The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware, a review

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

Author: Ruth Ware

Length: 384 pages
Publication Date: May 29, 2018

Content Notes: Mystery novel

Never believe it, Hal. Never believe your own lies. 

Brief Synopsis:

“Hal,” a tarot card reader, is twenty-one years old when she receives a letter stating that she is to receive an inheritance from her deceased grandmother. But, strangely enough… This woman is not her grandmother.


My thoughts:

I almost did not read this book because I had just finished The Woman In Cabin 10 and was not thrilled. But, this book is completely different. This story has more interesting characters, and a more interesting mystery. At the beginning of the book main character, “Hal,” is a little over the top. She is alone, destitute, reads tarot cards for a living, is mourning her mother's horrific murder, and is being threatened by a loan shark “enforcer.” Then, she gets a letter saying she is to receive an inheritance from a mysterious unknown grandmother …. like I said a little over the top. But that is the fun of it all. At this point in the book, I was wondering what could happen next….and plenty does.


There is a very intriguing character who never actually makes an appearance, and that character is Hal’s grandmother, Mrs. Westaway. Mrs. Westaway is dead, but she is the one with the powerful influence in this story. Her will causes much trouble and confusion, and apparently, that is what Mrs. Westaway intended when she wrote it. The strange will itself is bad enough, but it also redoubles some unanswered questions about two young women (one of them is assumed to be Hal’s mother) who strangely disappeared from Mrs. Westaway’s house a few months before Hal was born. Since Hal’s mother is dead, and the other young woman has never been heard from since, questions swirls as clues present themselves.


Why does Mrs. Westaway believe Hal is her granddaughter? What happened when the two young women disappeared? How is Hal’s mother involved? How is Hal involved? Who killed Hal’s mother? AND, who is Hal’s father and is he a part of all this?


If you enjoy mysteries, you will enjoy this book. I certainly did.