The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Hal is a young woman who reads tarot cards for a living on the pier. She's barely scraping by since losing her mother, who was recently killed by a hit and run driver. The loan sharks are after her for money she borrowed but being winter on the pier, she's not generating enough business to even pay the rent.
And then the letter arrived, an official letter from a lawyer. It states her grandmother has died, listing the time and place of the funeral and the reading of the will. Hal has never known who her father is or about any other family. Her mother kept that hidden from her. But she goes to the funeral hoping that she can con this family out of enough money to solve her financial woes.
Even though I loved the character of Hal, the rest of the ensemble were irritating to say the least. The reader was inside Hal's head so much of the time, that her angst repeated over and over again also became annoying. I liked the explanation of the tarot cards which was peppered into the story, but they didn't really help her solve the mystery. The story left many unanswered questions.
I've read other Ruth Ware novels and found them all to be exciting, can't put down, page turners leaving me gasping until the end. The Death of Mrs. Westaway did not do any of these things. I figured out fairly early on who the culprit was and I had to keep reading just to confirm my assumption. I was right, which for me, detracts from the enjoyment of the book. The Woman in Cabin 10 and In A Dark, Dark Wood kept me on the edge of my seat, something Mrs. Westaway was unable to do.
Hal is a young woman who reads tarot cards for a living on the pier. She's barely scraping by since losing her mother, who was recently killed by a hit and run driver. The loan sharks are after her for money she borrowed but being winter on the pier, she's not generating enough business to even pay the rent.
And then the letter arrived, an official letter from a lawyer. It states her grandmother has died, listing the time and place of the funeral and the reading of the will. Hal has never known who her father is or about any other family. Her mother kept that hidden from her. But she goes to the funeral hoping that she can con this family out of enough money to solve her financial woes.
Even though I loved the character of Hal, the rest of the ensemble were irritating to say the least. The reader was inside Hal's head so much of the time, that her angst repeated over and over again also became annoying. I liked the explanation of the tarot cards which was peppered into the story, but they didn't really help her solve the mystery. The story left many unanswered questions.
I've read other Ruth Ware novels and found them all to be exciting, can't put down, page turners leaving me gasping until the end. The Death of Mrs. Westaway did not do any of these things. I figured out fairly early on who the culprit was and I had to keep reading just to confirm my assumption. I was right, which for me, detracts from the enjoyment of the book. The Woman in Cabin 10 and In A Dark, Dark Wood kept me on the edge of my seat, something Mrs. Westaway was unable to do.
