⇒ PDF The Death of Mrs Westaway Ruth Ware 9781501156212 Books

The Death of Mrs Westaway Ruth Ware 9781501156212 Books

Download As PDF : The Death of Mrs Westaway Ruth Ware 9781501156212 Books

The Death of Mrs Westaway Ruth Ware 9781501156212 Books

This is now my favorite Ruth Ware book, by far (I’ve read and liked them all). It drew me in from the very first page and didn’t let me go. I tried to read it slowly — after pre-ordering and anticipating it for months — but ended up binge reading it.

I won’t give major spoilers, I’ll just say why I found it so compelling:

The suspense and subtle dread. I had to know what the next page held.

The great character study. A classic whodunnit. Was it him? Her? Him? Who?! I truly didn’t know until the end. The twists and red herrings were perfectly done ... not exploiting the reader at all, but how the story moved organically. They made complete sense, and that’s rare nowadays in this genre. I also loved how, even though Mrs Westaway had passed on, her presence was still felt so menacingly and strongly. I mean, yes, the book centered around her actions ... but instead of her being a vague idea, this cloud of doom, I felt like she might actually come around the corner at any time. The housekeeper, of course, did do just that, often, and was quite the scary character! Not in a cheesy way, no, the tension and malignancy she brought was very well done. I love family sagas, especially about old English families and estates, and this certainly delivered that!

The wonderful descriptions of the mood and setting. I felt like I was there, in that cold, drafty old house that held so many secrets and heartache. My only minor complaint about that — I would’ve liked a bit more closure regarding the attic room and how a certain someone in the past was basically held prisoner there.

The emotions! Hal is so likable, so strong, yet vulnerable. I desperately wanted things to get better for her. I cheered her on and felt what she felt. And then the family — a mixture of both sympathy and, “One or more of you is the bad person(s) here, so I’m hesitant to like you or feel compassion”. It’s fun not knowing. Ms Ware shaped them all so well, letting the reader come to their own conclusions, nothing was overtly obvious. So many books in this genre fall into cliches; this one never did. And I like how the family grappled at first with embracing Hal ... this complete stranger thrust into their lives/complicated emotions regarding their mother, her death, and the house. That aspect was another so well done. I liked them all for most of the book, but again, knew evil lurked among them, and knew some of my sympathy would be wasted at some point.

The side story with Hal and the loan sharks. Fear for her.

The great research Ms Ware must have done, and included, about Tarot cards/readings. Not a subject I’ve ever believed or had much interest in, but wow, I really got into it more and more ... and the explanations of how Hal and her mother didn’t take it literally, but could read them figuratively. It was so fascinating to me.

The ending was great. I won’t say more, just that it was satisfying in many ways. Again, rare for this genre. It makes me wish I was in a book club, I want to discuss this book with others!

Thank you, Ms Ware, for such an entertaining book! It was well worth the wait. I’m just sad it’s over and that we won’t get to see how young Hal’s life turned out afterwards. I’ll miss her and the family (well, some of them). I highly recommend this book to anyone, not just psychological suspense fans. And I really think this would make a great movie!


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The Death of Mrs Westaway Ruth Ware 9781501156212 Books Reviews

Well this was one huge disappointment - why is this book getting so many positive reviews and hyped over and over?
I thought it boring - predictable and frankly I found myself skipping forward - main character should have angst for a middle name - could have been half as long - no surprises and dialogue repeated over and over
Wait for it to go on sale if you still want to read!
Having read and enjoyed “The Lying Game” and “The Woman in Cabin 10”, I was eager to delve into Ruth Ware’s latest work “The Death of Mrs. Westaway”. It bears some similarities to her earlier books in its Gothic setting and the almost anti-hero characteristics of her protagonist. Hal ekes out a living as a tarot card reader who’s dodging the local loan shark when she gets a letter advising her of an inheritance from a grandmother she knows nothing about. Hal shows up at the funeral and discovers a ready-made family - three uncles her mother failed to mention. Thus begins Hal’s quest for the truth about her background, her deceased mother and now a deceased grandmother she didn’t know she had. Hal is a richly drawn character who’s certainly no paragon of virtue but she’s oddly appealing, likable even, yet her morals come into question on several occasions. This is a chilling tale full of twists and turns and a red herring or two that kept me guessing right to the end. The author’s appreciation for Daphne du Maurier is evident in the dark imagery here but this tale lacks the lyrical phrasing I’ve come to expect from Ruth Ware. Also, it was a bit of a slow starter for me. So, not a disappointment but not five star worthy either.
So many opportunities missed, so many cliches that should have been avoided, so much repetition, so much inner angst, and so many folks acting over-the-top without any reasons for their actions explained and, in two cases, never even hinted at. Add to that a mostly unsympathetic heroine, one who acted more as if she were fourteen rather than twenty-one, and who is so vapid that I wanted to slap her about as much as I used t want to slap the second Mrs. de Winter and tell her to get a grip.

The plot was a rather untidy and often head-scratching melange of tropes we have all encountered since mid-adolescence--gloomy house, evil matriarch, and an even more alarming housekeeper [Mrs. Danvers does not have to worry, however], and lots of twisted and twined family relationships that sometimes make little sense. I found more telling than showing, and felt definitely short-changed when we're given absolutely no rational--or even arcane--reason for Mrs. Westaway's virulent personality or Mrs. Warren's menacing looming.

An as for the Big Reveal? More like a weak squeak than a horrified scream.

In spite of the above deficiencies, there were parts of this definitely derivative tale that I enjoyed the atmosphere at both the Brighton pier and the Cornwall manse were spot on, with better than average looks at the countryside and weather not usually included on postcards. There was also from time to time an actual frisson of foreboding, but unfortunately, I thought the constant and almost unremitting descent into hand-wringing, guilt overload, and conscience-questioning knocked that train right off the track.

Another reviewer referred to this book as "Rebecca Lite," and I agree. However, I also found it to be more like 1% milk--gets the job done but is pretty bland in the process.
This is now my favorite Ruth Ware book, by far (I’ve read and liked them all). It drew me in from the very first page and didn’t let me go. I tried to read it slowly — after pre-ordering and anticipating it for months — but ended up binge reading it.

I won’t give major spoilers, I’ll just say why I found it so compelling

The suspense and subtle dread. I had to know what the next page held.

The great character study. A classic whodunnit. Was it him? Her? Him? Who?! I truly didn’t know until the end. The twists and red herrings were perfectly done ... not exploiting the reader at all, but how the story moved organically. They made complete sense, and that’s rare nowadays in this genre. I also loved how, even though Mrs Westaway had passed on, her presence was still felt so menacingly and strongly. I mean, yes, the book centered around her actions ... but instead of her being a vague idea, this cloud of doom, I felt like she might actually come around the corner at any time. The housekeeper, of course, did do just that, often, and was quite the scary character! Not in a cheesy way, no, the tension and malignancy she brought was very well done. I love family sagas, especially about old English families and estates, and this certainly delivered that!

The wonderful descriptions of the mood and setting. I felt like I was there, in that cold, drafty old house that held so many secrets and heartache. My only minor complaint about that — I would’ve liked a bit more closure regarding the attic room and how a certain someone in the past was basically held prisoner there.

The emotions! Hal is so likable, so strong, yet vulnerable. I desperately wanted things to get better for her. I cheered her on and felt what she felt. And then the family — a mixture of both sympathy and, “One or more of you is the bad person(s) here, so I’m hesitant to like you or feel compassion”. It’s fun not knowing. Ms Ware shaped them all so well, letting the reader come to their own conclusions, nothing was overtly obvious. So many books in this genre fall into cliches; this one never did. And I like how the family grappled at first with embracing Hal ... this complete stranger thrust into their lives/complicated emotions regarding their mother, her death, and the house. That aspect was another so well done. I liked them all for most of the book, but again, knew evil lurked among them, and knew some of my sympathy would be wasted at some point.

The side story with Hal and the loan sharks. Fear for her.

The great research Ms Ware must have done, and included, about Tarot cards/readings. Not a subject I’ve ever believed or had much interest in, but wow, I really got into it more and more ... and the explanations of how Hal and her mother didn’t take it literally, but could read them figuratively. It was so fascinating to me.

The ending was great. I won’t say more, just that it was satisfying in many ways. Again, rare for this genre. It makes me wish I was in a book club, I want to discuss this book with others!

Thank you, Ms Ware, for such an entertaining book! It was well worth the wait. I’m just sad it’s over and that we won’t get to see how young Hal’s life turned out afterwards. I’ll miss her and the family (well, some of them). I highly recommend this book to anyone, not just psychological suspense fans. And I really think this would make a great movie!