Nearly three million copies of Ruth Ware’s books sold worldwide. The highly anticipated fourth novel from Ruth Ware, The Globe and Mail and New York Times bestselling author of the In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Lying Game. Harriet Westaway–better known as Hal–makes ends meet as a tarot reader, but she doesn’t believe in the power of her trade. On a day that begins like … but she doesn’t believe in the power of her trade. On a day that begins like any other, she receives a mysterious and unexpected letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person–but she also knows that she can use her cold-reading skills to potentially claim the money.
Hal attends the funeral of the deceased and meets the family…but it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and that the inheritance is 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.
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Couldn’t really connect with this book. I like Ruth Ware, but the lead character, Hal was very annoying to me. Didn’t care for all the advice in her head from
her mom for every situation. Just not that interesting.
This book is one of the best books I’ve read. It is a stand-alone novel, one which I will read several times, I’m sure. A girl who has no money is sent a letter telling her she has an inheritance waiting for her, and she is concerned because she believes the lawyer has her mixed up with someone else and she will have to pretend she’s the other person. The book is interesting.
of course since it is Ruth Ware, I read it in two days. Last year I discovered her books, read them all in a week, and have been waiting for this one. It is a good read, keeps you guessing till the very last page.
I was intrigued by this mystery! Great story-telling!
Been a long time since I could not figure out the ending. This one was a real surprise to the entire book club and we all read a lot!
What a great read. The author made it so that you were invested in what happened to the main character. Her adding background info about the Tarot was a wonderful touch. I have recommended this book to all my friends!
I could not put it down.
As always she held you in suspense
Ruth Ware’s The Death of Mrs. Westaway is a classic gothic novel. This dark mystery is set in a damp, dreary winter in England, at a decaying mansion—replete with an oddly terse housekeeper. Readers follow one twist after another; red herrings and tantalizing clues provide the main character and narrator, Harriet Westaway, with much to worry about.
Harriet, who is also known as Hal, lives a meager life as a skeptical tarot card reader at a touristy pier in Brighton. An increasingly aggressive loan shark is threatening her for repayment that she cannot afford. When she receives notice of an inheritance that she knows must be a mistake, she takes the opportunity to escape the loan shark’s threats by presenting herself as the Harriet Westaway being searched for by the estate’s solicitor. While Hal seems like an unlikable charlatan at the start, it is soon clear that she may be the most innocent and transparent of all the characters.
The slow but steady mystery is tension laced from the start. Through Hal’s observations, reads find that nothing is straightforward and it is not clear that anyone’s motives can be trusted. Each photograph, letter, and diary entry that Hal finds forebodes past and present danger. I greedily stole myself away to treasure every eerie moment of this book!
The audiobook is chillingly narrated by Imogen Church. Whether the story in current time or excerpts from a diary—the story flowed effortlessly both from Ms. Ware’s writing and Ms. Church’s narration.
4.5 stars
This is the first book I’ve read of Ruth Ware’s and it won’t be my last. I loved the characters and how the story unfolded.
An attempt to re-create Daphne DuMaurier’s book Rebecca. You have a female character who is all alone, a creepy house, a Mrs. Danvers housekeeper, an atmosphere of tragedy, and a main character who is dead but who haunts the entire book. Unfortunately, Ware does not write as well as DuMaurier.
As a writer, and professional intuitive Tarot reader (and a fan of Ruth Ware) I really enjoyed most of this book. But what happened to her Tarot-inspired insights? They began fading in the middle of the book, and just about disappeared by the end. It was almost as if the author began the book aided by the services of a good Tarot consultant, but those services ended way before the last page. ???
A little disappointed in this book!! I was so excited for the new Ruth Ware as a fan of “The Woman in Cabin 10” and “In a Dark, Dark Wood” but this one fell flat for me. It seemed done before and the plot just wasn’t what I’ve come to expect from a brilliant story teller like Ware. I did enjoy the setting and, as always, the character development was spot on. It did succeed in being full-on creepy – I hated reading the last fourth in the dark! Fingers crossed I love her next.
This book was another great story by Ruth Ware. I read it in 2 days as I could not put it down. It had numerous plot twists that kept your interest until the very end. Highly recommend!
Loved this book. All her books are very readable and keep you on the edge of your seat.
Twist you don’t see coming
Interesting complicated characters. Written in a smooth prose. Can feel the emotions plot not predictable Hard time putting the book down
Loved, loved, loved this book. It drew me in from the beginning & kept me reading later than I should have! I was enthralled by the story & the characters & could not wait for the conclusion. But I was sad when it ended because I loved these characters so much.
I have read other books by this author and this is her best one. Lots of twists and turns. The ending was awesome.
A wonderful gothic mystery, “The Death of Mrs. Westaway” is an entertaining take on the past/present narrative that seems to be so popular these days. The naive con artist, who attempts to claim an inheritance that isn’t hers, finds layers of deceit as well as several shady relatives at the appropriately creepy ancestral pile. This is Ware at her best.