Now Read This: �The Death of Mrs. Westaway,� by Ruth Ware

If you�re looking for your next suspense thriller, have I got one for you. Ruth Ware�s latest, �The Death of Mrs. Westaway,� is a joyride of deception and family secrets that left me guessing � and scratching my head a little � until the end.

Harriet (Hal) Westaway is a struggling tarot card reader on a pier in Brighton. Alone in the world after her mother was killed in an automobile accident and having grown up never knowing her father, Hal�s daily mail consists of overdue and last-notice messages from bill collectors. A loan shark has also made his intentions to collect the money she owes him vividly clear.

When Hal receives a letter from an executor, informing her that her grandmother has passed and she is listed as beneficiary to part of a �substantial estate,� she at first sees light at the end of the tunnel. The only problem is Hal�s mother told her that her grandparents had all died years ago, so this has to be some sort of mistake.

With some coaxing from a fellow pier vendor, Hal hesitantly decides to make the trip to the estate in an attempt to pass herself off as a long-lost member of the family, and hopes to collect enough money to pay off her creditors.

As Hal struggles with her decision and questions her own ability to pull off this lie, the Westaways are informed Hal has been named the heir to the entire estate � very much to the chagrin of some of the family members, who have their own doubts as to Hal�s relation.

Hal attempts to find information about the family, and in so doing uncovers a dark secret the Westaways � including her own mother � have kept quiet for more than 20 years. The secret turns deadly, and Hal finds herself in another struggle � this time, to escape with her life from someone who wishes to keep the secret and the inheritance in the family.

If you like �The Death of Mrs. Westaway,� I would also suggest �The Woman in Cabin 10,� by Ruth Ware. The Cape Girardeau Public Library offers this book, as well as an audiobook on Playaway and book on CD. They also have Ware�s �In A Dark, Dark Wood� and �The Lying Game,� both available in regular and large print.

Happy reading!