"The Death of Mrs. Westaway" by Ruth Ware

☆☆☆.5 Stars 

Summary:

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:

This was probably my favourite Ruth Ware so far. It was such a solid mystery. It had its twists and turns, and the characters were fairly interesting. Hal was especially, because in theory she is quite a morally grey character. She deceived so many people and by trade, her occupation is as a fortune-teller. When she, herself, doesn't actually believe in fortune telling. 

At the same time I found myself sympathising with her situation, and she is made to look more like a victim of her circumstances rather than a con artist. There are so many facets to her narrative that I found really intriguing, and I did like her as a character. I thought she was fairly realistic, save for the few impulsive moments she has that you see in most thrillers.

Something I found really interesting about the writing itself is that as the character's develop the narrative would change and new elements of the mystery would surface. It was quite different to most mysteries where the plot propels the characters' development. Instead, we see that as the characters grow, and they had a bit more control over the plot.

The prose was really different in this one, compared to other Ruth Ware I've read, "The Woman in Cabin 10" which was really simple and direct. "The Death of Mrs. Westaway" had a stronger focus on style and voice, as well as being extremely atmospheric. What was really cool too, is that while reading there are some diary entries that are mixed into the story, which offers a different perspective in a different timeline. 

The setting was really well done. If you've read "Rebecca" you will probably draw some parallels between Trepassen (the house in Mrs. Westaway) and Manderley (the house in "Rebecca). The parallels don't stop there though, the house keeper Mrs. Warren is a foil of Mrs. Danvers in "Rebecca". I was actually quite the fan of Mrs. Danvers in the end though, so I happily welcomed seeing her in this story as well. The coastal settings of Brighton and Cornwall, were so much fun to read about as we are nearing the spring (despite the book taking place in late autumn/winter.

The mystery itself was a bit predictable, I'm not going to lie. However, the means by which Hal gets to this conclusion are full of little twists and turns, and I did enjoy the little things that I wasn't able to predict. Some of the other characters were a bit too flat, as well which wasn't ideal. The ending was summed up a little too easily and quickly too, which was a problem I found with "The Woman in Cabin 10" as well. Those are really the only faults I found in it. It was a fairly solid book, and I would recommend it to people who like family legacy mysteries. As a murder is not at the centre of this mystery.

This books leisurely pace, mixed with the atmospheric writing made it a very cosy mystery read. I am excited to read "Turn of the Key" as my next Ruth Ware novel.