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The Woman in Cabin 10 Review
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The screen adaptation of Ruth Ware's mystery thriller The Woman in Cabin 10 is finally here. In today's episode, Brook and Sarah share their thoughts.
Discussed and mentioned
The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016) Ruth Ware
The Woman in Cabin 10 (2025 film) Netflix
The Woman in Suite 11 (2025) Ruth Ware
What Would You Do? The Woman in Cabin 10 (released September 6, 2022)
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For a full episode transcript, visit https://cluedinmystery.com/the-woman-in-cabin-10-review/
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Transcript
Excitement for Netflix's 'The Woman in Cabin 10' Adaptation
00:00:11
Speaker
Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke, and we both love mystery. Brooke. Hi, Sarah. I have been waiting for this day for for so, so long.
00:00:24
Speaker
Yes, me too. It's very exciting for mystery fans, especially fans of Ruth Ware and her mystery thriller, The Woman in Cabin 10, which which longtime listeners will remember hearing us do our deep dive. It was the very first What Would You Do book that we did.
00:00:44
Speaker
And today it's being released as an adaptation on Netflix. Yes, today is the day. We've been talking about this because we heard that this was in the works probably about a year ago.
Expectations and Casting for the Adaptation
00:00:57
Speaker
And we've been like watching to see when it when it comes out and putting it on our Clued in Mystery calendar. And the day is finally here. So here's what Sarah and I are going to do. We are going to push pause on this recording, and we're going to sort of co-watch, even though we're long distance from one another, and then we're going to come back and discuss what we thought of the film and how it compares with the book.
00:01:23
Speaker
Before we begin, Sarah, what are your expectations of this Netflix production? Well, you know, i don't know because I have not watch I don't even think I watched a trailer for this. I've really tried to avoid it. But I do know that Keira Knightley plays Lo, our main character, Lo Blacklog.
00:01:47
Speaker
And I did listen to our What Would You Do episode to remind me of what we said about it when when we first talked about it a couple of years ago.
00:01:59
Speaker
I did too. I re-listened to our episode and ah it was a lot of fun to think back. That was clear back in 2023, I think, Sarah. And I will say that I have been trying to avert my eyes from trailers, but you know what a big Ruth Ware
Book vs. Movie: Character and Plot Differences
00:02:16
Speaker
fan I am. And I i was on Instagram and I saw Ruth Ware speaking and I turned on the volume and she was discussing some of her thoughts about the film.
00:02:24
Speaker
So I did hear her say that she thought that Keira Knightley was too beautiful for Lowe. And I found that interesting. So there's just a little tidbit that we can think on as we're watching the show.
00:02:37
Speaker
Interesting. I hope it'll be good. i I enjoyed the book and it's always fun to watch how it appears on screen. Absolutely. I'm off to ah pop some popcorn and get the television fired up and we will talk soon, Sarah.
00:02:57
Speaker
Sounds good.
00:03:01
Speaker
Okay, Brooke, we've watched The Woman in Cabin 10 and I'm sure you have some thoughts. I do. i do. Just general ah comment is I really enjoyed it. I thought that it was a great film. So let's get into it.
00:03:18
Speaker
So my first thought is it was rated R. I don't know if you noticed that when it started up. And it makes sense because there was a little bit of violence and a little bit of language. But um i I thought, oh, you know what that's That's interesting because I never rate books in my head, right? I might think, oh this is a bit dark.
00:03:38
Speaker
h But i there's no kind of rating system for books. So I wouldn't have rated the book itself as R. Yeah, very good point. Very good point.
00:03:49
Speaker
um I love the opening music and ah like the – Music is there something else that we don't get in a book, right? And it has so much more um like ambiance and um like mood. And I think that it, this movie did a really good job using sound effects and that kind of like music.
00:04:09
Speaker
But right off the bat, we have something that's different. And I will say there are many things about the film that are different from the book. And a big difference right from the beginning is Lowe was so much more successful and put together of a character than she is in the book. And we don't, she has no live-in boyfriend.
00:04:29
Speaker
No, that's that's right. So that's that's two big departures, right? In the book, she is working for a small publication, or maybe she's freelance, I don't remember, but she's really not where she wants to be in her career. Whereas in the film, she is one of the top journalists at The Guardian, which for any journalist is probably a dream.
00:04:54
Speaker
Yes. So she's very put together. maybe this kind of harkens back to what ah the little bit I heard from Ruth Ware about not only is Keira Knightley just a very elegant and beautiful woman in her own right, but they made the character be to be very um polished and put together. And that's different from the low black lock that we read about in the book.
00:05:19
Speaker
Yeah, because another departure, so you mentioned she doesn't have this boyfriend, so that character doesn't exist at all in this. And she ah is also not a heavy drinker, whereas in the book, that was a really key plot point and a reason for people to dismiss her was, well, you had a lot to drink last night or you've been drinking since you got on board. Are you sure that you really saw what you think you saw?
00:05:49
Speaker
And in this, we don't see that that's not used as an excuse to gaslight her. It's just absent. And I actually don't – I think that that's fine. I was i was okay with that change.
00:06:02
Speaker
I was too. When the night – the big night happened and she hadn't been drinking a lot of champagne and really none of the guests really over imbibe, – happens in the book. like you know It's not just low. everyone is you know The alcohol is flowing.
00:06:17
Speaker
But when that happens and she hasn't been drinking, I had this, oh, no, what's the excuse going
Visual and Mystery Elements in the Film
00:06:23
Speaker
to be for them to gaslight her or not believe her? And yeah In fact, it kind of works well because rather than at the beginning having her traumatic experience be the break into her apartment, it's the story that she covered where a woman was murdered um in a drowning episode. Mm-hmm.
00:06:44
Speaker
And so that then becomes the reason where it's like, you know what, you've just been through this traumatic work experience. And I really liked that. I thought that worked nicely. And I also liked the water. You know, we had the water imagery and that first traumatic thing that happens to her. She's on the water.
00:07:01
Speaker
Really nice. i agree, Brooke. I think that that makes sense. I know I don't remember this from the book, but all of those reflective surfaces, yeah which I thought was really interesting visually, ah you know, creates a bit of confusion for her.
00:07:20
Speaker
Right. um And that's also carried over ah towards the end of the film when they're in Norway. They're in a very sleek, still very reflective ah space. Yeah.
00:07:34
Speaker
Yeah, I agree with that. And I also, which I don't know if this is ah architecturally feasible, but the spiral staircase, which is something we see. We saw that in Murder at the End of the World.
00:07:48
Speaker
And in this film, I mean, I think that there's there are books with that in the title. There's something about that spiral staircase that's very mystery ah theme. And I liked that. You would see her going up and down.
00:07:59
Speaker
Yeah, that's great. The guest list, I think, was also different than in the book because I felt like there were ah few more people that she was familiar with on in the book versus on the cruise ship.
00:08:20
Speaker
I agree. The photographer and Ben were two different people. I was going to ask you that because I couldn't read i I didn't remember Ben being the photographer. No, I think he was another like print journalist.
00:08:33
Speaker
So they combined those two characters into one. Another big difference, and I think this works too, is that Anne is the reason that Lowe gets the invitation for this trip at all. And she wants Lowe's input because there again, Lowe's this very ah high profile, successful journalist who writes for The Guardian, so people know her.
00:08:57
Speaker
And Lowe learns that Anne is planning to change her will. And I thought this was really clever and a great way to set up more of a motive um and some some clues that Lowe can follow.
00:09:13
Speaker
Yeah. i ah So I couldn't remember from the book whether that was – part of the original story that Anne was changing her will? I can't recall that either.
00:09:25
Speaker
And we'll get to it. But um definitely in the book, there was more of an actual relationship between Carrie, who is you know playing Anne, um and um Richard. But at that that's not the case in this book either, which I thought worked well.
00:09:43
Speaker
Yeah, I think i think in the movie, she the character just has a lot more credibility than she does in the book. Right. However, i feel like she seems a little bit more unhinged. And maybe that was just in my imagination as a reader. I did not. But, you know, she does seem very crazy. And if you put yourself in the shoes of one of the other passengers, you'd be like, this lady is ruining the trip.
00:10:09
Speaker
She's being a maniac. You know, I could understand why they were all gaslighting her because they she seems like she's just off a
Character Dynamics and Suspense
00:10:18
Speaker
rocker most of the time.
00:10:19
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Like they just want to enjoy this trip and they don't really get into it. But his ah Richard's brother, who's a famous musician, he leaves. He's like, nah, I've I've I've had enough of this.
00:10:33
Speaker
And they don't really explore whether he's got some secret or what what his reason for leaving is. And I don't remember in the book. um So he was character, I think, in the book.
00:10:48
Speaker
I don't honestly remember the character. And I felt like it was something new when I saw him coming in the movie. But, you know, because he's kind of like this like old school rock star. And, you know, it's a great character. And I will say that there these are some really great characters in this.
00:11:03
Speaker
He left and there's kind of some suggestion that, well, they should just make low leave. Like and she's the one who's ruining the party. Like, why are you letting her stay here? Mm hmm.
00:11:15
Speaker
Which is a good question. Right. Because clearly it was possible to have someone leave. Right. Right. They had these little commuter type boats that could take people in and out.
00:11:29
Speaker
So I have this overwhelming urge because this is the book we started with to ask you a what would you do question, Sarah. And that is, would you have followed the hooded character that knocks on your door ah downstairs in the middle of the night?
00:11:48
Speaker
Yeah, that is a good question. And I think... you know, leading up to this, as you say, Lo has been behaving like a mad woman, right? She's trying to convince everybody that this, someone has come, has fallen off of the boat and that there was someone in this cabin and she's just looking more and more bonkers.
00:12:13
Speaker
So I think I would, because she's feeling that judgment of the other passengers and the And she believes in her heart that she is right. She wants to prove that to everybody else. So, and she's a journalist, right? So she's she's going to be curious. So I think if I were in the same situation, i probably would follow. I might, at this point, she's not trusting Ben either, right? She's she's kind of lost.
00:12:43
Speaker
she's She's not sure who she can trust, but I might do something to try and at least let someone else know what I was doing. Yeah. Yeah.
00:12:54
Speaker
I think that that's all spot on, but she does follow this person and it's the hoodie that gives it away that, you know, that was the girl that she saw in cabin 10 earlier.
00:13:05
Speaker
So she wants desperately to speak with her she, this is where we have a little departure again from the book's plot line. Carrie reveals that she's kind of an innocent victim of this whole thing too. She thought she was going to be sort of an actress and, ah you know, impersonate the wife, do some paperwork in and out.
00:13:27
Speaker
And in fact, Richard has some much bigger plans up his sleeve. And so I felt pretty sympathetic towards Carrie, which I never felt in the book.
00:13:39
Speaker
I agree. She's she is a a much more sympathetic character, almost more likable. um And doesn't, the she's she's seeking help from Lo.
00:13:56
Speaker
Mm-hmm. which I didn't get from the book. No.
Sequel Possibilities and Creative Changes
00:14:00
Speaker
Yeah, and they don't have that adversarial um relationship at all, which they definitely go through that period of time in the book.
00:14:08
Speaker
ah So they arrive in Norway, Brooke, and everybody leaves. The crew has been told that she's resting. Nobody's really asked.
00:14:21
Speaker
I think because she was so disruptive, everybody's quite frankly happy that Lo has kept to her... cabin but ben is a little bit like why i would like to see her before before we go that was a that was a tough scene and i and the way that they had set up those that character relationship it was really hard on low as well i know that there's a sequel book suite 11 that we are going to do as our what would you do book but this makes me think that maybe there's not going to be a sequel movie
00:14:56
Speaker
That's where I came away with it too And also the change of character in Carrie, because um we know that Carrie does play a role in Sweet Eleven, and we'll we'll get into that when we do our breakdown of it.
00:15:08
Speaker
But those changes, and I will admit, before watching the movie, my assumption was, hey, Eleven just came out, And Netflix is probably going to snatch that up and run with it.
00:15:21
Speaker
I suppose it's still an option because just like they made some pretty big plot shifts in this movie, it there's a possibility that they ah do the same. But um yeah, it it didn't pan out the way I expected they didn't leave it with a suggestion that there would be a sequel but I think you're right Brooke there's a lot of creative license that can be taken they can certainly come up with a reason to to to do Sweet Eleven and if this film is successful then that may be something that they that they end up doing
00:15:57
Speaker
Yeah. And that's a great point. ah We know that streaming services many times don't make any decisions on follow-ups until, you know, the popularity and viewing is is determined.
00:16:10
Speaker
but i I was surprised by Pearce and Hannah Waddingham being in the film because, i as I said, I hadn't watched any of the trailers. So that was, you know,
00:16:22
Speaker
when each of those characters appeared, I was like, oh, oh, who else are we going to see? Exactly. Yes, I felt the same way. I thought that the casting was really great and it some obviously some really big names. So that is is fantastic for ah for the genre.
00:16:40
Speaker
One plot point that I don't remember from the book at all, and it After watching the whole film, I kind of wonder why this was included. And maybe this is just the way it is on yachts. I don't know.
00:16:55
Speaker
But when she boarded and they made her take off her shoes, I've never been on a yacht. So, you know, maybe this is something that is ah common practice. But it just seemed a really strange thing to have because there was no reference to that again.
00:17:13
Speaker
Absolutely. No, it was definitely not in the book. And when it did happen, I thought, oh, we're going to see this. This is going to come up like somebody's shoes are going to be really.
00:17:25
Speaker
Well, then she wore her shoes the rest of the time. Well, I think they gave her some shoes. But lot of shoe choices. Like one some of them she lost in the water. That's right. Yeah. When she when she was on the on the railing, she lost shoe. And I was thinking, oh, okay, well, this is where this is going to come up because she's going to have to explain how one of her shoes is now lost.
00:17:47
Speaker
But no, there was no – so I don't know if it was a scene that was scrapped or what. yeah It just seemed like a really strange thing – to to show.
00:17:58
Speaker
i agree. I think that the original scene of them removing their shoes should have been scrapped. So what did you think about the scene where somebody pushes Lowe into swimming pool and then the cover closes over her, trapping her?
00:18:15
Speaker
Yeah. i thought that that was a good scene. And I think that was in the book, wasn't it? I don't think so. I need to go back and look because I felt like that was an added in scene.
00:18:28
Speaker
um I don't recall that from the book. But something about it felt a little bit over the top to me. Like the timing was just like so perfect. And then luckily it was they have like a clear view down below deck of the pool so that the other passengers saw her struggling. don't know. ah It went a little bit over the top for me.
00:18:49
Speaker
I did wonder why that wasn't the first place that she went um to bang on that window because she kind of struggles to try to open up the cover. But that's so interesting that i have this memory of it being in the book and you're not sure that it's that it's in there.
00:19:09
Speaker
It was a great example of that moment in a mystery investigation where the um the villain kind of starts to act back. ah they try to shut down the sleuth. And, you know, that was a really great moment of that, even if I didn't love the way that it was ah captured.
00:19:30
Speaker
But there's not really any follow up to it because she says, Lo says to Carrie, why did you push me into the pool? And Carrie says, I didn't do that.
00:19:40
Speaker
And we never find out who actually did. Yeah. I guess in my mind, I assumed it was the doctor because Richard kind of had it has the medical doctor doing his dirty work.
00:19:53
Speaker
But you're right. We never find never find out. It's not followed up on.
00:19:59
Speaker
You know,
Reflecting on Adaptation Choices
00:20:00
Speaker
one thing i was thinking about when we were watching Sarah is that um as somebody who writes these stories and, you know, you and I have written mysteries together and tend to to keep doing so,
00:20:13
Speaker
A lot of times we really ah worry over certain ah parts of the story. you know Should the main character have a ah boyfriend? Should they not? you know What's the going to be the clue? And um and this comparison between Women in Cabin 10 book and movie shows that really it doesn't matter I should say it doesn't matter, but either one can work, right? Like, and because I feel like both these are equally as good, they're but they're very different in you kind of get from point A to point B. I think that's such a good observation, Brooke. And it's, I think really what you're saying is that as writers, you just need to make a choice and go with it, right? And and follow the story.
00:21:02
Speaker
Yes. And it's not... a cigarette or mascara, it's a clue. And where does that clue take you? her Absolutely. You know, there's a saying that says, make a decision and then make the decision right. Like, don't worry about if it's a right or wrong decision, make a decision and make it right. And I think that's a really, this is a illustration of that for, for writers.
00:21:28
Speaker
So Brooke, would you recommend someone watch this even if they haven't read the book? Absolutely. And you know i was part of me was thinking how much fun it would be to see it without sitting there going, oh, but in the book, blah, blah, blah.
00:21:44
Speaker
But many times I get – I'm feeling ah frustrated when I have those feelings like, oh, but in the book, the book was better, you know, that kind of an attitude.
00:21:57
Speaker
And even though things were different, I still really liked this. I thought everything they did ah worked really well. I agree. This is, I would say, one of the better screen adaptations that I've seen in that they – they Stuck to the main points of the story, made some changes where it made
Audience Engagement and Conclusion
00:22:21
Speaker
sense. And, you know, I don't know that I would say it's better than the book, but I would say it's it's definitely worth a watch.
00:22:31
Speaker
Absolutely. Brooke, this has been so fun to watch this and debrief it, knowing that we used this book as a what would you do episode a while ago.
00:22:45
Speaker
It's been so great, Sarah. It's kind of a history-making book for us on our podcast. And now, you know, we're we're getting another opportunity to take the story apart. It was really fun. And we hope that you enjoyed it too, listeners. And if you watch The Woman in Cabin 10 on Netflix, make sure you reach out and let us know what you thought of it.
00:23:06
Speaker
Join our newsletter and you'll find out lots more of things like this about our opinions on books and movies. But until next time, thank you for joining us on Clued in Mystery.
00:23:18
Speaker
I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah. And we both love mystery. Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers.
00:23:29
Speaker
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00:23:43
Speaker
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