I love being given the opportunity to update our school library which is a unique space for both senior students and staff to access high quality literature. This is definitely a must-buy. It kept me absolutely gripped from cover to cover and is exactly the kind of read that just flies off the shelves. It has exactly the right combination of credible characters and a compelling plot thatI just could not put down. This is a great read that I couldn't stop thinking about and it made for a hugely satisfying read. I'm definitely going to order a copy and think it will immediately become a popular addition to our fiction shelves. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

Zero Days is so good, I literally read the whole book in one sitting as I just couldn't put it down. It's so fast-paced and twisty! This novel follows a married couple who are pen testers - they are hired to break into sophisticated computer systems to test for weaknesses. Jack breaks into the company and Gabe stays at their home office to hack the system once she's planted the tech. On this night Jack gets home late and finds Gabe dead - he's been murdered. This then becomes a cat and mouse game as Jack realises she might be in danger so she runs from the police. We then follow her as she tries to solve her husband's murder whilst keeping herself hidden from authorities. I found this book to be such a compulsive read, I loved it!

Utterly brilliant! Grilling and fast paced, this novel will have you needing to know how it plays out.

Based in the world of computer hacking and with many twists, turns and backstabbing, you will be gripped.

The main character is half of a hacking husband and wife duo. But on the night in question everything goes wrong! Can she trust the police to solve this crime? Who can she trust to help her prove her innocence?

I was hooked from start to finish. Excellent read!

Loved this book, it felt a little different to other Ruth Ware novels but I found I was hooked from the start

A fast-paced, action-packed thriller that is very different from any other Ruth Ware books that I have read.

I did enjoy it despite prefering her more gothic, atmospheric stories (Turn of the Key being my absolute favourite). What prevented me from giving it a higher rating was the fact that the mystery was so blindingly obvious it was barely a mystery at all. There were also a few elements I found slightly repetitive but overall a solid, enjoyable read that I would recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing thriller of a book

jack and gabe are the penetrations specialists, they break into businesses, buildings you name it to find any flaws in their security even computers

they are the experts you call.... but it all goes horribly wrong one night.....

one of them is murdered and the other one is on the run trying to figure out what had happened and who to trust

my god this is a thriller of a ride that will keep you guessing at the ending... just sad its all over now and i feel sorry for the next book i read as it will be hard to read after this book

so well written and keeps you reading right till the end

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I love Ruth Wares books, and this didn't disappoint. Incredibly well written and a gripping story full of twists and turns

Brilliant thriller, fast pace, think you know where it's going then blindsided by another twist. Very much a page turner, kept me engaged and I learned a lot about hacking and online security. Really engaging and clearly well researched. Thoroughly enjoyed and can't wait for more from Ruth Ware, highly recommend.

This is my favourite Ruth Ware so far and I’ve enjoyed all of them. This cat and mouse game was completely immersive with great characters and thrilling events. Some caught me off guard and were so shocking but brilliant. I always look forward to reading everything by Ruth Ware but was so pleased to receive an advanced copy. Thank you to the publishers.

Another cracking read from Ruth Ware .
Jack and Gabe a husband and wife team are pen testers. They are hired by companies to try and penetrate their security systems in order to improve the systems.
Jack is hands on and shoes the physical test whilst Gabe is at the cyber end of things guiding Jack via an ear piece.
One night Jack is caught by the police as she’s leaving a test which is nothing to worry about as it sometimes happens.
Jack rings Gabe but he doesn’t pick up , on returning home she finds him dead .
From then on Jack is on the run as it someone is trying to frame her for her husbands murder.
There are plenty of twists and turns in this book , who can Jack trust?
Excellently written and easy to read even though I’m not conversant in technology and cybercrime .
Ruth Ware’s story telling is definitely not predictable!
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK.

I didn’t know anything about this before going in other than I’ve enjoyed every other Ruth Ware title I’ve read so far. I was intrigued by the title but had absolutely no clue what it was going to mean for the story. I do love with the title is mentioned within the story so that was one tick for this book!

Jack and Gabe are “pen testers”. They’re hired by companies to penetrate their security systems and highlight where their weaknesses are. Late back from a fumbled job Jack walks in to find Gabe murdered where he sat at his computer.

Jack is the narrator throughout and we follow her as she tries to work out who to trust and what actually happened to Gabe. It was a really pacey read with lots unfolding and if you’ve ever seen the television programme Hunted then Jack is very much on the run trying to keep her whereabouts hidden until she can uncover the truth.

I have The Turn of the Key and In a Dark Dark Wood downloaded - which one should I try next?

3.5 stars
For me Ruth Ware books can be hit or miss and sadly this one didn't really work for me.
Ruth is an auto buy/read type of author for me but I should have known from the blurb that this might not be to my taste.
I found quite a bit of the tech jargon off-putting and struggled to connect with the story as much as I maybe could have, because of this.
I also wasn't the biggest fan of our main character. Some of the things that she does are so incredibly frustrating and sometimes downright silly.
It did have some good pacing and I can see fans of action thrillers enjoying it more than me. But overall, it wasn't my favourite from Ruth.
I do, however, eagerly look forward to what she does next though.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have always loved Ruth Ware's psychological thrillers but was a bit put off by the move into a more cybercrime setting. Well more fool me, once I started I was absolutely hooked and powered through the pages, desperate to find out what was going to happen. Jack and her husband Gabe are pen-testers (a new world to me) - hired by IT companies and more down to earth businesses to security test all their physical and online settings, to identify any weak spots that could be compromised.

Jack comes home after a successful break-in but when she gets home, her husband has been brutally murdered. She goes into a catatonic state, not able to phone the police for some time, but when she does, they suspect she is behind his killing. How can she prove that it wasn't her, with the weight of the country's justice system against her?

She manages to flee the police station with a few key possessions, but where can she go and who can help her? Luckily with her security background, she is more aware of some of the pitfalls and has some contacts that can help her, but its still a David and Goliath situation, her against the world.

Absolutely brilliant from the first to the last page - 5 stars for sure!

Wow!!! Absolutely loved this book it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through.
This was one hell of a roller coaster read that I just could not put down.
It flowed from one gripping moment to the next with so much tension running through it.
It’s not often a book can hold me completely In it’s thrall all the way through but this certainly delivers.
Jack & her husband Gabe are hired by companies to see if it’s possible to hack there security systems.
Obviously companies want to make sure they are hack proof & secure.
Jack is the one breaking in while her husband is the computer geek at home relaying instructions.
After one particular job Jack arrives home to find her husband has been murdered.
She is questioned by the police numerously & the only suspect they have come up with is herself.
Her only option is to run & hope she can uncover who has done this & set her up.
It becomes a game of cat & mouse as she fights to clear her name.
Well written this fast paced thriller kept me turning the pages.
Really good storyline that was an addictive compelling read .

This was something really different from Ruth Ware and I absolutely loved it.
The story is a fast paced one as Jack goes on the run to try and find who murdered her husband and more importantly as to why and the suspense just never gives up.
For me it was the character Jack that really made the book so good, I liked her a lot and although the plot at times stretches the imagination I was rooting for her all the way. There was a lot of interesting information and you could tell that the author had really done their homework it was quite fascinating to read , I had never heard of a pen tester and don’t know much about crypto currency so all of that gave the book an edge. I found it a quick read mainly I think because I was so engrossed in the plot I wanted to know just how it would end and I wasn’t disappointed.
So a different in many ways and perhaps not for everyone but I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Action packed thriller, modern setting, modern language, all a bit too frantic and random for me but I can see it’s appeal to others.

Loved it. A proper page turner of a thriller - great main character too. Full of tension. Happy to recommend.

A cat and mouse thriller extraordinaire!

Thanks Netgalley, Simon and Schuster UK for inviting me to read this ARC!

Synopsis -

Jac and her husband Gabe, are ‘penetration’ specialists. A niche occupation wherein they are hired to break into the company buildings and hack into their systems. On one such routine night, Jac comes home to find Gabe dead and what’s more, the police think that she is the one who killed him. Jac has no option but to run from her life and take matters in her own hands to find who killed her husband.

Review -

Ruth Ware is dabbling with different themes every year and I am a fan all over again for that! Kudos to her impeccable research, well-constructed and water tight plotting as she ventures into the rarely explored themes of cyber security and ethical hacking. Wonder what she will tackle next!

Jac, our MC might possess a very distinctive skill as a ‘pen’ tester, but what I loved the most is that, Jac is portrayed as a simple woman, a girl next door who is so relatable and realistic like any of us. I admired how she trusted her gut instinct, took calculated risks that are inevitable in her job, quick to think on her feet and especially her ‘go-getter’ attitude even in some impossible circumstances.

As soon as she is on the run, the plot unravels at break neck speed. The chasing game begins, nerve-wracking and adrenaline jolting, as Jac has to obliterate hurdle after hurdle that is thrown in her path - drained beyond imagination, pushed inhumanly to her limits both physically and emotionally, until she is literally a hollow shell. Oh! how i cried for her🥺

Despite the long chapters, the utterly engrossing quality of the book will keep you hooked until the last page.

There are no mind-boggling twists here, but the flow of execution up to the finale overflows with insufferable tension and intensity. The ending exceeded my satisfaction with just the right turn of events!

So buckle up, for you are in for a riveting, relentless and a heart-racing adventure!

Ruth Ware is one of my auto-buy authors, but I must admit that I went into her latest book, Zero Days, a little more cautiously, as I don't tend to enjoy crime thrillers as much as I do psychological ones.

But my worries were instantly diminished, as the action-packed opening had me hooked from the beginning. And while this one definitely feels different to Ware's usual work, she knew exactly what she was doing with this sub-genre, as Zero Days feels brilliantly researched.

Although there is a little tech jargon used, I found most things easy to follow, and I could definitely see this being made into a TV series. The action is tense, and the story is paced brilliantly, making you feel like you're taking part in this cat-and-mouse chase alongside its characters.

One of my favourite things about Ware's books is that she always creates such memorable characters, and Jack is another brilliant female lead. Her story is compelling, and she has such a great personal strength and determination that you can't help but root for her.

It's definitely due to Jack's characterisation that I was so engaged with this story, as I usually don't find thrillers with this type of plot so gripping, but this one definitely held my interest. So if you're a fan of more crime-centred thrillers, this is a must-read for 2023!

Jack and her husband are the perfect team both personally and professionally. They test security systems but one night a job goes wrong and Jack returns home to find her husband...dead and she is instantly the number one suspect.

I went into this book cautiously for two reasons, first I had heard it was different from Ruth Ware's usual Agatha Christiesque mysteries and secondly because of the title I thought it may be a high tech action read which is not really my kind of read. All caution and concern went out of the window very early on as I was invested straight away. Jack and Gabe despite the cool jobs are down to earth and lovable so when the worst happens early on it is devastating. Police always suspect the spouse so poor Jack has to run as no-one else will be looked at otherwise. Now this is where the book could have lost me as sometimes cat and mouse stories can be too long or too rushed or too convoluted but this pacing was perfection and so very realistic every step of the way. Not a single word or sentence was wasted and I was on tenterhooks how it would all play out. Again sometimes these style of stories can be all style and no substance but Ware did not fall into that trap and instead gave us a watertight plot with flare and not a plot hole in sight! I honestly cannot praise this book high enough and it has raced into my favourites of 2023.

Zero Days is an algorithm for an absolutely riveting read. High octane chase + engaging protagonist = five star read! This kind of combination is worth it's weight in bitcoins!