The Death of Mrs Westaway

I’ve never read anything by Ruth Ware before so this was a new venture for me. Another member of our crime fiction book group spoke highly of one of her books, so I thought I’d give her a try and chose The Death of Mrs Westaway, which was published in 2018.

Beginning in Brighton
This novel is a gothic mystery, reminiscent of Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier. A young woman, Hal Westaway, lives alone in Brighton after the hit-and-run death of her mother. They have always been alone; Hal’s father is unknown. Now Hal makes her living as a tarot card reader and fortune teller on Brighton Pier, a job she has inherited from her late mother. She is living very close to the breadline. In fact, she has fallen into the clutches of some very nasty money lenders.

Into this sad and depressing existence comes a letter from a solicitor telling her that she is co-heir to her grandmother, Mrs Westaway, and should present herself at the Westaway family’s stately home in Cornwall.

So far so good. But Hal knows it’s all a mistake, because there’s no way Mrs Westaway could have been her grandmother, in spite of the name. She knows who her long-dead grandparents were, and they weren’t Westaways. Nonetheless she decides to go and try to blag her way through it in the hope of a small legacy, which would help her with her money troubles and which she thinks the family can easily spare.

In Cornwall
The late Mrs Westaway, who was a real tartar, had three sons, and a daughter who had disappeared sometime in the past. Hal arrives and meets her ‘family’ – uncles, aunt, cousins and a severely sinister, Mrs Danvers-like housekeeper. She finds they are all (apart from the housekeeper) kind, welcoming and thrilled to have the daughter of their long-lost sister back.

The mystery
Parallel with this straightforward story runs a tale told in the form of a diary kept by a cousin, Maggie. Twenty years ago she’d lived at the house alongside the family (including Maud, the lost daughter) and several schoolfriends of the three boys. Maggie was pregnant by one of the young men, although we don’t know which one, but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the unborn baby is probably Hal.

And so, the mystery begins. What happened to Maggie? Was she Hal’s mother? Who was the father? And where is Maud? As Hal begins to try and work out what happened all those years ago, someone close is equally determined that the past should not be raked up.

My verdict
This was a really enjoyable, old-fashioned mystery, quite gothic and with a surprising twist in the ending. It’s very atmospheric, with everything very well described which makes quite a chilling read. And although the characters of the uncles and cousins are a little sketchy they felt believable.

Hal herself is vividly described as a young woman, struggling to survive and with some surprising signs of integrity, especially in her reading of the cards. I found it fascinating.

I really liked this book and give it 4-Stars.
Review by: Freyja

Macclesfield Library Reading Group would like to thank Penguin randomhouse and The Reading Agency for providing copies of The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware. We unanimously agreed this was an addictive page turner full of suspense. We particularly took to Hal as being that rare thing; a female protagonist who is strong, relatable and not led by romantic intention. The ever evolving relationships within the family and how they treat Hal throughout the many revelations of the book made for an engaging story.
“What a rollicking Yarn! I liked the strong female protagonist.”
“A good read, I enjoyed it. It was an easy story to read although I did get a bit lost towards the end with trying to follow who Hal’s mother turned out to be.”
“A good book that skilfully manipulates the clichés of the mystery/thriller genre.”
“An interesting and thought provoking read. Suspenseful and with lots to think about, I felt that the protagonist’s fortune was well deserved.”