Author's Dream Comes to Life: Novelist Ware Stunned by Netflix Adaptation

In September 2025, author Ruth Ware reflected on the "surreal" experience of seeing her 2016 novel "The Woman in Cabin 10" adapted into a Netflix film. Ware, 48, spoke about the process of watching her words come to life, describing it as an "out-of-body experience."

The psychological thriller, which stars actress Keira Knightley as journalist Lo Blacklock, tells the chilling story of a woman who witnesses a passenger being thrown overboard during a luxury yacht trip, only to have no one believe her. Ware was "super happy" to hand over creative control to the film's director, Simon Stone, acknowledging that she "does not know how to make a movie."

Ware was particularly impressed by Knightley's portrayal of Lo, saying she was "bowled over" when she heard the 40-year-old actress had been cast in the role. While Ware had always envisioned Lo as more of an "everywoman," she felt Knightley captured the character's "slightly anxious, slightly vulnerable, but fundamentally incredibly tough, dogged, driven persona" perfectly.

The author, who has had several of her other works optioned for screen adaptations, remains uncertain about the status of those projects, joking that "the author is usually the last to know" about such developments. However, she did tease that one potential adaptation may have "folk horror vibes, a little bit Wicker Man."