Review: The Death of Mrs. Westaway

I’ve been a fan of Ruth Ware since her first book, In a Dark, Dark, Wood. What did I think of her latest? Find out in my review of The Death of Mrs. Westaway below!

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

Published on May 28, 2018 by Gallery Books

Synopsis from Goodreads: 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 centre of it.

Review of The Death of Mrs. Westaway:

I’m a big fan of Ruth Ware and I really loved In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin Ten. (You can read my thoughts on those two books linked above.)

The Death of Mrs. Westaway had some things going for it that I liked:

First, it had a strong Gothic vibe. I love Gothic fiction (In fact, if you do too, please take my quiz: What’s Your Gothic Fiction IQ?) There was a gloomy manor house, a young girl who shows up on the doorstep, a hostile housekeeper…) I was getting all the Rebecca vibes…

It also had a Tarot element – I don’t know that much about that, but I’m always a sucker for books that feature things like curses, fortune-telling, Ouija boards, etc.

The Westaways are a dysfunctional rich family with dark secrets. Not everyone is a fan of those kinds of stories, but I love them.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway did lack the excruciating suspense of In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin Ten. In both of those books, there’s a murder and, more importantly, the suspects are all trapped together, intensifying the pressure and the sense of impending doom.

This book was definitely suspenseful, but in a different way.

Have you read this, or any of Ruth Ware’s books? Tell me in comments, or tell me what you do like in a suspenseful story!