Tag: in a dark dark wood

Book Review, Uncategorized

The Death of Mrs.Westaway

The Death of Mrs.Westaway by Ruth Ware, 400 Pages, paperback, £8.99 at Waterstones.

Get out while you still can. Ruth Ware has created a thrilling house with even darker secrets. The Death of Mrs. Westaway begins with Hal and a mysterious inheritance to someone she has never heard of. Pretending all is well, she returns to the estate and realised that this is more than she bargained for.

The pace in this novel is well thought out. It begins rather fast paced, with the introduction to Hal and her need to escape. After the first meeting with the lawyer Mr.Treswick, the novel seemed to slow a little. However this allows the reader to come to terms with what is happening and to explore the grounds and the rest of the characters with Hal. From this point on, the pace continues to build, leaving the reader with sleepless nights of reading.

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The plot itself plays to Ware’s strengths as her style cannot be unacknowledged in the plot. Ware’s writing style tends to be located in a location that holds memories and secrets that are carefully revealed one by one. The Death of Mrs.Westaway tends to be the most focused towards a mystery novel, with Hal and the reader being the detective. With this being said, this mystery brings the traditional victorian mystery into the contemporary here and now. Therefore do not expect a predictable read with this book. Whilst you are reading one part, Ware is tweaking with something else in the background.

There is some very significant influences to this novel that are very hard to ignore. The past location of Ezra and the estate itself, are strong influences of Daphne Du Maurie’s Rebecca. Throughout the novel the similarities are uncanny. However Ruth Ware makes sure that you don’t read the same novel twice. 

Furthermore superstition also plays a key part in the novel, from tarot cards to magpies that swarm the grounds. This could challenge the reader’s beliefs of what is believed and what is fact. It is this concept that is consistently returned to when trying to uncover the secrets throughout the novel. What are the facts and what is it that you want to believe?

The Death of Mrs.Westaway is a perfect choice for readers who loved Rebecca or are curious about superstition. However if you enjoy a good mystery but would wish they kept you guessing, then again, you’re looking at your next read.

If you are still not entranced by this novel then, through the words of Mrs.Warren Get out while you still can.

Although we already know what you are going to read next, don’t we?

To buy The Death of Mrs. Westaway in hardback click here. The Death of Mrs.Westaway is available to pre order in paperback.

Book Review

In a Dark Dark Wood

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, Paperback, Vintage, 338 pages, £7.99

Ruth Ware’s In a Dark Dark Wood could be described as a gripping thriller that feels just light enough to pop in your hand luggage as a holiday read. Ware’s thriller is set in a rural Northumberland in the middle of a forest.  Picturesque it may seem but as night approaches, darkness is clearly lurking between both forest and friends. Nora receives an invitation for her friend, Clare’s, Hen party – only she hasn’t seen her in ten years. Although spending a weekend with an old friend could sound like bliss, with something going very wrong, Nora soon learns that she has to confront why she left so long ago.

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Ruth Ware is also known for The Woman in Cabin 10 and her latest novel The Lying game. Ruth used to be a teacher of English and a press officer. Having lived in Paris and London, this novel takes us away from the city life and into rural Northumberland. As her debut thriller it is to no wonder as to why her other novels just keep giving. After reading In a Dark Dark Wood I can only imagine that her other novels will be just as gripping and just as clever as her debut – if not better.

Whilst reading In a Dark Dark Wood, her style seemed to resemble Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. The novel follows Nora’s story all the way up to a pivotal point in the novel, whilst showing the aftermath through every other chapter. This reminded me of the way Flynn would bounce between charaters within her novel. Although Ware’s novel jumps to the past and present it is done in a way that feels necessary to the exposure of the plot.

For anyone wanting to have a look at the first few pages, you can through either amazon.co.uk or Waterstones.

Happy reading!