruth Ware’s books have technology elements, from the “Snoop” app in One by One to the high tech house in Turn of the Key to the very tech-forward Zero Days.
Which Ruth Ware Book has the Best Goodreads Scores (at of June 2025)
I agree with these rankings, except for The Death of Mrs. Westaway, which I wasn’t a fan of.
Also, I met Ruth Ware at a signing for that book (she was lovely!) and she let me pick a tarot card. But I gave the book and the tarot card to my blogger friend Grace.
The Turn of the Key: 3.91 stars
The It Girl: 3.85 stars
The Death of Mrs. Westaway: 3.82 stars
The Woman in Cabin 10: 3.73 stars
One by One: 3.72 stars
In a Dark Dark Wood: 3.72 stars
One Perfect Couple: 3.64 stars
Zero Days: 3.64 stars.
The Lying Game: 3.52 stars
Which Ruth Ware Book Did I Love Most?
As I said in my review of The It Girl, I LOVE Dark Academia and so The It Girl is my favorite by far.
I think my second favorite would be The Turn of the Key, because I love that it’s a modern Gothic. If you, like me, love those, check out The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins or Verity by Colleen Hoover.
My third favorite? One Perfect Couple, which was a shock to me as I don’t always like reality TV themed suspense stories!
Which Ruth Ware Book Should You Read?
Well, I would try them all! If you’re an Agatha Christie fan, you might love One by One, which feels like an homage to And Then There Were None.
Did you like Knives Out? You might like The Death of Mrs. Westaway.
If you’re all about the twist ending, try The Turn of the Key.
Reality TV fan or a fan of survival stories? One Perfect Couple!
What do YOU think is the Best Book by Ruth Ware?
I hope you will tell me in comments. Let’s discuss it!
I’ve never read this author before.
Probably not your cup of tea, Mary!
Hmmm I’m not 100% sure it’s for me but they have the “tropes” I usually enjoy!
Try one and let me know!
I’ve read all of Ruth Ware’s books except for The It Girl. I loved The Turn of The Key the best out of what I’ve read. It was really creepy in some parts! I also liked One by One.
I liked Turn of the Key a lot too. I really hope you try The It Girl and let me know what you think!
This is helpful ! I’ve only read The Women In Cabin 10 and have always wondered which one to read next. I like twist endings so I’ll add The Turn of the Key to my TBR. I also want to read The It Girl.
Definitely read those two. The Turn of the Key was a fun update on a Gothic and I LOVED The It Girl.
I’ve read A Turn of the Key and The Lying Game and liked both of them. I started The Woman in Cabin 10 but never finished it as it didn’t captivate me from the beginning. I have the It Girl in my queue to read next and am very excited about it, as I also love dark academia thrillers.
I really hope you like it, Mandy. A commenter on my Spoiler Discussion said it wasn’t her favorite 🙁 but I really loved the classic mystery feel and the dark academia vibe!
I haven’t read The It Girl, yet, but I am looking forward to it.
I wasn’t a fan of The Lying Game, but liked the premise. I 100% agree that One by One feels like a modern homage to And Then There Were None. The later is a classic for a reason, and One by One was a fantastic re-imagining of it. As much as I enjoyed it, I would rank The Woman in Cabin 10 the highest, but only by a slim margin.
I’m glad to hear Ruth was nice! I enjoy her books. They are easy, quick, fun reads. She never fails to entertain.
If you liked the premise of The Lying Game (as I did) then I think you’ll love The It Girl. Let me know!
I just finished “The It Girl,” so it is very fresh on my mind. Beyond that, I love viewing British mysteries on cable TV, especially those set in academia or in close proximity like “Endeavor.” I believe this is my favorite Ruth Ware book at this time, primarily because of the wonderful character development, the careful and intricate plotting of the story, and the terrific twist. She is probably my favorite mystery writer for sure, and there are a lot of good ones.
So happy that you agree. I also LOVE British mysteries on TV and I’ve been meaning to do a post on those. I did do a Dark Academia book post – check it out and tell me if you have favorite titles I missed!
The It Girl hands down is my new favorite of hers!
My favourite was The Death of Mrs. Westaway. Guess I am in the minority….
I am often in the minority about books! I wanted to like that one, but for whatever reason it just didn’t grab me!