“I think you’re forgetting whose weekend this is.”

96. In a Dark, Dark Wood – Ruth Ware

All right, Nora, I think you could have stopped all the murder from happening in this book with a text ten years ago, but this read so quickly I didn’t really care that the real reason for the killings was technically stupid.

A hen do in the middle of nowhere for a wedding you’re not invited to doesn’t sound like a good idea to anyone, not even Nora, but she goes anyway. I got the impression that Clare is not really someone who has actual friends. She just has people who tolerate her; including Nora’s former boyfriend James who she tragically lost in a texting accident that no one ever questioned when they were sixteen, despite all evidence of sixteen year olds being unable to stop texting when they smell drama.

Anyhoo, I do like cold middle of nowhere settings and I have found that female friendships are represented in a way that both makes sense and doesn’t in stories like this. Whomever is a true friend and not into pretending she’s fine with all the proceedings just to placate Clare (or insert whatever controlling bride stereotype) will die far too soon and then we’re stuck with the leftovers who think “not making a scene” and “this is for Clare” are good ways to get through the whole weekend. They’re not. It’s still going down bloody and stupid- but quickly.

 

Ozymandias never had trouble being friends with Danger Crumples, the most dramatic of all guinea pigs.