Helpful Score: 8
I have read all of Ruth Ware's books and this is the best of her books yet. I found it to be a creepy page-turner with lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. I liked the idea of the tarot card readings throughout with gave the book a mystical feeling. I found the characters well-developed and believable. I would highly recommend to those who like psychological thrillers. Looking forward to her next book!
Helpful Score: 1
It's ok. Ruth Ware's seems to all follow the same playbook: slightly implausible situations, unnecessary lies, characters who fluctuate wildly between taking crazy risks (the DON'T GO UP IN THE DARK ATTIC!!!! kind of risks) and being unwilling to say boo to a goose ... Remove those things, and you have no novel!
However ... it was fun. Once again, like Ware's "The Woman in Cabin 10" the fun seemed to tail off toward the end, as the Alert Reader's suspicions about what was going on were pretty well confirmed, and everything else began to feel like padding. I liked the use of the tarot cards, as a prop for main character Hal, and a way to focus her "reading" of the other characters' personalities and motivations. The tarot is a wonderful source of imagery and metaphor, and Ware uses it pretty well. I thought Ware took a risk with her references to "Rebecca" (The Big Spooky Old House that is the central to the Late Mrs. Westaway's contentious will is located near Penzance, so the whole novel has various hints and winks to "Rebecca.")
It just reminded me that Rebecca isn't just in another league from this -- it's on a whole different planet ...
However ... it was fun. Once again, like Ware's "The Woman in Cabin 10" the fun seemed to tail off toward the end, as the Alert Reader's suspicions about what was going on were pretty well confirmed, and everything else began to feel like padding. I liked the use of the tarot cards, as a prop for main character Hal, and a way to focus her "reading" of the other characters' personalities and motivations. The tarot is a wonderful source of imagery and metaphor, and Ware uses it pretty well. I thought Ware took a risk with her references to "Rebecca" (The Big Spooky Old House that is the central to the Late Mrs. Westaway's contentious will is located near Penzance, so the whole novel has various hints and winks to "Rebecca.")
It just reminded me that Rebecca isn't just in another league from this -- it's on a whole different planet ...
One of the best books I have read recently. Lots of twists and turns all the way to the ending.
I really enjoyed this one from start to finish. I also enjoyed Ware's earlier novels IN A DARK, DARK WOOD and THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10, but to me, this one really was a great novel in the vein of Daphne du Maurier. In fact, it reminded me a lot of REBECCA with the old family mansion and the creepy housekeeper that could have been another Mrs. Danvers.
Harriet (Hal) Westaway is a young woman who does tarot card reading at the beach in Brighton. Her mother recently was killed in a hit and run accident and Hal is having a very hard time paying her bills even going so far as to risk getting money from a loan shark. So when Hal gets a notice in the mail that her grandmother passed away and has left Hal an inheritance of some kind she ponders that she may have a way to get her affairs in order even though she believes this to be a clerical error because her grandparents have been dead for years. Desperate, Hal decides that with her knowledge of people based on her years reading tarot cards, she can try to fraudulently claim the inheritance. When Hal arrives to the Westaway family home in Cornwall, she is quickly drawn into a family and its history with many secrets. Did Mrs. Westaway really mean to name Hal in her will? What happened to the youngest sister in the family and could Hal really be the granddaughter of Mrs Westaway? Hal realizes right away that something is wrong with this family, but doesn't seem to be able to figure out what is going on. The angry housekeeper, Mrs. Warren, warns her that she may be in danger but why? As the novel progresses, the suspense grows with it.
Overall, a very good Gothic mystery novel that kept me turning the pages. I would highly recommend it.
Harriet (Hal) Westaway is a young woman who does tarot card reading at the beach in Brighton. Her mother recently was killed in a hit and run accident and Hal is having a very hard time paying her bills even going so far as to risk getting money from a loan shark. So when Hal gets a notice in the mail that her grandmother passed away and has left Hal an inheritance of some kind she ponders that she may have a way to get her affairs in order even though she believes this to be a clerical error because her grandparents have been dead for years. Desperate, Hal decides that with her knowledge of people based on her years reading tarot cards, she can try to fraudulently claim the inheritance. When Hal arrives to the Westaway family home in Cornwall, she is quickly drawn into a family and its history with many secrets. Did Mrs. Westaway really mean to name Hal in her will? What happened to the youngest sister in the family and could Hal really be the granddaughter of Mrs Westaway? Hal realizes right away that something is wrong with this family, but doesn't seem to be able to figure out what is going on. The angry housekeeper, Mrs. Warren, warns her that she may be in danger but why? As the novel progresses, the suspense grows with it.
Overall, a very good Gothic mystery novel that kept me turning the pages. I would highly recommend it.
WoW! Ruth Ware writes in an Agatha Christie style that I thoroughly enjoy! Suspense, intrigue, a little off-the-wall belief suspension, interesting characters.
Hal (Harriet) is a young gal on her own since her mother's death, barely squeaking by in a dubious 'career' of reading tarot cards, even resorting to loan shark money. She receives a letter advising she is recipient of inheritance that she believes is incorrect but she's so desperate for funds, she decides she can fake it enough to get money to pay back debts. Only she finds a 'family' she didn't know she had and things get murky from there.
Quite enjoyable twists and turns to this story! And an ending I enjoyed much more than the ending of Woman in Cabin 10, or even In a Dark, Dark Wood. Have to say, Ms. Ware likes to write about gory deaths! No simple slip of poison for her....ha-ha.
Highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to stretch their imagination and wake up their brain cells.
Hal (Harriet) is a young gal on her own since her mother's death, barely squeaking by in a dubious 'career' of reading tarot cards, even resorting to loan shark money. She receives a letter advising she is recipient of inheritance that she believes is incorrect but she's so desperate for funds, she decides she can fake it enough to get money to pay back debts. Only she finds a 'family' she didn't know she had and things get murky from there.
Quite enjoyable twists and turns to this story! And an ending I enjoyed much more than the ending of Woman in Cabin 10, or even In a Dark, Dark Wood. Have to say, Ms. Ware likes to write about gory deaths! No simple slip of poison for her....ha-ha.
Highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to stretch their imagination and wake up their brain cells.
What a wild ride! Exciting, well developed and suspenseful to the very end. Whoa!
Things aren't going well for Hal, who has been struggling financially and emotionally since her mother passed away. So when she receives a letter stating that she's a beneficiary to a well-sized inheritance, she thinks it may be the answer to her prayers. She also quickly realizes that the letter was sent to the wrong person, but she hopes to use her abilities as a tarot-card reader to claim the money. Once at the funeral of her supposed "grandmother," Hal finds herself drawn to her fake new family, something she never had growing up. She also starts to feel like something is off about the supposed situation and the odd, imposing home where they are all residing.
This novel wasn't what I was expecting, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a creepy, almost gothic book--not your typical whodunit--but more a slow-burning thriller in a Agatha Christie type style. The star of the show is Harriet, aka Hal, whom the book focuses on and who is our narrator for the majority of the novel. We get most of the story from her point of view, with the exception of excerpts of diary entries from the 1990s. Luckily Hal is an interesting character, even if she's in a bit of trouble, having borrowed money from some disreputable sources, and basically just being over her head since the death of her mom a few years ago. She's young and while it seems insane that she'd go off on this quest to claim an inheritance that isn't hers, you can sense and understand her desperation.
Once Hal arrives at Trespassen, the imposing yet decreipt mansion of the woman who is supposed to be her grandmother, the gothic style of the novel ratchets up, and it is really quite eerie at times. We get introduced to a trio of men who should be Hal's uncles, if she was who she claimed. The cast of characters is limited and the story isn't fast-paced, per se, but I found it quite compelling, as the reader, along with Hal, is trying to work out a variety of things. We realize that Hal does have ties to this family, but nothing is truly as it seems, and all is creepy and foreboding.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It's a bit slow at times, but still quite interesting, and I enjoyed Hal's character. It's spooky and a fun read. 3.75 stars.
This novel wasn't what I was expecting, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a creepy, almost gothic book--not your typical whodunit--but more a slow-burning thriller in a Agatha Christie type style. The star of the show is Harriet, aka Hal, whom the book focuses on and who is our narrator for the majority of the novel. We get most of the story from her point of view, with the exception of excerpts of diary entries from the 1990s. Luckily Hal is an interesting character, even if she's in a bit of trouble, having borrowed money from some disreputable sources, and basically just being over her head since the death of her mom a few years ago. She's young and while it seems insane that she'd go off on this quest to claim an inheritance that isn't hers, you can sense and understand her desperation.
Once Hal arrives at Trespassen, the imposing yet decreipt mansion of the woman who is supposed to be her grandmother, the gothic style of the novel ratchets up, and it is really quite eerie at times. We get introduced to a trio of men who should be Hal's uncles, if she was who she claimed. The cast of characters is limited and the story isn't fast-paced, per se, but I found it quite compelling, as the reader, along with Hal, is trying to work out a variety of things. We realize that Hal does have ties to this family, but nothing is truly as it seems, and all is creepy and foreboding.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It's a bit slow at times, but still quite interesting, and I enjoyed Hal's character. It's spooky and a fun read. 3.75 stars.
Harriet 'Hal' Westaway is at a rough period in her life when she receives a letter stating that her grandmother, Hester Westaway, has died. She is a beneficiary. Surely, this is a mistake as her grandparents died long ago but she goes to the reading of the will. So begins this psychological thriller.
Picture, if you will, a cold and snowy eerie lake and an attic room with the barred which greets Hal when she arrives at Trepassen House, an old decrepid estate. She thinks she may receive a little money which could tide her over for awhile since tarot card reading just isn't paying the bills. That's not what she finds. As she meets family members she discovers that she is indeed part of the family. And, she unfolds parts of her past that have eluded her.
The author give clues slowly moving interestingly to a surprise ending. Referred by some as a gothic mystery, it is a well constructed plot that builds to a climatic ending. Good read.
Picture, if you will, a cold and snowy eerie lake and an attic room with the barred which greets Hal when she arrives at Trepassen House, an old decrepid estate. She thinks she may receive a little money which could tide her over for awhile since tarot card reading just isn't paying the bills. That's not what she finds. As she meets family members she discovers that she is indeed part of the family. And, she unfolds parts of her past that have eluded her.
The author give clues slowly moving interestingly to a surprise ending. Referred by some as a gothic mystery, it is a well constructed plot that builds to a climatic ending. Good read.
Good Read. Some of it was confusing and didn't make sense how everyone was related. Lacking in information on why the upbringing in home was so disfuntional. Ending was a little lacking.
I'll read any new book by Ruth Ware and this is another psychological thriller that I couldn't put down until finished. It is captivating and engrossing and the characters were well written, likeable or not.
I was absorbed in this powerful tale about an old dilapidated mansion and it's flawed family and their secrets.
Another winner for Ms. Ware
I was absorbed in this powerful tale about an old dilapidated mansion and it's flawed family and their secrets.
Another winner for Ms. Ware
I really enjoyed this one from start to finish. I also enjoyed Ware's earlier novels IN A DARK, DARK WOOD and THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10, but to me, this one really was a great novel in the vein of Daphne du Maurier. In fact, it reminded me a lot of REBECCA with the old family mansion and the creepy housekeeper that could have been another Mrs. Danvers.
Harriet (Hal) Westaway is a young woman who does tarot card reading at the beach in Brighton. Her mother recently was killed in a hit and run accident and Hal is having a very hard time paying her bills even going so far as to risk getting money from a loan shark. So when Hal gets a notice in the mail that her grandmother passed away and has left Hal an inheritance of some kind she ponders that she may have a way to get her affairs in order even though she believes this to be a clerical error because her grandparents have been dead for years. Desperate, Hal decides that with her knowledge of people based on her years reading tarot cards, she can try to fraudulently claim the inheritance. When Hal arrives to the Westaway family home in Cornwall, she is quickly drawn into a family and its history with many secrets. Did Mrs. Westaway really mean to name Hal in her will? What happened to the youngest sister in the family and could Hal really be the granddaughter of Mrs Westaway? Hal realizes right away that something is wrong with this family, but doesn't seem to be able to figure out what is going on. The angry housekeeper, Mrs. Warren, warns her that she may be in danger but why? As the novel progresses, the suspense grows with it.
Overall, a very good Gothic mystery novel that kept me turning the pages. I would highly recommend it.
Harriet (Hal) Westaway is a young woman who does tarot card reading at the beach in Brighton. Her mother recently was killed in a hit and run accident and Hal is having a very hard time paying her bills even going so far as to risk getting money from a loan shark. So when Hal gets a notice in the mail that her grandmother passed away and has left Hal an inheritance of some kind she ponders that she may have a way to get her affairs in order even though she believes this to be a clerical error because her grandparents have been dead for years. Desperate, Hal decides that with her knowledge of people based on her years reading tarot cards, she can try to fraudulently claim the inheritance. When Hal arrives to the Westaway family home in Cornwall, she is quickly drawn into a family and its history with many secrets. Did Mrs. Westaway really mean to name Hal in her will? What happened to the youngest sister in the family and could Hal really be the granddaughter of Mrs Westaway? Hal realizes right away that something is wrong with this family, but doesn't seem to be able to figure out what is going on. The angry housekeeper, Mrs. Warren, warns her that she may be in danger but why? As the novel progresses, the suspense grows with it.
Overall, a very good Gothic mystery novel that kept me turning the pages. I would highly recommend it.
I honestly enjoyed this more than I expected to. I was disappointed with the end of The Woman in Cabin 10 and felt the end of this was better written.
Giving it 4 stars because I didn't much care for the main character.
Giving it 4 stars because I didn't much care for the main character.
