The Death of Mrs Westaway cover

Review: The Death of Mrs. Westaway

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

The Death of Mrs Westaway coverAuthor: Ruth Ware;
Genre: Gothic mystery;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Imogen Church;
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (2018);
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5).

A British gothic mystery set in modern time about a young woman who tries to infiltrate an old Cornish family to get part of an inheritance. The setting was a spooky old estate that seemed like one of the characters. The mystery itself was complex but effective, and the suspense was well-done. A few plots twists at the end were fun and the conclusion was satisfactory.

There was a lot of repetition in the narrative, however, which was a little annoying; if I found it that way in the audiobook, I’m glad I didn’t read the print version.

Hal (Harriet) is the protagonist and the family and a nasty housekeeper are the rest of the cast. We’re supposed to be on Hal’s side throughout the book, but I didn’t really like her; she’s made some stupid choices and is living in a desperate situation, thus the decision to defraud an estate.

I enjoyed the story and the suspense. Imogen Church narrates the audiobook and used some good accents and inflections, but her pace was much too slow and drawn out for me; I listened at 1.25 speed.

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