Book Review: The Death of Mrs. Westaway

Ruth Ware's The Death of Mrs. Westaway is more gothic and old-fashioned when compared to her earlier works, but somehow she takes all these derivative suspense tropes (crumbling old mansion, a disputed inheritance, protagonist tripping over the stairs in an apparent murder attempt) and gives them a good round of polish, turning the traditional whodunit into an utterly humdinger of a mystery. As a story about a broke 21-year-old tarot reader whose plans to con her way into a family inheritance reveals bigger, unexpected surprises, Ruth Ware cleverly plays her cards close to her chest, never disclosing more than what's required, even as her vivid, atmospheric world-building is almost a second character, leaving the reader breathless in anticipation for what's to come next. Easily her best work till date!