Compared by some to mystery queen Agatha Christie, bestselling novelist Ruth Ware is popular with many readers who appreciate her ability to create atmosphere, build suspense and cook up a nifty twist.

All of that finds its way to the screen in the first adaptation of one of her novels to reach audiences, “The Woman in Cabin 10.”

However, in the film version — starring Keira Knightley and debuting this week on Netflix — the final stretch threatens to ruin a good thing, director and co-writer Simon Stone seemingly veering from what happens in the 2016 book in the name of generating dramatic fireworks for the viewer.

While that attempt is messy and falls pretty flat, what comes before it is reasonably well-executed and makes “Woman” worth a look, if only vaguely.

Knightley stars as Laura “Lo” Blacklock, a prominent journalist whose recent investigative work led to the murder of a source, which has rattled her, understandably. While her editor (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) suggests some time off, Lo instead tells her she wishes to accept an invitation to write about a charitable foundation being established by the husband of a Norwegian shipping heiress, who has Stage 4 leukemia, in her name. This assignment will serve as Lo’s break, as it will involve a few days aboard a luxury yacht, although she also pitches the story as “human interest for inhumane times.”

Aboard the Aurora Borealis, she meets her host, Richard Bullmer (Guy Pearce); his wife, Anne (Lisa Loven Kongsli); and guests who include pretentious artist Heidi (Hannah Waddingham), pompous loudmouth Adam (Daniel Ings), rock star Danny Tyler (Paul Kaye) and Anne’s doctor, Robert Mehta (Art Malik), who gives off at least a slightly strange vibe.

Later, in a private meeting, Anne reveals to Lo that she’s stopped her treatments and plans to turn the foundation — representing most her financial assets — over to people smarter and kinder than her husband and she are.

Earlier, Lo had been surprised — and not exactly thrilled — to learn another traveler is Ben (David Ajala), a photographer and, more importantly, an ex. At one point, when looking to dodge Ben, whom she hears talking to social media celebrity Grace (Kaya Scodelario) about her, she ducks into a random passenger room. In that cabin, marked by the number 10, Lo briefly encounters a young blonde (Gitte Witt), who forgives the trespass before pulling up the hood on her sweatshirt and walking away from Lo, who exits.

That night, after awakening from a nightmare, Lo goes to her balcony and sees what she believes to be a woman struggling in the water by the ship. She causes a commotion, waking up crew members and Richard, but they assure her no one went overboard. And, after everyone believed to be on the Aurora Borealis are accounted for, the captain (John Macmillan) says he is calling off the requested Coast Guard search.

Sure the person in the water was the woman in cabin 10, Lo won’t let the subject drop, recruiting a reluctant Ben — who warns her against upsetting powerful people — into her detective work. Even as she’s continually assured that she imagined everything, no doubt due to the trauma of the aforementioned death of source — by drowning — she is given reason to believe she’s on to something.

As Lo does her haphazard Sherlock Holmes bit, “Cabin 10” is at its most compelling, even though it too often can feel a little stagnant; a couple of fast-paced scenes, heightened by the intermittent score of Benjamin Wallfisch, stand out more than they should.

It helps to have the dependable Knightley (“Seeking a Friend at the End of the World,” “Pride & Prejudice”) front and center, giving a steady performance.

Ajala (“Star Trek: Discovery”) is likable, too, but the typically terrific Pearce (“The Brutalist”) fails to make something interesting of Richard — he’s a rather generic rich guy whom you know not to trust.

Stone, who directed the strong 2021 British drama “The Dig,” is a bit less successful here. He largely wastes a fairly strong supporting cast, he and co-writers Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse either giving notable actors Mbatha-Raw (“Concussion”), Scodelario (“The Maze Runner”) and Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”) little to do or leaving a meaningful amount of their work on the cutting room floor. (We suspect the latter in part due to the drama running well short of two hours.)

Stone’s biggest sin, however, is that over-the-top climax, which comes close to feeling as though it belongs in another movie. You can understand the need to go bigger than it sounds as if Ware’s novel does, but the writing here is quite frustrating.

Again, we won’t steer you away from viewing “The Woman in Cabin 10, but be warned you may feel a little seasick when the credits roll.

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‘THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10’

2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for some violence and language)

Running time: 1:32

How to watch: Netflix

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