Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

38 reviews

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

One sentence review: Unlikeable characters, gothic vibes, and page turning reveals. 

Hal has money troubles after her mom passes is faced with a threatening loan shark shaking her down for funds she doesn’t have. When suddenly, she receives notice of a mysterious inheritance from a grandmother she doesn’t know. She scrounges herself together and flees to Brighton to learn more, but didn’t expect to have to deal with family tensions, secrets and threats when she arrived…

A popcorn thriller that will ultimately be forgettable to me. I liked the tarot elements, which added in some interesting omens and foreboding. I also enjoyed Maggie’s diary entries. This was probably the most gothic and atmospheric part of the whole book, I could feel the sun on my skin during the lake scenes. 

But what I couldn’t stand was the main character Hal. She just seemed so wimpy and clueless throughout the book. The way she was characterized made me feel like I was reading a book much older than it actually was. 

Overall, not my favourite of Ruth Ware’s works but still worth the read for those gothic vibes and twisty mystery that I didn’t expect! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Car accident, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual content

abernathy_33's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Car accident, and Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Alcohol

aggbutterfly's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I liked the vibes and the story. I feel like most of the clues were sorta feed to me but I'm not upset about it. The end of the climax was kinda anti-climatic tho. 

Now, I've only read Ruth Ware twice, but both times there was something incestuous involved with the mystery 😒

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

snoopyfanclub's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Incest and Pregnancy

demiag's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Hard to get into at first. Didn’t start enjoying it until over halfway through the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

charlizzzard_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

A book that had me desperate to work out the mystery within!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

fromtheyellowchair's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia

your_neighbor57's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? No

4.5

I couldn't put his Gothic mystery down! The main character is interesting and evokes empathy. I'd love to see this story made into a movie or limited series. It unfolded like a movie in my mind as I read. As another reviewer pointed out, it has some of the "feel" of Daphne du Maurier' Rebecca. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief and Death of parent

Minor: Blood, Car accident, and Murder

anissawren's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Incest, Car accident, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infidelity

adelinebal4's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder