Book Review: THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY by Ruth Ware

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

B&B RATING: 3.5 / 5

MOOD: If you’re looking to feel confused about what time period you’re in, this one is for you.

Synopsis

Hal is living on her own, working days and nights on the pier as a fortune teller to make ends meet. Money is getting tighter and with winter coming, she knows it’s only going to get tighter, not to mention the debt collectors that keep hounding her want their share of her earnings yesterday. It seems too good to be true when a letter shows up unannounced stating that her grandmother has passed, leaving her an inheritance. Hal know’s it can’t be her - her last living relative died with her mom three years ago. But, this could be exactly what she needs to get out of the hole she is buried in, being able to eat and pay rent in the same month while not freezing to death.

To pull it off, Hal will have to assume characters she never has before - granddaughter, niece, cousin, all while making it past the legal tape and piles of paperwork sure to come her way. Can she pull it off - assume someone else’s identity, claim an inheritance she’s undeserving of, and manage to make it out alive?

Review

First off, I have to say that I love Ruth Ware. LOVE. TURN OF THE KEY? Brilliant! so much depth and intrigue, I couldn’t get enough. WOMAN IN CABIN TEN? Also pretty dang good. But this one? I wanted to love it so bad. I wanted to, but I just couldn’t. HE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY had all of the makings of a stellar book. The plot was intriguing, there were some good twists and turns, the characters were deeply flawed in that lovable but relatable way; there were too many things that struck me the wrong way.

First, I kept feeling like I was reading a book set in the 1920s, only to be repeatedly fooled by Hal pulling out her iPhone and various other forms of technology, all the while being in a house that doesn’t have modern heating. Second, I had a hart time keeping everyone apart because there were too many similarities, and at points I had no idea how some characters were related even tangentially. I found myself flipping back to earlier pages in the book more than a few times to sort things out. Last, the part about the loanshark (trust me, you’ll know), seemed taken straight out of a 1970s mafia movie and nothing how it works in the real world. Now, that could be my naiveté speaking, but, well, it seemed that aliens would be more believable.

Otherwise, the prose was done well, and the descriptions helped me feel like I was there. I could smell the dampness of the rug and feel the chill through my skin, penetrating my insides. Those elements of a classic Ruth Ware were there and were the reasons I kept going. I admit, I put it down after the first 30 pages, read a few different books, and then picked it back up. I’m glad I did.