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Irish Examiner
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Book review: Twisty thriller keeps us guessing
The Woman in Suite 11 is Ruth Ware's tenth novel. With books such as One Perfect Couple, Zero Days, and The Turn of the Key, she is now firmly entrenched as a force in the psychological thriller genre. This latest offering is a follow-on to the hit The Girl in Cabin 10, which is set to be a Netflix movie starring Keira Knightley this autumn. In The Woman in Suite 11, Laura 'Lo' Blacklock is back and it's 10 years after the traumatic events she experienced on board the luxury cruise ship Aurora. We reunite with Lo in New York where she now lives with her husband Judah and their two young boys Eli and Teddy. A travel journalist, Lo has been busy raising her boys for the past three years and is on the cusp of returning to work when she receives an invitation to the opening of a luxury hotel in Switzerland owned by the reclusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann. With Lo trying to re-establish herself in the world of travel journalism, it's an invite too appealing to pass up. In the Grand Hotel du Lac on the banks of Lake Geneva Lo encounters some familiar faces from Cabin 10 — a trio of travel journalists with whom she has somewhat strained relationships. There's also the matter of the book Lo wrote about her experience on the Aurora, with some of these fellow journos coming in for criticism in the book. It's a fraught, and somewhat unsettling start to the press trip for Lo, and memories of her time on the Aurora are thrust to the fore. We're reminded throughout the novel of the events of Lo's time on the luxury cruise ship where she was gaslit, trapped, and in imminent danger — and this old trauma resurfaces when another, more shocking, familiar face reaches out to Lo for help escaping an abusive relationship with the billionaire Leidmann. And so Lo and her old frenemy take off on a chase through Europe, as they try to out-run Leidmann and his influence. While it's not completely necessary that readers have read Cabin 10, it would help to understand some of the choices Lo makes. On the face of it, some of these, frankly unwise, decisions reveal a gullibility in Lo, or perhaps she just feels she owes this person something. There is twist upon twist in this pacy thriller (arguably a couple of twists too many?). One twist setup peters out entirely and rather unsatisfactorily doesn't lead us anywhere. But where Ware shines is building that psychologically-edgy environment where Lo doesn't know who to trust. A shocking murder in the very hotel Lo and her companion are staying further ramps up the jeopardy and Lo finds herself at the centre of police attention. Away from the calming security of her husband and family, Lo is alone and faced with increasingly stressful situations. Her old trauma haunts her and panic attacks threaten as she spirals from one crisis to another. Can she figure out who to trust or see who's playing her for a fool? This is the ideal holiday read for those who enjoy tense, psychological thrillers. Ware has created a realistic protagonist in Lo Blacklock. Sure, she's flawed and makes some questionable decisions, but you're still rooting her — there's a humanity to her and a willingness to believe in people that overrides the slight annoyance readers may feel with her naivete. It's the definition of a page-turner — as the plot hurtles towards the end, readers will find themselves unable to put the book down. Read More Book review: Gripping tale of right v wrong
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill Ackman Calls Out Triple-Levered ETFs, Zero-Day Options Boom
(Bloomberg) -- Bill Ackman is taking aim at two booming markets beloved by day traders: Highly-leveraged exchange-traded funds and zero-day stock contracts that have become one of the hottest options strategies on Wall Street. The Secret Formula for Faster Trains Midtown Office Building Evacuated on Concerns of Wall Collapse In Chicago, a Former Steel Mill Looks to Make a Quantum Leap NYC Tourist Helicopter Crashes in Hudson River, Killing Six Inside the Quiet, Extravagant Expansion of the Frick Collection In a series of posts on X, the billionaire investor and founder of Pershing Square Capital Management criticized the heavy use of leverage in markets, asking his 1.7 million followers: 'How have 3X leveraged ETFs and Zero Days to Expiration (0DTE) options advanced society or contributed to our economy?' Levered funds, which allow investors to magnify their exposure to an underlying asset or index and are typically meant for short-term trading, command around $100 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They have been a favorite among market participants hoping to profit from the recent wild gyrations in stocks: A triple-levered tech fund that trades under the ticker TQQQ, for instance, has taken in more than $2.3 billion this week through Thursday, putting it on track for the biggest weekly inflow in its 15-year history. Listen to the Here's Why podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen So-called zero-day options — which are contracts that expire within 24 hours — have also exploded in popularity, with some investors saying they can exacerbate volatility in broader equity markets. Ackman wrote that such instruments, and the overuse of leverage in general — could be a danger to the health of financial markets. The heavy use of leverage is 'driving dramatic market moves' and has made markets 'increasingly unreliable as short-term indicators of the impact of policy changes.' 'I don't understand how it is good for the world to allow investors in equities to operate with 10-1 leverage and investors in Treasurys and currencies to operate with 100-1 leverage,' Ackman wrote. Ackman's representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The fund manager isn't the first to criticize the highly volatile class of ETFs — which can magnify gains but also saddle holders with crushing losses on wrong-way bets. Recent moves in some of the funds have bolstered the views of their critics. Two levered funds focused on the cryptocurrency Ether are among the biggest losers this year, with declines of more than 80% each. And a number of vehicles focused on the battered shares of Tesla Inc. are each down around 70%. Others — including many of the issuers of the ETFs — argue that investors, for the most part, tend to understand the risks they're taking when putting their money toward high-octane instruments. In other words, they are free to bet their money on things they think will help them make a quick buck. 'As a libertarian, I'd hate to see regulators try to 'protect' investors from themselves, by tightening the screws on these powerful tools. They're wonderful for those who want to make big short-term bets,' Rob Arnott of Research Affiliates recently told Bloomberg. 'Not so great for the buy-and-hold investor. And not bad for the short-and-hold investor.' --With assistance from Denitsa Tsekova. Trump Is Firing the Wrong People, on Purpose The Beauty Salon Recession Indicator Cheap Consumer Goods Are the American Dream, Actually World Travelers Are Rethinking Vacation Plans to the US AI Coding Assistant Cursor Draws a Million Users Without Even Trying ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
