THE DEATH OF MRS WESTAWAY
EVERY FAMILY HAS ITS SECRETS.
SOME ARE WORTH KILLING FOR.
When Harriet Westaway receives an unexpected letter telling her she’s inherited a substantial bequest from her Cornish grandmother, it seems like the answer to her prayers. She owes money to a loan shark and the threats are getting increasingly aggressive: she needs to get her hands on some cash fast.
There’s just one problem – Hal’s real grandparents died more than twenty years ago. The letter has been sent to the wrong person. But Hal knows that the cold-reading techniques she’s honed as a seaside fortune teller could help her con her way to getting the money. If anyone has the skills to turn up at a stranger’s funeral and claim a bequest they’re not entitled to, it’s her.
Hal makes a choice that will change her life for ever. But once she embarks on her deception, there is no going back. She must keep going or risk losing everything, even her life…
‘Powerfully atmospheric, unguessably twisty…I devoured it.’
LOUISE CANDLISH, bestselling author of OUR HOUSE
EVERY FAMILY HAS ITS SECRETS.
SOME ARE WORTH KILLING FOR.
When Harriet Westaway receives an unexpected letter telling her she’s inherited a substantial bequest from her Cornish grandmother, it seems like the answer to her prayers. She owes money to a loan shark and the threats are getting increasingly aggressive: she needs to get her hands on some cash fast.
There’s just one problem – Hal’s real grandparents died more than twenty years ago. The letter has been sent to the wrong person. But Hal knows that the cold-reading techniques she’s honed as a seaside fortune teller could help her con her way to getting the money. If anyone has the skills to turn up at a stranger’s funeral and claim a bequest they’re not entitled to, it’s her.
Hal makes a choice that will change her life for ever. But once she embarks on her deception, there is no going back. She must keep going or risk losing everything, even her life…
“Powerfully atmospheric, unguessably twisty…I devoured it.”
LOUISE CANDLISH, bestselling author of OUR HOUSE
LISTEN TO A SAMPLE OF THE AUDIOBOOK
Inspired by Christie…
I can’t remember when I read my first Agatha Christie but I was not much older than twelve or thirteen, maybe even younger. I was immediately hooked…
Hal’s Cornwall
‘The Death of Mrs Westaway’ opens in Brighton, but the action quickly moves along the south coast to an imaginary village called St Piran, in Cornwall.
Hal’s Brighton
‘The Death of Mrs Westaway’ is partly set in Brighton, near where I grew up. Here is my guide to Hal’s Brighton.
REVIEWS
“A dark tale by one of the best thriller writers around.”
INDEPENDENT
“[An] explosive claustrophobic family drama laced with a touch of du Maurier.”
WOMAN AND HOME
“If you’re an Agatha Christie fan then you’ll love this eerie new offering from mega-author Ruth Ware… Dark, unsettling and brilliant.”
HEAT
“I read this in two lightning quick sittings, Hal is the most enthralling anti-heroine and the gothic Cornish setting was riveting. But mainly this was just an incredible story, filled with utterly believable characters and brilliantly told. I absolutely adored it.”
LISA JEWELL, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THEN SHE WAS GONE
“A classic never goes out of style. Consider the confident simplicity of the dry martini, the Edison lightbulb, and Meghan Markle’s wedding dress. Now add to that list Ruth Ware’s new novel The Death of Mrs Westaway.”
THE WASHINGTON POST
“The Death of Mrs Westaway is Ruth Ware’s best: a dark and dramatic thriller, part murder mystery, part family drama, altogether riveting.”
AJ FINN, bestselling author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
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