What would you have done in Hal’s position?

When Hal receives the letter informing her of her inheritance, she isn’t sure what to do.

They’re not too specific, so as not to spoil any of the book for those who may not have finished it yet. Here we have some discussion topics and questions for your book club. With that said, it’s still an unputdownable novel full of twists and turns that will leave you guessing until the end. It feels more like an even-paced mystery than a page-turning thriller. Westaway has a different tone than some of Ware’s other books. Hal begins digging into the family’s past and unearths many surprises along the way. She also knows that something isn’t quite right. As she gets to know the family better, she begins to doubt her plan. After the service, they return to the family home, called Trepassen, where Hal learns she is set to receive a much larger inheritance than she thought. Hal arrives at the funeral, where she meets the lawyer and family. Plus, she thinks if anyone can pull it off, it’s her. Hal hesitates, not necessarily wanting to deceive strangers and commit fraud, but feeling she doesn’t have any other option to get some cash. Through her work as a tarot card reader, she has honed her skills of reading people and their lives, without giving too much of herself away.

Nonetheless, Hal decides to attend the funeral and find out about the money. She looks through all her mother’s papers, hoping for some kind of connection, but finds nothing. The trouble is Hal doesn’t have any family. Then, one day, Hal receives a letter from a lawyer informing her that her grandmother has died, she’s been named in the will, and is set to receive a piece of the family estate. With little money and nobody to turn to, she’s running out of options.

Colder weather is bringing the slow tourist season and a loan shark is after her. She lives in the same apartment where she grew up, working the business her mother ran, and barely making enough to pay the bills. Hal makes a living by reading tarot cards on the pier, a job she took on when her mother died three years prior. Westaway begins with Hal, a girl in her early 20s living on her own in Brighton.

This book guide focuses on Ware’s 2018 novel The Death of Mrs. The purpose of our Book Club Guides is to recommend books for your book club and provide guidance for discussion. Fueled by need, Hal goes to the funeral and meets the family, where the secrets of the past begin to unravel. Since the death of her mother, Hal has been on her own, without any knowledge of any other family.

The story tells of Harriet Westaway, nicknamed Hal, who receives a letter out of the blue informing her she’s been named in the will of a relative. Westaway is a recent mystery novel by Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10, In a Dark, Dark Wood, and The Lying Game.

The death of mrs westaway book review