She's also jumpy and paranoid, looking at everyone suspiciously even when they've just said some innocuous words. Most of the family, however, embraces her as the daughter of their long lost sister and seem ready to accept her into the fold. Once the will is read, however, Hal is not so sure she wants any part of this, thinking she has perhaps dug herself into a really dark hole. Then she decides she will “take this step by step...with the slow, measured pace of a reading. She had to turn each card as it came, consider it, find it’s place in the story . . . . . only the next card was not a card at all, it was a photograph. the photograph . . . .”

Before embarking on her writing career as Ruth Ware, Ware wrote five young-adult fantasy novels as Ruth Warburton, all of which were published by Hodder's Children Books. The French phrase “après moi, le déluge” is important in the novel. Discuss its meaning and significance in the story. Here we have some discussion topics and questions for your book club. They’re not too specific, so as not to spoil any of the book for those who may not have finished it yet. In a Dark, Dark Wood." Penguin Books, https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1099571/in-a-dark-dark-wood/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017. Virtual Interview with Ruth Ware. https://soundcloud.com/user-269339596/a-very-special-episode-interview-with-ruth-wareWell, I suppose it was bound to happen. I’ve really enjoyed Ware’s previous novels and I see that this one has been well received for the most part. But, for me this one was a bit flat. It took me an age to get into the story, and the tried and true attempts to build suspense, were too obvious to be effective. But immediately, I can tell I'm not a fan of the way Hal's character is written. She comes across as confused, slow-witted, and completely unable to speak clearly. Her conversations are full of hemming and hawing, stammering, and waffling. For example, here is a conversation from her side: On returning to her stall, Hal, full of guilt from the reading, passes by a donation area for The Lighthouse Project, a drug and rehabilitation in Brighton. After seeing this woman falling behind on bills and trying to outrun debt, Hal shoves every bill from the woman into the donation slot: Because Maggie never returned home, Maud had taken over the role as Hal’s mother. She had lied to Hal about her father hoping to protect her. When Hal was about to turn 18, Maud wrote to her mother that she was going to tell Hal the truth about her parents. Hoping to protect himself, Ezra killed Maud. Knowing that Hal had learned the truth, Ezra tried to kill her too, but fell through the ice on the lake and died. The cards tell you nothing you don’t already know. It was her mother’s voice, steady in her ear. They have no power, remember that. They can’t reveal any secrets or dictate the future. All they can do is show you what you already know.

Ware does an excellent job of setting high stakes. Reading tarot cards isn’t necessarily a moneymaker, and due to this, she is falling behind on bills and is being followed by a man who loaned her some money at a high interest rate. I genuinely felt worried about Hal, as she struggled to make ends meet while outrunning a loaner. The Death of Mrs. Westaway is Ware’s fourth thriller, psychological thriller and suspense novel, and subject of my third Ware review. The book was published in 2018 and said to be her best novel (at least so far). I can agree with that, because I preferred this book over The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Lying Game. The reason might be, that The Death of Mrs. Westaway compounded (and answered) nicely both of my criticisms about the previous books, which were, that the storytelling was kinda uneven. In this book we get to know Hal extremely well, but beside that, there are many meaningful side characters, and precise description of the milieu itself. Overall the writing style suited me better. The duality in Hal was also a high point for me. Hal is physically meek, but she has an inner strength. The way Hal has learned to play weaker than she is, and then her shows of surprising resilience and bravery were so wonderful. Hal is an easy character to admire and to root for. Hal is someone who has been cast aside in every way, but she has never allowed it to diminish her. Hal is caring but self-preserving. Hal is honest but deceptive. Hal is calculating but impulsive. Hal travels down to the English coast and meets her "family". She is taken to the huge, cold and gloomy Trepassen house-- a place that holds a thousand secrets within its walls. It soon becomes clear to Hal that something is not quite right, that she may indeed have a history entwined with the Westaways, and that someone in Trepassen house is determined to keep the past hidden, whatever it costs. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware." Book of the Month, https://www.bookofthemonth.com/best-books-of-the-year/the-woman-in-cabin-10-138. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017.Mystery/thriller fans are going to love this new book, I did! The only thing that brought it down to a 4 was the fact that I figured out who the “bad guy” was and most of the mystery long before it was revealed. Still the ending is a great one and I loved every minute of this novel. The Death of Mrs. Westaway is a cleverly crafted atmospheric mystery fueled by deceit. Since I was not a fan of The Lying Game, I was hesitant to read this, but I am so glad I did!

One by One (2020) revolves around the directors and shareholders of a hot new technology company on a corporate retreat at an exclusive ski resort to decide the future of the company. Tensions run high approaching a possible billion-dollar buyout as an avalanche cuts the chalet off from help, and one board member goes missing. [26] Ruth Ware was born in 1977 and grew up in Lewes. She studied English at Manchester University, where she developed a fascination with Old English and Middle English texts. I’m not going to hash out all the parts that confuse me, since that could simply be a bit of my fault with getting confused, but I did not find this instance to be that insightful of the novel as a whole, but it did seem to be a bit of a letdown from the eerie atmosphere being built around the family and the home itself.Sorry to have missed you. We would like to discuss you’re financal situation. We will call again. …

The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Ware, Ruth. The Death of Mrs. Westaway. Gallery/Scout Press, May 29, 2018. Kindle. I also had a little problem with keeping all the characters straight as they all just seemed to roll up into one and it was really hard to differentiate between who was who, which I found rather distracting. Do you like playing detective, perhaps finding clues along the journey of your reading experience? Then you'll most certainly LOVE The Death Of Mrs. Westaway. The devil is in the details, and that phrase couldn't ring more true than it does in this particular story. I had such a blast trying to solve the mystery in all it's parts and found, while a slow burn through and through, I couldn't put it down due to the story's compulsive nature. Dark, unsettling, and full of unexpected twists, Ms. Ware has created one of the "it" stories of 2018. Highly recommended! In her crime books, Ware's writing style is often compared to that of Agatha Christie. [4] [5] Ware has said that some aspects of her writing are directly inspired by Christie. [6] Ware's protagonists are usually ordinary women who find themselves in dangerous situations involving a crime. The first two of Ware's novels feature a murder mystery with a group of people trapped, or otherwise restricted from immediately escaping the dangerous environment. Christie was famously known for utilizing this plot device, in novels such as Murder on the Orient Express. [7] Ware and Christie both choose settings and situations that foster the sense of dread that propels their characters to paranoia and often they react violently as a result. These environments create a sense of isolation for the events to unfold in. [8] Ware's settings play a key role in drawing in the reader and are as essential and integral to her story as the characters.Review of The Death of Mrs. Westaway, by Ruth Ware. Publishers Weekly, 2 Apr. 2018, www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-5011-5621-2. Accessed 2 Aug. 2018. Reese Witherspoon is developing an 'In A Dark, Dark Wood' adaptation". EW.com . Retrieved 20 November 2017. During Hal's time at Trepassen she meets a whole host of a dysfunctional family, she learns more of the strange situation and the inheritance at the centre of it. Through out this book secrets are unpeeled and unveiled unto the last few chapters where all the pieces of the puzzle fits into place. But, Unc—” She stumbled over the word, unable to make herself articulate it, and began again: “Look, there’s something I must—”It was so tedious to read, I kept shouting at her in my head to just spit it out already.