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jelkebooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I was quite excited to read this one because I had heard many great things about this book, and the premise sounds right up my alley. However, this book just didn't work for me. If I'm being honest I thought this book was a massive bore. I'm sorry. Not a whole lot happened in this book, and the characters were also just lackluster.
Now, I get that in a mystery/thriller characters are often not much more than a plot device, but at least the main character will have some semblance of a personality. This was NOT the case for Hal. She was just such a bland main character, and I found it really difficult to care about her or root for her. I just felt extremely meh. On top of that the side characters were truly interchangeable. I had a terrible time keeping them apart, and there weren't even that many characters.
I also just predicted the big reveal quite early on in the book. I was 100% correct, all details were accounted for. I absolutely couldn't believe that that was it. It was just so obvious from the start, and it truly felt like a massive whomp whomp once it happened. Especially because there wasn't really much more to the book for me.
I didn't absolutely hate this book. There were some small parts I did like, and I absolutely flew through this book as well. There were just so many things I wish could have been delved into a bit more, or just overall executed better.
Now, I get that in a mystery/thriller characters are often not much more than a plot device, but at least the main character will have some semblance of a personality. This was NOT the case for Hal. She was just such a bland main character, and I found it really difficult to care about her or root for her. I just felt extremely meh. On top of that the side characters were truly interchangeable. I had a terrible time keeping them apart, and there weren't even that many characters.
I also just predicted the big reveal quite early on in the book. I was 100% correct, all details were accounted for. I absolutely couldn't believe that that was it. It was just so obvious from the start, and it truly felt like a massive whomp whomp once it happened. Especially because there wasn't really much more to the book for me.
I didn't absolutely hate this book. There were some small parts I did like, and I absolutely flew through this book as well. There were just so many things I wish could have been delved into a bit more, or just overall executed better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Homophobia
bessadams's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
larareads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Murder and Pregnancy
Minor: Physical abuse
cpratreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I enjoyed this book, a solid Ware novel. I did wish that the ending was a little more dramatic, as it felt a little underwhelming compared to the setting. An easy vacation read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
growintogardens's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I figured most of it out, but I enjoyed it and liked Hal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I have slowly been making my way through Ruth Ware's backlist, and I knew when I found this copy of "The Death of Mrs. Westaway" at a library book sale, that this would be next up on my Ruth Ware reading list.
"The Death of Mrs. Westaway" follows Hal: a young adult who has recently lost her mother and is in severe financial trouble. She has continued in her mother's footsteps and reads tarot for a living, but with the debt that her and her mother borrowed from a very shady source, she will never be able to repay them. She fears for her own life, until she receives a mysterious letter informing her that she has inherited a large sum of money from a woman named Mrs. Westaway. Hal has never heard of Mrs. Westaway and her mother always told her they had no extended family, but desperate, Hal attends the funeral in the hopes of getting some money to get back onto her feet. What she does not expect is to uncover family secrets that have been buried for decades.
This story was a trip. My heart broke for Hal and her situation. When her mother died, she was left with no one in the world, and all she wanted was a family. She is young and trying to survive but it feels like everything is against her. She does essentially con people for a living, and that is what she was planning to do to the Westaways, but she was driven to the decision out of desperation and devastating circumstance, which I think the reader can empathize with.
This story has a lot of twists, and just when you think you have the family figured out, something new is uncovered and new secrets are revealed. I ultimately did not see the ending of the story coming, but I was also left a bit unsatisfied by it. The people involved and those who helped to cover it up seemed to have somewhat unreasonable rationale for their actions. It all seemed way too dramatic to me for a secret that was not as earth shattering as they all believed.
Overall, this book was fine. It is not my favorite Ruth Ware, but it also did not put me off of her writing either.
"The Death of Mrs. Westaway" follows Hal: a young adult who has recently lost her mother and is in severe financial trouble. She has continued in her mother's footsteps and reads tarot for a living, but with the debt that her and her mother borrowed from a very shady source, she will never be able to repay them. She fears for her own life, until she receives a mysterious letter informing her that she has inherited a large sum of money from a woman named Mrs. Westaway. Hal has never heard of Mrs. Westaway and her mother always told her they had no extended family, but desperate, Hal attends the funeral in the hopes of getting some money to get back onto her feet. What she does not expect is to uncover family secrets that have been buried for decades.
This story was a trip. My heart broke for Hal and her situation. When her mother died, she was left with no one in the world, and all she wanted was a family. She is young and trying to survive but it feels like everything is against her. She does essentially con people for a living, and that is what she was planning to do to the Westaways, but she was driven to the decision out of desperation and devastating circumstance, which I think the reader can empathize with.
This story has a lot of twists, and just when you think you have the family figured out, something new is uncovered and new secrets are revealed. I ultimately did not see the ending of the story coming, but I was also left a bit unsatisfied by it. The people involved and those who helped to cover it up seemed to have somewhat unreasonable rationale for their actions. It all seemed way too dramatic to me for a secret that was not as earth shattering as they all believed.
Overall, this book was fine. It is not my favorite Ruth Ware, but it also did not put me off of her writing either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Pregnancy
gm3116's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
The book kept me entertained while I snowed in during a snow storm but it wasn't amazing. The pace was a bit slow and I was not a fan of the ending. Also why did no one acknowledge the fact that Hal's mother and father were relatives ??????ick
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death and Car accident
ashleycmms's review against another edition
2.75
Anyone who knows me and my reading tastes knows I’m a super for family drama, dynamics, and relationships. I always enjoy it no matter if it’s possible, healthy, traumatic, fictional, or non-fiction. However, I went into this expecting a thriller/horror and figured out the antagonist 25% in. By 50% I figured out the plot twist. I read and watch a lot of horror/thriller content so it’s not unusable for me to be able to figure out what’s going to happen before I get there. However, what was a real let down for me was the sheer lack of concrete reasons as to WHY these things even came to happen. This is a story that relies heavily on backstory while simultaneously being incredibly vague about the events of the past. We get a few diary entries of the past that were very intriguing, but they often caused me to wonder more about what happened during that time. Especially to the main villain of this story. We get no reasoning, which I guess would be fine if the story was “some people are just evil” but there’s constant wording that “over time,” “something happened,” and “before and after.” So WHAT…. WHAT IS IT THAT HAPPENED?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse and Blood
Minor: Incest, Infidelity, and Alcohol
jellie23's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
abcahill1218's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder