Author: Ruth Ware
When Harriet Westaway receives an unexpected letter telling her she’s inherited a substantial estate from her Cornish grandmother, it seems like the answer to her prayers. She owes money to a loan shark and the threats are getting increasingly aggressive: she needs to get her hands on some cash fast.
There’s just one problem – Hal’s 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.
Hal makes a choice that will change her life forever. But once she embarks on her deception, there is no going back. She must keep going or risk losing everything, even her life…..
Official Summary
This dark and dramatic thriller from Ruth Ware will keep you riveted.
I found myself very quickly caught up in this story, finding it almost impossible to put the book down. This young character quickly wins you over and as you turn the pages, you start rooting for Hal and supporting her deception. As I turned the pages, I found myself as uncertain and confused as the character herself was. While at times the character missed things that were right in front of her and I wanted to reach in and point out the things she did not notice. The Death of Mrs Westaway will keep you on the edge of your seat, and just when you are convinced that you know exactly what is going to happen, there is a curve ball that has you re-thinking your theory.
This brilliantly original, grippingly unpredictable story will have you reading through the night.
This was the third Ruth Ware book I’ve read, and I am looking forward to reading more of her work. (Reviews on The Turn of the Key and The Woman in Cabin 10 and will follow soon)
Author: Ruth Ware – ISBN: 9781911215042 – Publisher: Penguin Random House – Pages: 384 – Source: Private Copy
Author bio from author’s website
Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, The Death of Mrs Westaway and The Turn of the Key have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times. Her books have been optioned for both film and TV, and she is published in more than 40 languages. Ruth lives near Brighton with her family. Visit www.ruthware.com to find out more.
If you’re writing a festival programme or presenting to your reading group, perhaps that’s all you need to know. But possibly you’ve already read that paragraph on the back of one of my books, and you’ve come here, as per the last line, to “find out more”.
At this point I should probably admit that by far the most interesting thing about me is my books, which are full of murder, family secrets, toxic friendships and things that go bump in the night, in contrast to my own very mundane, peaceful existence. I’m often asked which of my characters most resembles me, and I’m never quite sure how to feel about this, since my main characters are usually complicated, conflicted, lonely, spiky and sometimes downright criminal. Of course they’re also brave, defiant, dogged and occasionally very selfless – much more so than me, actually. If I was faced with half the set backs my characters encounter, I’m pretty sure I’d pack up and go home. The truth is that barring a few obvious overlaps (Nora in In a Dark, Dark Wood is a writer, Isa in The Lying Game is a parent) the biggest autobiographical element of most of my books is that the main characters are generally intolerant of bad coffee.
Pingback: One by One Book Review – Featz Reviews
Pingback: Two Years Already? – Featz Reviews