Read Like a Thriller Writer: A Week with Ruth Ware in Greece
There is something Ruth Ware understands that most writers only dream of: place is never just a backdrop. It is a weapon.
A luxury cruise ship becomes a floating prison. A glasshouse in the woods becomes a trap. A desert island paradise turns into a killing ground. In Ware’s hands, the most breathtaking settings in the world turn quietly, thrillingly sinister — and readers around the world cannot get enough.
Which makes Greece — ancient, luminous, sun-drenched, and haunted by its own extraordinary stories — the most fitting place on earth to read her.
From June 2–9, 2026, Imagine Greece Retreats welcomes Ruth Ware as special guest author for a week of books, conversations, and the Aegean in Tolo, Greece. Whether you discovered her through the newly released Netflix adaptation of The Woman in Cabin 10 starring Keira Knightley, or you’ve been devotedly reading her since In a Dark, Dark Wood, this retreat was made for you.
Who Is Ruth Ware?
Ruth Ware is a #1 New York Times bestselling British author whose books have sold over ten million copies, appeared on bestseller lists around the world, and been translated into more than 40 languages. Wikipedia. Before all of that, she worked as a waitress, a bookseller, an English language teacher, and a press officer — a biography that reads like a quiet rehearsal for writing characters who are always slightly out of place, always watching the room.
Her writing is often compared to Agatha Christie’s, and her protagonists are typically ordinary women who find themselves in dangerous situations — in places that are as beautiful as they are deadly. Wikipedia. That is where her power lies. Not in superheroes or spies, but in women like us, in rooms that have locked themselves shut around them.
The Netflix Moment — and Why It Matters
If you’ve been watching the Netflix series and wondering why this story feels so urgent nearly a decade after publication, Ware has the answer. The story remains so relevant today because of the themes it explores about society’s distrust of the female perspective. Wikipedia
The idea for The Woman in Cabin 10 came to Ware while on a cruise holiday, when she began wondering what would happen if someone disappeared at sea. She has said the story was also inspired by Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, which similarly features panicked travelers trapped in a luxurious temporary prison.
And now her latest novel, The Woman in Suite 11 (2025), brings back journalist Lo Blacklock — older, married, a mother — and places her once again at the centre of a European nightmare. It is a very good moment to be a Ruth Ware reader.
What Makes Her Writing So Addictive?
In her CrimeReads interview, Ware was refreshingly candid about the obsessions that drive every book she writes.
“All my books are about my own fears and phobias,” she explained. “My personal nightmare is being trapped in a stressful situation with people I don’t like and can’t get away from. I am not physically super claustrophobic, but I am emotionally claustrophobic.” Wikipedia
This is the engine beneath every novel. She loves writing with a very small cast of characters because it forces creativity — when you can’t bring new characters in or take them out, and can’t parachute in a detective at the eleventh hour, you only have the resources you gave yourself at the start. That constraint allows her to dig much more deeply into her people, seeing them under extreme stress. Wikipedia
Her heroines are never superhuman, and that is entirely deliberate. She feels fiercely defensive when readers criticise her characters for being flawed or making poor choices, because they are facing horrific, often life-or-death situations — and realistically, anyone would struggle. We hold fictional characters to a higher standard than we hold real people. Wikipedia This is precisely what makes Ware’s readers feel so profoundly seen.
Why Thrillers? Why Now?
This is the question Ware answers more brilliantly than almost any other working author.
Crime and thriller novels are, in many ways, a very reassuring genre. In wartime Britain, when paper was rationed and publishers were limited in what they could print, certain authors were designated national priorities. Agatha Christie was among them, because her books were considered very good for morale. Wikipedia
When we are in globally terrifying times, it can be comforting to read a book where a terrible thing has happened, but within fairly safe parameters — and 99.9% of the time, there will be some sort of restorative justice. Things will be okay. That is an immensely comforting thing to read. Wikipedia
And for women specifically? Women make up by far the largest audience for true crime podcasts, a fact that is always cited as extraordinary. But Ware believes that facing those demons helps you cope with them better. Picking your way through the world as a woman is inextricably bound up with caution, fear, and knowledge of how things can go wrong. Reading about that in a heightened form, within the safe environment of a book, can be deeply cathartic. Wikipedia
Greece, with its ancient tradition of storytelling as a way to process fear and fate, understands this instinctively.
Your Week in Tolo
All seven nights at the Tolo hotel are covered in the retreat fee. Tolo sits on the Argolic Gulf in the Peloponnese — a coastal village where the Aegean laps practically at your doorstep. Previous guests describe going to sleep to the sound of the waves and waking up to a bountiful breakfast with sea views.
Getting there is effortless. A chartered bus transports the group from Athens to Tolo at the start of the retreat, and back to Athens at the end.
All your meals are taken care of. A Greek buffet breakfast is served every morning from 8:00–10:30, with coffee, tea, juices, cheeses, olives, eggs, warm dishes, and seasonal fruits. Evenings bring a dinner buffet of Greek and American dishes.
Ruth Ware as your special guest author. Your retreat fee gives you unfettered access to all author sessions, the book signing event, and Q&A time — come ready with your questions. This is a rare and genuine chance to sit in the same room as one of the genre’s biggest names.
The excursions are extraordinary:
- Ancient Epidaurus — the best-preserved ancient theatre in Greece, followed by a visit to a local olive oil factory set among centuries-old olive trees.
- A walk through Nafplio — Greece’s first modern capital, built by the Venetians, with its iconic old town, the sea-castle of Bourtzi, and the fortress of Palamidi.
- Hydra & Spetses — the car-free island of Hydra, then on to Spetses, where Knives Out was filmed.
Every attendee also receives a gift bag of retreat materials plus new books offered from authors worldwide. Group Greek Dance Lesson is available as an optional add-on for just €10.
What Previous Guests Say
“I’ve never taken a vacation that propelled me toward a lifelong dream. I came home with encouragement, inspiration, and determination. A vacation that may well change your life.”
“It was food for the soul. I made many meaningful connections. The trip of a lifetime.”
“Something fascinating to experience each day, with plenty of time to explore or simply be. The author guests were accessible and engaging. The retreat swag is top-notch.”
The Canadian-Greek team at Imagine Greece Retreats is committed to creating unique memories that will hold a special place in your heart forever.
Your Reading List Before You Arrive
Essential Ruth Ware:
- The Woman in Cabin 10 — now a Netflix series starring Keira Knightley
- In a Dark, Dark Wood — her chilling, propulsive debut
- The Turn of the Key — smart home, ancient dread
- One Perfect Couple — a paradise island, a killer among the guests
- The Woman in Suite 11 (2025) — her latest, out now
Join Us
Spaces are limited to 60 guests. If you have been waiting for the right moment to finally go to Greece, to finally make time for the books and the conversations and the sea — this is it.
Double occupancy from €1,599 | Single occupancy from €1,799
Join the community on Facebook — “Travel to Greece — Read, Write, and Retreat” — for updates, exclusive member benefits, and to connect with fellow readers before June.
Imagine Greece Retreats is a Canadian-Greek team dedicated to creating literary experiences in one of the world’s most extraordinary places. With 30+ five-star reviews and retreats running since 2024, we know how to make a week in Greece feel like the beginning of something.
