The Woman in Suite 11

Journalist Lo Blacklock falls back under the sway of an old acquaintance in bestseller Ware’s solid sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10. A decade after Lo nearly drowned on a Norwegian cruise, she’s a happily married mother of two. Looking for a big story to jump-start her stagnant career, she eagerly accepts an invitation to the opening of reclusive billionaire Marcus Liedman’s new luxury hotel on Switzerland’s Lake Geneva. Once she arrives, however, she’s startled to find several fellow passengers from her ill-fated Norwegian cruise, along with a smarmy food critic, a wolfish photographer, and an ex-boyfriend she can’t stand. Most troublingly, she encounters Carrie, the untrustworthy woman who saved her life in Norway. Carrie entreats Lo to help her escape from Marcus, who she claims is holding her against her will. Torn between her emotional debt to Carrie and her longing to be free of it, Lo helps Carrie flee the hotel and accompanies her on a wild trip across Europe, the initially frivolous pleasures of which gradually take on a more sinister cast. Ware doesn’t tie everything up perfectly, but she keeps the pace fast and the twists coming. This will satisfy the author’s fans. Agent: Eve White, Eve White Literary. (July)