鈥淶ero Days鈥� by Ruth Ware (Scout Press)
The author of 鈥淭he Woman in Cabin 10鈥� and 鈥淚n a Dark, Dark Wood鈥� is back with another page-turning thriller. But while readers will surely turn the pages until the end, 鈥淶ero Days鈥� doesn鈥檛 quite ascend to the level of those previous bestsellers.
The star of the story is Jacintha 鈥淛ack鈥� Cross. Jack is a penetration specialist, a 鈥減en tester鈥� who breaks into offices with the help of her hacker hubby to test the security of British companies. The novel begins with Jack on the job, flirting with her husband, Gabe, on a headset as she navigates a corporate headquarters. By page 34, and this is not a spoiler given it鈥檚 on the back of the book, Gabe is dead and Jack is the No. 1 suspect.
Ware has a knack for creating female protagonists worth rooting for and Jack, 鈥渇ive foot two鈥� and a fan of eyeliner, is no exception. It鈥檚 the plot that gets in the way. Despite chapter headings that count backwards to zero (鈥淢inus Eight Days鈥�) and suggest something big at the end of the countdown, a majority of the book is spent entirely inside Jack鈥檚 head as she ponders and plans her next move. There鈥檚 not enough interaction with other characters to make it feel more propulsive and up the sense of danger. When she does speak, Jack sometimes sounds a little too one-note. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that or rot in prison for the murder of the man I love!鈥� she tells Gabe鈥檚 best friend as she hatches a scheme to try and uncover the real killer. With Gabe gone, she still hears his voice in her head 鈥� 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got this!鈥� 鈥� and it all feels just a little too predictable.
The best scenes are near the end, when Jack finally gives herself more than a moment to grieve. She cries 鈥済reat hacking sobs that seemed to be wrenched uncontrollably up from somewhere deep inside of me,鈥� as her ordeal finally ends. Along the way, there are some fun twists and turns, and Ware fans, or fans of quickie thrillers in general, will probably finish it in a weekend. First-time samplers of the genre would be better off reading something from the writer Ware has mentioned often as an influence, Agatha Christie.
Rob Merrill, The Associated Press
