The beautiful cover and intriguing title was what initially drew me to this novel; they both caused me to think this was going to be a gripping psychological thriller. I was disappointed to find out In a Dark, Dark Wood was not even close. It did hold my interest enough for me to want to find out what exactly happened and why. And the chapters alternated between the past and the present, which added some suspense and variety. 
 But what really killed it for me was not only the childishly petty and unrealistic reasonings behind what happened, no, that was the icing on the cake. It was the fact that the characters were incredibly difficult for me to like, despite my best efforts. They were supposedly in their mid- to late twenties, but they all acted like they were still 16 and in high school. Especially the main character, Lee. I mean Nora. Or was it Leo? 
 Anyways, my unrelenting dislike towards every single person made it particularly challenging for me to care about what happened to any of them. 
 And it drove me crazy how stupid Lee/Nora/Leo/Leonora was throughout the entire story... (view spoiler)[What? I'm a suspect? Let me escape from the hospital in my condition to make myself even MORE suspicious, and then to make matters worse, why don't I practically kill myself so I can return to the freakin' scene of the crime??! And THEN, when I come face to face with the insane psychotic killer, why WOULDN'T I drink the tea she has so kindly prepared for me, even though it definitely tastes funny??! (hide spoiler)] 
 With all my ranting aside, I do think Ware has potential. And if she writes another book I might consider checking it out... But don't have high expectations if you choose to read her first one.