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.

Book Type:

Psychological Suspense

Review: The Death of Mrs. Westaway

A case of mistaken identity turns the tide for a struggling young woman when she receives a surprising inheritance in THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY. In Ware’s signature style, the narrative unwinds gradually, ratcheting a sense of unease and tension.

We meet Harriet “Hal” Westaway, who reads tarot cards at Brighton Pier and struggles under the weight of overdue bills. Worse yet, a loan shark is circling, ready to collect an old debt, or else. But her luck seems to be turning when she receives a letter from a solicitor informing her of a sizeable bequest. Quickly she realizes they meant to send it to someone else, but feeling trapped and out of options, Hal knows her skills at reading people could help her find a way out, a little extra money in her pocket to settle her debts.

With hardly any money left, she sets off to claim the inheritance and meet the family of the now deceased Mrs. Westaway. What she discovers is a derelict house, a surly housekeeper, an estranged family and more secrets than she can process—secrets that suddenly have her questioning everything.

The story has a suspenseful, gothic vibe to it and tells us of a family and the secrets they keep. While there are no huge, action-packed thrills (that’s not her type of book), Ruth Ware does an exceptional job of creating a sinister, threatening atmosphere that keeps you entrenched, flipping the pages until you finally know how it all ends. She’s so adept at creating suspense, you’re on the edge of your seat, waiting for the situation to explode off the page. There were even notes of horror woven throughout.

Hal, our heroine, was a great character and anchor in the story. She had real depth and relatability. You’ll really feel her sense of desperation and struggle throughout, and on many levels. Overall, the book was just so well done, it was very clever and engaging… my favorite of Ware’s to date.

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