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A review by willowy
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
5.0
Read for Reading Rush 2020!
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Length: 388 Pages
Genres: Mystery and Thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
"Hal straightened, trying to make out the letters. They were tucked behind one of the bars and hard to see, but as she tilted her head to one side, suddenly the morning sunlight caught the marks at just the right ankle, illuminating them so that they glowed as if written in white fire.
HELP ME, it said, in tiny crabbed letters."
Trigger Warnings in this book for mental and physical abuse, violence and murderous goings-on
My sister has been trying to get me to read this book forever and so I decided to make it one of my reads for the Reading Rush and how happy I am that I did! The main character, Hal, is a new favorite of mine. I loved her strength and determination, her unwillingness to give up even when it was what she wanted most.
Harriet "Hal" Westaway is down-on-her-luck. Reading tarot cards on the Brighton Pier hasn't made her much money and now a man who lent her some money is looking to collect - in blood or money. She's desperate to keep her little attic flat, the one she shared with her mother who tragically died in a hit and run. So it seems like fate when she receives a letter claiming that she may be the recipient of the fortune of a woman named Hester Westaway. But it can't be right, this Margarida Westaway cannot be her mother because her grandmother was not Hester, but Joan. A plan forms in her mind, and a solution to her problem. She'll pretend to be the right Harriet Westaway. There she meets three sons, each tormented by the memory of their childhood at the mysterious Cornish estate, Trepassen House, and at the hands of their cruel mother. And even more concerning is the fact that the woman who is supposed to be her mother has been missing for more than twenty years.
This mystery was perfect for me. I adored the Cornish setting, and the Gothic old Trepassen House complete with bitter old housekeeper Mrs. Warren, who follows the same vein of the classic Mrs. Danvers. I didn't put the pieces together until they were spelled out for me on the page and I loved that. I actually sat up in the bed and gasped! The only thing that made me a little wary was the depiction of the gay relationship in the book, but it was so insignificant that I was able to ignore it. Please pick this up if you need a dark book perfect for a stormy night-in.
For more reviews check out my blog!
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Length: 388 Pages
Genres: Mystery and Thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
"Hal straightened, trying to make out the letters. They were tucked behind one of the bars and hard to see, but as she tilted her head to one side, suddenly the morning sunlight caught the marks at just the right ankle, illuminating them so that they glowed as if written in white fire.
HELP ME, it said, in tiny crabbed letters."
Trigger Warnings in this book for mental and physical abuse, violence and murderous goings-on
My sister has been trying to get me to read this book forever and so I decided to make it one of my reads for the Reading Rush and how happy I am that I did! The main character, Hal, is a new favorite of mine. I loved her strength and determination, her unwillingness to give up even when it was what she wanted most.
Harriet "Hal" Westaway is down-on-her-luck. Reading tarot cards on the Brighton Pier hasn't made her much money and now a man who lent her some money is looking to collect - in blood or money. She's desperate to keep her little attic flat, the one she shared with her mother who tragically died in a hit and run. So it seems like fate when she receives a letter claiming that she may be the recipient of the fortune of a woman named Hester Westaway. But it can't be right, this Margarida Westaway cannot be her mother because her grandmother was not Hester, but Joan. A plan forms in her mind, and a solution to her problem. She'll pretend to be the right Harriet Westaway. There she meets three sons, each tormented by the memory of their childhood at the mysterious Cornish estate, Trepassen House, and at the hands of their cruel mother. And even more concerning is the fact that the woman who is supposed to be her mother has been missing for more than twenty years.
This mystery was perfect for me. I adored the Cornish setting, and the Gothic old Trepassen House complete with bitter old housekeeper Mrs. Warren, who follows the same vein of the classic Mrs. Danvers. I didn't put the pieces together until they were spelled out for me on the page and I loved that. I actually sat up in the bed and gasped! The only thing that made me a little wary was the depiction of the gay relationship in the book, but it was so insignificant that I was able to ignore it. Please pick this up if you need a dark book perfect for a stormy night-in.
For more reviews check out my blog!