The Death of Mrs Westaway: A modern-day murder mystery from The Sunday Times Bestseller

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The disappointing ending is unfortunate, because Ware is a gifted writer who can evidently create wonderfully spooky atmospheres within her books. The narrator is interesting and refreshing and the premise is intriguing. Despite its faults, “The Death of Mrs. Westaway” has some redeeming qualities. There's just one problem - Hal's real grandparents died more than twenty years ago. The letter has been sent to the wrong person. But Hal knows that the cold-reading techniques she’s honed as a seaside fortune teller could help her con her way to getting the money. If anyone has the skills to turn up at a stranger's funeral and claim a bequest they’re not entitled to, it’s her. Ruth Ware was born in 1977 and grew up in Lewes. She studied English at Manchester University, where she developed a fascination with Old English and Middle English texts. I truly enjoyed this book, but I don’t understand the hype. Like every novel, it comes with its flaws as well as its strengths, but when I finished the book, I can’t tell if the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. Perhaps I needed to just not question it, but isn’t that the point of a thriller novel? Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot Cards. I got a full house and four people died." (Steven Wright)

This book revolves around twenty-one year old Harriet Westaway “Hal”, who took over her mother’s tarot card reading business after she passed away three years ago. Years of being alone and struggling to pay the bills have left Hal frustrated and desperate. One day, she receives a mysterious letter advising that she has been left a substantial inheritance from Mrs. Westaway, a grandmother she has never heard of. Hal travels to the Trepassen House estate where she meets the family of Mrs. Westaway. Virtual Interview with Ruth Ware. https://soundcloud.com/user-269339596/a-very-special-episode-interview-with-ruth-wareBut, Unc—” She stumbled over the word, unable to make herself articulate it, and began again: “Look, there’s something I must—”It was so tedious to read, I kept shouting at her in my head to just spit it out already.

I will say though that I absolutely loved the setting of creepy Trespassen House and the atmosphere of this novel though! I also thoroughly enjoyed Hal and her tarot card readings. I thought the explanations and the meanings behind the cards were quite thought-provoking and had me really interested. However, unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough to make this story really work for me. Even though I feel like I wasn’t quite the right reader for this one, I still recommend giving it a try!I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes gothic vibes weaved into their Mystery-Thrillers. stars, rounded up. Read with the Traveling Friends group, this made for a fun discussion as we tried to piece together the clues and solve the mystery.

We all started off intrigued and really liked our interesting main character tarot card reader Hal. Soon we grew to like housekeeper Mrs Warren who really gave a mysterious creepy feeling to the story as well for us. We soon meet the shady family members and that's when we started to go our separate ways on how we felt about the story. For some of us, our heads started spinning in confusion with trying to piece together who is who and who is connected to who. We were engaged enough in the story to hold our attention till the end, however, we just gave up trying to put the pieces together. For the rest of the sisters, they found it exciting and intriguing putting those pieces together and couldn't put the book down till they were done. Leaving them reading to the wee hours and feeling a little book hangover the next day. Ware wraps her story in the gloom and doom of the Trepassen estate. Hal's struggle with her conscience vs. the truth is woven throughout. Ware also complicates the storyline with diary entries from 1994 that will reach into the present. There's a bevy of characters here that emphasize the fact that not all these fish wish for Hal to be swimming in their pond.Ware has chosen an excellent setting for a creepy family drama: The mansion in Penzance, once grand and stately, is now old, dusty, and creaky. The strange and elderly housekeeper has put Hal in the attic with “a metal bedstead in one corner, a washtand in the other, and a barred nursery window overlooking the garden.” As if barred windows in the attic aren’t scary enough, Hal soon finds “HELP ME” etched into the glass of the window in tiny, cramped writing. The attic, a run-down mansion, and a sinister old housekeeper are all ingredients for a chilling gothic thriller, but Ware makes sure not to let her novel slip into the clichés of the genre.