Ruth Ware was born in 1977. She is a British author who writes psychological crime novels. She is best known for her novels The Woman In Cabin 10 and The Lying Game.
Ruth Ware grew up in Lewes and she went on to study English at Manchester University.
Before she started her writing career, she worked as a waitress, a publicist, and a bookseller.
She spent time in Paris where she taught English as a foreign language. Ware now lives in Brighton.
Before she published any books under the name Ruth Ware, she had previously published novels under the name Ruth Warburton.
They were all fantasy novels that were published by Hodder’s children’s books.
If you’ve enjoyed Ruth Ware’s impressive collection of novels, and are looking for similar compelling psychological crime novels to get stuck into, then authors like Agatha Christie, Alex Michaelides, and Jean Hanff Korelitz are for you. Read on for some fantastic recommendations by these authors.
Books By Ruth Ware
Ruth Ware’s work is often compared to Agatha Christie’s. She has been heavily influenced by Christie’s work.
Ware often has ordinary women as her protagonists, and they end up finding themselves in dangerous situations that often involve a crime.
Settings are used by Ware in order to create situations that foster a sense of dread in the novels. In Ware’s work, settings play a very important role in drawing the reader in.
The IT Girl is her most recent novel. Most of her novels involve a crime, mostly a murder, that needs to be solved.
Her novel In a Dark, Dark Wood was made into a film adaptation.
This novel follows a woman who goes to a friend’s bachelorette party of a friend who she hasn’t heard from in years. There is a murder, and everyone ends up being a suspect.
Ruth Ware Themes
As a crime writer, Ruth Ware sticks to the themes that come with this. She often uses setting to propel her stories forward, ensuring that they are very powerful.
Ruth Ware’s novels often see a murder take place, and the characters work to solve this murder.
Authors Like Ruth Ware
There are many authors that are fairly similar to Ruth Ware. If you’re a Ware fan, you should give one of the following authors a read, too.
While they have lots of similarities to each other, these authors bring different perspectives to similar ideas and themes.
She was a leading force in crime fiction, and she was loved by so many.
She was very influential in the work of Ruth Ware. She wrote the world’s longest-running The Mousetrap.
Miss Marple is one of the main series of short stories that Christie is known for.
They were later collected under the title of The Thirteen Problems. Miss Marple is a much-loved character.
During the Second World War, Agatha Christie wrote two novels named Sleeping Murder and Curtain.
These novels featured the characters of Poirot and Miss Marple. One of her most famous novels was Murder on the Orient Express which was adapted later into a film.
Her character of Poirot was the first fictional character to have an obituary printed for him in the New York Times. This was printed in 1975.
Interestingly, Poirot and Miss Marple, two of Christie’s most popular and well-known characters never appeared in the same stories.
Lots of the other characters overlap, but these ones do not.
Pros
Agatha Christie is a legendary writer. She has written many different pieces which use lots of the same characters. They are incredibly successful works that have since become classics.
Cons
Agatha Christie’s work is a lot older than that of Ruth Ware. This means that the work can be a lot harder to read than more modern works.
Alex Michaelides was born in 1977. He is a very successful author and screenwriter. He is a British Cypriot.
He has not been writing for long, but his work has become very popular, very quickly. We’re hoping he brings out some more books soon!
If you like Ruth Ware, you will undoubtedly like the work of Alex Michaelides.
His debut novel became a New York Times bestseller immediately, selling over three million copies. The psychological thriller that he wrote was named The Silent Patient.
This novel was on the Sunday Times’ top 10 bestseller list for seven weeks. It was also named the number one thriller of 2019 on amazon.com.
Michaelides then released his second novel named The Maidens in June 2021. This novel was also very successful, debuting at number two on the New York Times best-seller list.
Michaelides has also written films, writing the film The Devil You Knowwhich starred Jennifer Lawrence.
Pros
He is a very successful author whose novels have immediately become bestsellers upon their release.
He has been on the New York Times bestseller list and the Sunday Times bestseller list.
He has also written films that have been very successful.
Cons
As Michaelides has only just started writing novels, there are not many available to read. Hopefully, he will keep writing!
Themes: Crime, thriller, loss, tension, suspense.
Jean Hanff Korelitz
If you like Ruth Ware’s psychological thrillers, you will also love Jean Korelitz.
She is one of the most versatile psychological thriller authors around and her novels are very well known. She is an American author and essayist.
She was born to Jewish parents in New York City. Since 1996, she has published over 8 novels.
She studied in the United Kingdom. While there, she met an Irish Poet who she married in 1987. The couple had two children.
They moved to New Jersey, where her husband, Paul Muldoon had taught creative writing. They now live in New York which is where Korelitz was born and raised.
Her most recent publication was The Latecomer. This was published in 2022.
Her novel The White Rose is definitely one that you should read. It is set in 1990’s New York City.
It has received fantastic reviews and it plays with themes of disguises and self-understanding.
Her novel Admission was adapted into a film in 2013 in which Tina Fey stars. She has also had a few of her other novels made into films or television adaptations over the years.
Pros
Jean Korelitz’s work is very popular, even being adapted into films and TV series.
She has also written some very interesting essays that are definitely worth a read.
Cons
There are a few differences between the two authors, so if you want something that is very similar then this may not be for you.
Themes: Suspense, disguise, loss.
Final Thoughts
There are many authors similar to Ruth Ware. These include Agatha Christie, Jean Korelitz, and Alex Michaelides.
Now that you have read this article, you will have a detailed understanding of Ware’s work. You will also have an understanding of some of the authors who are similar to her.
If you love the work of Ruth Ware and you’re looking for something similar to read, you should give some of the novels by the writers mentioned in this article a go!
I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Authors Are Similar To Ruth Ware?
If you love Ruth Ware’s work then you will also love the work of some similar authors. There are many authors that write along the same lines as Ruth Ware.
These include Jean Hanff Korelitz, Agatha Christie, and Alex Michaelides. If you enjoy Ware, read some of the books that are recommended in this article!
What Genre Does Ruth Ware Write?
Ruth Ware writes in the British Psychological Crime Thriller genre. She is very successful and was strongly influenced by Agatha Christie.
She studied at Manchester University where she was very interested in Old English texts. She has been writing stories her whole life, even before she attended University.
Most of her work is locked away as she doesn’t think that it is worth publishing.
Where Was Ruth Ware Born?
Ruth was born in Lewes. She went to Manchester University in the United Kingdom. She is an English author of psychological crime thriller novels.
She developed her love of writing throughout her life, studying English at University.
Noah Burton works as a Librarian full time, and is a blogger in his spare time. His goal is to write compelling recommendations for all of the most popular books he can find, from science fiction to romance.
With a passion for books, a drive to find new reads to get stuck into, and a love for sharing book recommendations with others, Noah can help you find the next novel for your bucket list.
