The Woman in Suite 11
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Book cover | |
| Author | Ruth Ware |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Psychological thriller |
| Set in | Switzerland Sussex London |
| Publisher | Scout Press |
Publication date | 2025 |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | 9781668025628 |
| Preceded by | The Woman in Cabin 10 |
The Woman in Suite 11 is a 2025 psychological thriller novel by British author Ruth Ware, the sequel to Ware's 2016 novel The Woman in Cabin 10. The novel revisits the character of Lo Blacklock, ten years after her ordeal on the Aurora Borealis, as she becomes entangled in a murder investigation after unexpectedly reuniting with a figure from her past.
Laura "Lo" Blacklock has given up travel journalism to focus on raising her two young sons with her husband Judah in New York City, where she has become a U.S. citizen. She receives an invitation to cover the grand opening of a luxury hotel in Switzerland owned by the Leidmann Group, a European conglomerate led by billionaire Marcus Leidmann. Lo accepts, hoping to revive her journalism career.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Lo has surprise run-ins with Ben, Alexander, and Cole, fellow passengers from the Aurora Borealis. That night, she receives a note requesting her to come to suite 11; she is shocked to find Carrie, "the woman in cabin 10" whom she has not seen since Carrie's disappearance ten years ago.
Carrie tells Lo that she is trapped as Marcus' mistress; he is aware of Carrie's true identity and her wanted status for her role in Anne Bullmer's death. He has threatened to report her to the authorities, or even have her killed, if she disobeys him. Carrie believes that Marcus invited the four Aurora Borealis passengers to the hotel as a way to control her, forcing her to hide from them in her suite.
When Carrie asks Lo for assistance escaping back to England—disguising herself as Lo and travelling together using Lo's two passports—Lo is conflicted but ultimately accepts, unable to refuse helping Carrie. During an interview with Lo the next day, Marcus says he is undecided whether his son Pieter will succeed him as CEO. Lo leaves Switzerland early, feigning a health crisis with her elderly mother. Carrie and Lo successfully pass through immigration in Paris and reach England.
To celebrate, Carrie treats Lo to a luxury hotel stay in the Sussex countryside, but Marcus and Pieter arrive the next day; Carrie believes they are tracking Lo to see if Carrie is with her. In the morning, Lo runs across Pieter in the hallway, speaking to Marcus inside his hotel room and then heading down to breakfast. Shortly afterward, a cleaner discovers Marcus drowned in his bathtub.
Lo believes Carrie is innocent because she was already in their hotel room when Lo returned from seeing Pieter. Lo is interviewed by Interpol officer Filippo Capaldi as well as by British police, who later arrest her for Marcus' murder. Marcus' phone contained images of Lo and Cole in what looks like a romantic encounter outside her hotel room in Switzerland; Lo insists that it was only an innocuous kiss on the cheek, but the police believe the images are motive for her to kill Marcus.
After being released on bail, Lo reunites with Ben and Cole; they analyse the key card data from the hotel, which Lo believes points toward her innocence. She also listens to the audio of Marcus' phone call ordering room service after speaking with Pieter. Returning to her hotel room, Lo finds that Carrie has disappeared and taken Lo's suitcase with her. Judah surprises Lo at the hotel, having traveled to England from New York. The pair track Carrie to her grandmother's house in Woodingdean via an AirTag device in Lo's suitcase.
Lo confronts Carrie, suggesting that she and Pieter planned Marcus' murder and that the room service phone call was faked with a recording of Marcus' voice; Carrie actually drowned Marcus earlier that morning, before Lo's encounter with Pieter. Carrie confesses, explaining that she had intended to give Lo an alibi, but the plan had not gone as expected. She agrees to turn herself into Interpol, and Capaldi takes her away. However, Lo and Judah later realise that Capaldi is not a real Interpol officer; Lo recalls seeing him as one of Marcus' employees in Switzerland.
While visiting her mother's house in London, Lo is attacked by Pieter in search of Carrie's phone, which Carrie secretly left with Lo. After dialling 999, an injured Lo convinces Pieter that he could not live a life on the run like Carrie, and she watches helplessly as he shoots himself. Lo is exonerated after giving Carrie's phone to the police. She returns to New York with Judah and later receives a photo message of Carrie and Capaldi embracing on a beach.