The Woman in Cabin 10

A fun and quick-paced thriller. Makes good use of the setting to evoke claustrophobic dread and paranoia. The mystery is actually pretty simple to figure out, but a couple elements made this stand out in my mind.

First, the story winds up discussing mental illness in an effective and sympathetic way. It's significant to the plot but avoids being overly simplistic or tropey.

Second, I found the climax took a refreshing turn. I literally thought to myself, “oh, in these last few pages we'll see the obligatory XYZ happen,” and the author subverts that expectation.

In some ways this was clunky and obvious, but it had enough originality and skillful storytelling, along with a sympathetic and relatable hero, so that I thoroughly enjoyed it.