Zero Days by Ruth Ware #bookreview

Thank you Scout Press / Netgalley #partner, for the advanced copy of Zero Days in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Gallery / Scout Press

Published: June 20, 2023

Summary:

The New York Times bestselling “new Agatha Christie” (Air Mail) Ruth Ware returns with this adrenaline-fueled thriller that combines Mr. and Mrs. Smith with The Fugitive about a woman in a race against time to clear her name and find her husband’s murderer.

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.

Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery from an author whose “propulsive prose keeps readers on the hook and refuses to let anyone off until all has been revealed” (Shelf Awareness).

My thoughts:

I have been a fan of Ruth Ware ever since reading her debut novel, In a Dark, Dark Wood. I’ve since read every single book she’s written and have enjoyed them all immensely, including this latest one. I love that I can count on her to deliver an engaging, binge-worthy thriller and we definitely get that with this new one and then some!

This is one adrenaline-fueled page-turner that really kept me on edge the entire time. At first, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go and I fully admit, I had to reread the first few chapters to really grasp what was happening, but then once I did…it really pulled me in. That was totally a me issue – I wasn’t home when I started it and there was too much going on around me. Definitely poor planning on my part, because once I was totally in the zone, I was all in!

This is one of those books that, just like our main protagonist, Jack, you are not going to be able to do much eating or sleeping while reading this one – it will totally consume you – and even if you do manage to put it down, you will be thinking about it. It’s intense and I found myself wondering if I would last half as long on the run as Jack did, trying to outsmart those who were after her as she tried to figure out who was behind everything.

I loved that I got to learn a bit about a new-to-me profession. The whole world of security is pretty foreign to me, as are most things tech, but don’t let that sway you from reading this. The author gives us the pieces we need in an accessible way, making you feel just as vulnerable as the characters even if you still don’t fully understand the exact nature of it all.

While this book is a bit of a departure for Ruth Ware in some ways, it still has many of her typical trademarks we’ve come to love. The suspense and twists are all there, as well as the fantastic character development. And the pacing – it really was like an action movie right from the get-go, which was just so fun!

I really enjoyed this one and definitely recommend adding it to your summer reading list…it’s sure to be a fast read, which I find perfect for those hot, lazy summer days!