The Death of Mrs. Westaway (Genre: Gothic Mystery)
by Ruth Ware
How about a good Gothic mystery to take to the beach (or in my case, the back patio looking out over the Snake River)? Harriet or “Hal” is a psychic/Tarot card reader on a pier at Brighton Beach, England. She’s poor and in debt, but suddenly gets a letter telling her a grandmother has died, and she is due to inherit some of her considerable wealth. The problem is, Hal has no grandmother. They’re deceased. But Hal is desperate and the Tarot cards seem to be telling her to go, go find a fortune even if she may be committing fraud in doing so.
Author Ruth Ware (from The Lying Game and The Woman in Cabin 10) is a solid mystery writer and knows how to keep the plot twisting and turning. Good mysteries usually have a surprise at the end, and this one does too. I loved all the little supernatural elements of the story—even though this was not a ghost tale. I wouldn’t call The Death of Mrs. Westaway a challenging or thought-provoking read, but still, I enjoyed the book and was entertained. A nice thing to happen in the lazy, hot days of summer.
