I love Ruth Ware. I think she is an amazing writer. I wish she had more books than I could greedily read with a crazy fury. The first of her books that I read was The Woman in Cabin 10. WOW. What a book. I quickly followed with In A Dark, Dark Wood, which was really good too. Then I read The Lying Game, which was pretty good. It is my least favorite, but still good. I just read her latest book The Death of Mrs. Westaway and it was fantastic!
Harriet (Hal) Westaway has had a tough life. She grew up with a single mother who read tarot cards on the touristy pier. And when her mother died in a hit and run accident three years ago, Hal had to drop out of school and take over her mother’s business. She is avoiding a loan shark and barely making ends meet. And she has no one to turn to for help – no family, no close friends, no one. Then one day, her luck seems to turn around. She receives a mysterious letter saying that her grandmother had died and she might be receiving some inheritance.
The only problem is that Hal’s grandparents died long before she was ever born. But out of desperation, Hal decided to go to the funeral and use her people reading skills as a way to possibly convince the family that she is in fact the long-lost granddaughter.
Once at the large, old estate that was Mrs. Westaway’s, Hal realized that something is very wrong with the entire situation. And Hal decides she must figure out what is really going on.
This was a GREAT book. It was super creepy (so perfect for this time of year with Halloween coming up!). It takes place in England (as all of Ruth Ware’s books do), in freezing Cornwall. The entire setting gave me chills. And the writing is excellent. It was really crazy because all thrillers should be crazy. And really hard to put down.
Have you read The Death of Mrs. Westaway? If so what did you think? If not, you should absolutely add it to your reading list!