Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club
Episode: "Best of 2025: Plan The Perfect Murder with Ruth Ware"
Host: Danielle Robay
Guest: Ruth Ware (bestselling thriller author)
Air Date: December 23, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode revisits a fan-favorite conversation with Ruth Ware, the acclaimed author hailed as the "queen of the modern thriller." Ware joins host Danielle Robay to delve into the art of constructing the perfect murder mystery, the inspiration behind her twisty plots, the real challenges of writing sequels, her fascination with the super-rich behaving badly, and the psychology of crime on and off the page. The two discuss Ware’s latest novel, The Woman in Suite Eleven—a much-anticipated sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10—as well as her personal creative journey and advice for aspiring thriller writers.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
Ruth Ware’s Obsession: Wealth, Secrets, and Power
- Intrigue with the Super-Rich as Thriller Material
- Ruth shares her fascination with billionaires and their doomsday prepping, inspired by stories like Mark Zuckerberg’s Hawaiian bunker.
- "[...] I would love to set a thriller in a celebrity's bunker either after the end of the world has actually come, or maybe just when they think it's come. There’ll be so much juicy material of, you know, the billionaires and all their entourage quietly melting down…” (Ruth Ware, 07:29)
- Ware and Danielle discuss the enduring allure of "rich people behaving badly"—a recurring trope in thrillers and TV hits like White Lotus.
Building Tension and Crafting Settings
- Luxury Settings as Nightmares
- Ruth draws inspiration from Agatha Christie, turning glamorous environments (cruise ships, Swiss chateaux) into locations for anxiety and danger, mirroring works like Death on the Nile.
- “One of the things I love about White Lotus... is the idea of a kind of a super lux setting that is also slightly nightmarish.” (Ruth Ware, 12:07)
- She often writes about places she’s never visited, using research, documentaries, and imagination. Only later does she confirm if her details align with reality; this led to amusing mishaps like including monkeys (instead of the real fruit bats) on a Maldivian island.
Research, Imagination, and the Writer’s Mind
- Search History Woes
- Ruth jokes about her incriminating Google searches: “If I ever get investigated, I am absolutely going to prison for like 40 years straight.” (Ruth Ware, 04:07, 14:36)
- The Writer’s Portal
- Ruth and Danielle discuss how both readers and writers use novels as portals: “It’s always the smallest things that are the hardest to research… like how long would it take to get from A to B, or would this really small plot point be plausible?” (Ruth Ware, 16:55)
- Imagination as a Superpower
- Ruth attributes much of her writing style to her “super visual imagination,” picturing scenes like movies in her head—resulting in fewer continuity errors and richly detailed settings.
Sequel Hesitation and Character Evolution
- Why Not More Sequels?
- Ruth’s reluctance to write sequels stems from plausibility (ordinary people shouldn’t keep finding corpses) and empathy for her characters’ trauma.
- “I sort of feel at the end of it, like they basically deserve a break.” (Ruth Ware, 24:58)
- For The Woman in Suite Eleven, fan curiosity about the characters’ futures “lit a spark,” making her want to find out for herself what happened next.
Motherhood, Bravery, and Motivation
- On Motherhood as a Catalyst for Creativity
- Ruth subverts the stereotype that motherhood impedes creativity: “Motherhood gave you bravery... I think it comes back to the idea of selfishness, really… I thought the only way I’m going to be able to keep this thing that I love in my life is if I put my big girl pants on and write a book that I sub to agents...” (Ruth Ware, 28:03)
- Parenthood taught Ruth to fight for what was essential to her identity—including writing.
The Secret Sauce of a Good Thriller
- Suspense and Questions
- Ruth’s key advice: always give readers a reason to turn the page, planting questions and then strategically doling out answers.
- “A good novel will have a kind of overlapping rhythm of questions and answers...” (Ruth Ware, 31:18)
The Real Villains: Social Commentary
- Villains as Mirrors of Anxiety
- Ruth’s antagonists—often billionaires—reflect modern social anxieties about wealth, power, tech, and surveillance: “Wealth inequality is one of the most pressing topics of our age… What does it do to people to have that much money and that little accountability?” (Ruth Ware, 43:00)
Life After Publication and Adaptation News
- Ruth discusses the surreal thrill of her novel The Woman in Cabin 10 being adapted for film, starring Keira Knightley.
- “It feels great to be able to sort of hand my baby over and say, this is your problem now. You deal with it.” (Ruth Ware, 44:34)
- She’s excited to see others interpret her work, highlighting the collective effort in filmmaking compared to writing.
Memorable Quotes & Moments
On Building Thrillers Around the Ultra-Wealthy (07:29)
“I would love to set a thriller in a celebrity's bunker either after the end of the world has actually come, or maybe just when they think it's come... the billionaires and all their entourage quietly melting down in this post apocalyptic world.”
— Ruth Ware
On Research and Crime-Writing Paranoia (14:36)
“[...] If I ever get investigated, I am absolutely going to prison for, like, 40 years. Straight. It’s all ...‘How long would it take a body to decompose?’ ...‘What dosage of insulin would prove fatal?’... It's just appalling.”
— Ruth Ware
On the Writer’s Visual Mind (18:15)
“I think I have a super visual imagination ... when I picture an apple, I see an apple. So I think that really helps when I’m writing, I literally see the scenes playing out in my mind's eye.”
— Ruth Ware
On Reluctance to Write Sequels (24:58)
“My characters go through so much in my books ... I sort of feel at the end of it, like they basically deserve a break.”
— Ruth Ware
On the Power of Motherhood (28:03)
“Motherhood gave you bravery ... the only way I’m going to be able to keep this thing that I love in my life is if I put my big girl pants on and write a book that I sub to agents...”
— Ruth Ware
On the Secret of Suspense Writing (31:18)
“A good novel will have a kind of overlapping rhythm of questions and answers that isn’t just the sort of big whodunit question ... little mysteries, intriguing things, dropped breadcrumbs...”
— Ruth Ware
On Villains and Wealth Inequality (43:00)
“Wealth inequality is one of the most pressing topics of our age… What does it do to people to have that much money and that little accountability? It’s a really interesting question.”
— Ruth Ware
On the Largest Twist in Her Life (48:08)
“A hundred percent—writing In A Dark Dark Wood… I just had no expectations whatsoever… and then it just blew up beyond my wildest dreams. That book changed my life in so many ways.”
— Ruth Ware
Important Timestamps and Segments
- Fascination with Billionaire Bunkers and Social Anxiety
[07:29]–[09:45] - TV & Movie Inspirations
[10:00]–[11:21] - Visual Imagination & Research Mishaps
[13:12]–[16:55] - Motherhood and Creative Bravery
[28:03]–[30:07] - Advice for Aspiring Thriller Authors
[31:18]–[33:55] - On Villains, Wealth, and Social Commentary
[41:38]–[43:23] - Film Adaptation and Casting Insights
[43:58]–[47:40] - The Biggest Twist in Her Own Story
[48:08]–[49:41] - Speed Round: Murder Cases, Influences, and Characters
[51:13]–[52:41]
Speed Read—Ruth Ware’s Rapid Fire (Highlights)
[51:13]–[52:41]
- Murder Case That Could Be a Ruth Ware Novel: "The mushrooms in the beef Wellington." (51:22)
- You Hear a Scream—Run or Inspect?
“Run towards it. It might be somebody in trouble.” (51:30) - Favorite Thriller Novel:
"Gone Girl again… it's brilliant." (51:34) - Ever Regret Killing Off a Character?
"No. By and large, if I had any regrets, it’s probably not killing more of them." (51:47) - Everyone Capable of Murder?
"Yes. I think anybody could kill if they really, truly had to." (52:16) - Most Like Which Character?
"There’s quite a lot of me in Lo Blacklock… but there’s a bit of me in all of my characters, even the bad characters. They’re like little voodoo dolls, little zombies I stitch together.” (52:24)
Conclusion
Ruth Ware’s candid and witty conversation reveals the mind behind modern thrillers: her research process (and its Google hazards), her belief in questioning as the engine of suspense, social anxieties shaping her villains, the emotional truth that shapes her characters, and her empowering message about fighting for creativity—especially as a parent. Ruth’s blend of charm, insight, and dark humor makes this an essential listen for fans of thrillers, aspiring writers, and anyone captivated by the alchemy of escapist fiction.
For more from Reese’s Book Club and updates on their monthly picks, visit Apple Books or follow @reesesbookclub and @danielle.robay on Instagram.
Summary by Bookmarked AI | December 2025