Review: The Death of Mrs. Westaway
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2 stars. Hmm. This is not what I expected. I didn't enjoy my first Ware read, but this had such glowing, trustworthy reviews I went in hoping for the best. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. It's not HORRIBLE - and I highly recommend this for the beach or on a plane - but I think I fell victim to the hype.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway zooms in on a young, struggling woman named Hal, who receives a letter stating her as a beneficiary of her grandmother's estate. One problem: she doesn't have a grandmother, or any family at all. Needing the money, she decides to answer the lawyer's invitation and see if she can take advantage of the legacy regardless.
She travels to an old, cold mansion and meets the family: her "uncles" Harding, Abel and Ezra, plus Mrs. Danvers I mean Warren and some feisty "cousins" that she resents for being rich and carefree. Her deception begins to weigh on her, until she begins to understand exactly how many secrets the family is hiding. Then it becomes a race of sorts: a race for answers, a race for the truth, and eventually, a race for her life.
As exciting as that sounds, there's a lot of thinking in this book. A lot of thinking and analyzing and agonizing and worrying and freaking out. With a little bit of conversation and action thrown in. There are a lot of questions in the prose: literally - we are privy to every question Hal asks herself about her situation. It's a bit weird, a bit annoying, like asking the questions for the audience instead of letting the audience just ... think them.
I also guessed the twist(s) 35% in. Yay me.
I also really wanted something spooky and haunting, but I got a lot of family drama. Ugh, I don't know. It's a page-turner, for sure. It's sort of flaccidly gothic in tone and atmosphere. But there are also a lot of loose ends ... sigh. I'm sorry, I'll probably keep trying with this author, but so far she somehow manages to write stories that are implausible and predictable for me. I look forward to seeing her mature out of her pattern...? Hopefully one day! I will say that Hal was a pretty great character - even when the others were bland and one-sided.