When reading a thriller &/or suspense novel I like to be able to work out the why and how and be pleasantly surprised by the little pieces of puzzles that were left along the way that I either missed or didn’t think were important to the twists or reveals. I thought some pieces of that puzzle were left out here and in some instances didn’t match-up so therefore this novel just didn’t work for me. While dealing with all of this and what her next step will be she gets a letter that she is heir to a substantial inheritance from her grandmother, Mrs. Westaway. Hal never knew that she had a grandmother and really thinks that there is a mix up but as she is pinned against the wall with the threat from her loan shark, she makes the decision to go to the funeral and see what the inheritance is all about. She is hoping for a few thousand pounds to help her get cleared of debt and start fresh. After “The Lying Game” which was a little disappointing to me, I was thoroughly thrilled and engrossed in this new book. Ms. Ware has again written a twisty, dark, atmospheric thriller, this time throwing family, inheritance and sibling rivalry into the brew. 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.

stars! Ruth Ware in my opinion has the absolute best sinister, gothic, and enticing covers ever! They have always grabbed my attention and gave me that feeling that I just HAD to read the book. It is just too bad that my excitement didn’t follow through to the end of this story though. The Death of Mrs. Westaway is a cleverly crafted atmospheric mystery fueled by deceit. Since I was not a fan of The Lying Game, I was hesitant to read this, but I am so glad I did!I especially love how the tarot aspect plays into everything, showing symbolism in everyday objects such as the four cups on the table. As Hal's mother noted, the cards are not magic or psychic, but they do have a way of pointing you in a certain direction, making you notice things you'd ignored before. It was very effective.

Hal is alone in the world. Imagine being a young woman, raised by a single mother and with no other family, and then your mother passes away in a horrible accident. Hal has no money, no family, and no friends. All she has left from her mother is her Tarot Booth on the Promenade—named Madame Margarida, after her mother—and the strength to survive instilled in her since childhood. But what Hal also has is a debt that is hard to repay. Surviving comes at a cost, and Hal has run out of options. And then one day, a letter arrives… Her hand shook as she counted out the banknotes, and then one by one, she shoved them into the slot of the ice cream cone, trying not to think of the shoes they could have bought, the bills she could have paid, and the hot dinners she could have eaten with the money” (Ware, 38). Hal travels down to the English coast and meets her "family". She is taken to the huge, cold and gloomy Trepassen house-- a place that holds a thousand secrets within its walls. It soon becomes clear to Hal that something is not quite right, that she may indeed have a history entwined with the Westaways, and that someone in Trepassen house is determined to keep the past hidden, whatever it costs. The IT Girl (2022) is about a woman, Hannah de Chastaigne, whose college roommate was murdered while the two attended Oxford University. Ten years later, Hannah discovers that her testimony in court may have resulted in the wrong person being convicted of the crime. [27]Harriet "Hal" Westaway settles into her small booth on the pier in Brighton. She palms the Tarot cards across the table for another customer. Truth be told, Hal eyes each individual for clues into their current situations. The future doesn't always come easy and the cards often set up in contrasting ways. Hal recognizes that long face of desperation. She sees it on a regular basis on her own. The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016): CBS has acquired film rights, and is set to produce the film with the Gotham Group. Screenwriter Hillary Seitz is attached. [30] The story opens with 21-year-old Hal, who was left all alone in the world 3 years ago after her mother’s death. She was forced to set aside her plans of college and took over her mother’s job as a tarot card reader. Hal has difficulty making ends meet and has fallen victim to a loan shark, leaving her desperate. Her fortunes seem to take a turn for the better when a mysterious letter arrives. Hal has been named as a beneficiary in her grandmother's will. 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. Virtual Interview with Ruth Ware. https://soundcloud.com/user-269339596/a-very-special-episode-interview-with-ruth-ware

Once at Trepassen house, a falling down, once gorgeous estate, she discoveres that her inheritance is much more than just some money and her “uncles” are none too happy about it, with the exception of Ezra who seems to take her under his wing. The house lends a lot of creepiness to the story, including the terrible attic room which Hal is now sleeping in, with it’s bolts on the outside of the door and it’s message scratched into the window. Magpies are an omnipresent symbol in the novel. This begins with the book’s epigraph, where we find the old saying, “One for sorrow / Two for joy / Three for a girl / Four for a boy / Five for silver / Six for gold / Seven for a secret / Never to be told.” Discuss the significance of magpies in the story. The Death of Mrs. Westaway begins with Hal, a girl in her early 20s living on her own in Brighton. Hal makes a living by reading tarot cards on the pier, a job she took on when her mother died three years prior. She lives in the same apartment where she grew up, working the business her mother ran, and barely making enough to pay the bills. Wilson, Laura (22 August 2015). "The best recent crime novels – review roundup". the Guardian . Retrieved 14 March 2018.

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. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined what would take place once she entered into this dangerous game. The Lying Game (2017) revolves around four girls named Kate Atagon, Fatima Chaudhry (née Qureshy), Thea West, and Isa Wilde who attend a private boarding school called Salten House. At the school, they form a bond from a game of telling lies. The poor actions of the girls' boarding school days resurface years later when they receive a mysterious text from Kate asking them to return to the mill where they hung out as teenagers. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] Zero Days (2023): Universal International Studios has acquired the rights for series development. [32] The Death of Mrs. Westaway is Ware’s fourth thriller, psychological thriller and suspense novel, and subject of my third Ware review. The book was published in 2018 and said to be her best novel (at least so far). I can agree with that, because I preferred this book over The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Lying Game. The reason might be, that The Death of Mrs. Westaway compounded (and answered) nicely both of my criticisms about the previous books, which were, that the storytelling was kinda uneven. In this book we get to know Hal extremely well, but beside that, there are many meaningful side characters, and precise description of the milieu itself. Overall the writing style suited me better.

I wanted to be pulled under by the weight of it and the story definitely did not disappoint in that regard. Hal makes her living as a tarot card reader, a skill she learned from her mother. What do you think of tarot cards? Have you ever done a tarot card reading? What happened? Ruth Ware does a great service to describing the creepy tone of Trepassen house. I found it similar to the haunting descriptions of Manderley ,from the book Rebecca, as well as those featured in classic literature. Someone please give me a diagram of the tangled roots of this family tree. And a diagram of who murdered whom, please. I’m still a bit confused.Gonzalez, Vilma. "Love in Suspense recommended read: 'The Woman in Cabin 10' by Ruth Ware." Happy Ever After - USA Today, happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2016/07/11/vilma-gonzalez-recommended-read-the-woman-in-cabin-10-ruth-ware/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017.