Title: The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Lying Game comes Ruth Ware’s highly anticipated fourth novel.
On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.
Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it.
Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware’s signature suspenseful style, this is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.
Review:
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware is a British mystery with a deliciously Southern gothic atmosphere.
Harriet “Hal” Westaway is a twenty-one year old woman who is struggling financially and is danger of losing not only her home but her livelihood. An unexpected missive from a lawyer detailing a possible inheritance is pretty much a godsend considering her current circumstances. The only catch? Hal knows she has received the letter in error. Despite a bit of mental wrangling, Hal decides to attend Hester Westaway’s funeral and then attempt to bluff her way into inheriting what she assumes will be a paltry but much needed sum of money. At the gloomy and rundown estate, Trespassen house, Hal is met by Mrs. Warren who is the home’s crotchety and creepy housekeeper and the other heirs, Harding and his family, Abel and his partner Edward Ashby and Ezra, all brothers of her “mother” Maud. Growing more and more uneasy with her plan, Hal is ready to abandon her “inheritance” but as she learns more about the family’s history and her possible connection to them, she feels duty bound to try to uncover the secrets of Trespassen House and its occupants.
Hal has been eking out a living on the Brighton Pier as a tarot card reader but winter business is somewhat dicey due to the lack of tourists. She also finds herself at the mercy of an unscrupulous money lender whom she owes a great deal of money. Uneasy about her decision to hoodwink the Westaway heirs out of part of their inheritance, she nonetheless feels like they won’t miss the trifling amount she thinks she will inherit. Hal feels a great deal of trepidation upon arriving at the gloomy, rundown estate but it is not until she is shown to her attic bedroom that she truly becomes worried about her scheme.
The reading of the will commences right away and Hal, along with her “uncles” are absolutely stunned over Mrs. Westaway’s bequeaths. With her fear growing about what will happen once the truth about her scheme is exposed, Hal grows more and more desperate to escape back to her regular life. Her uneasiness continues to grow with each passing hour and Hal plans to extricate herself from the tension-filled household as soon as possible. However, after discovering her mother’s shocking connection to the Westaway family, Hal knows she has to find out the truth about this unexpected information. Her fateful decision could mean learning the truth about her father’s identity but it also puts Hal’s life in jeopardy as she continues digging into the past.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway is an incredibly atmospheric and suspense-laden mystery. Hal’s experiences as a tarot-card reader provide her with an edge as she relies on her intuition and her mother’s advice to ferret out information about the Westaway clan. Ada Warren is a menacing presence in the household and her enigmatic revelations are disquieting and vaguely threatening. Out of the three “uncles” Harding is the best developed while Ezra and Abel are somewhat indistinguishable from one another. This latest release from Ruth Ware features a delightfully moody setting and a clever plot that will keep readers guessing the truth about the Westaway family. Fans of the genre are going to absolutely love this twist-filled tale of murder and intrigue that is rife with family secrets.
