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Post by Hippiejo on Apr 7, 2021 17:16:47 GMT
Please let us know if you'll be taking part in May book of the month by posting below  The death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware 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…
I will post book club discussion points at the beginning of May. |
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Post by Susanne on Apr 22, 2021 6:45:30 GMT
I'll be joining. Hopefully I can finish this book, hahaha. Have access to the e-book, so no audio this time around. Hopefully that can improve my reading experience.
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Post by Hippiejo on May 4, 2021 20:35:53 GMT
Here are the discussion points for The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware.
1. When Hal receives the letter informing her of her inheritance, she isn’t sure what to do. What would you have done in Hal’s position?
2. Mrs. Warren is a curious character. Discuss Mrs. Warren’s personality and her role at Trepassen. How do you explain her behavior?
3. What are your thoughts about Mr Treswick?
4. Did you feel that you'd solved the mystery on more than one occasion?
5. Were you surprised by the ending? Why or why not.
6. Despite the fact that her name is in the title of the novel, we don’t know much about Mrs. Westaway. What do you think of her?
7. Why do you think Mrs Westaway crafted her will the way that she did?
8. There were lots of twists in this book. How do you feel about that?
9. Were there parts of the book that you felt were a little too far fetched?
10. If you were to write a 2 year later epilogue, how would the story have reached it's conclusion?
What are your overall thoughts on this book? Did you enjoy it?
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2021 6:49:56 GMT
This sounds like a very interesting read. I just checked on Amazon UK, but since this book is 3 years old, it's now only available as an audiobook and Kindle on their site. Must keep an eye open to see if it's available in paperback in one of the supermarkets. I have read "One By One", though, which is her latest book. Enjoy your "Book of the Month" reading. |
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Post by Hippiejo on May 5, 2021 8:13:16 GMT
Valdy, I bought my copy from World of Books. The books are reasonably cheap and it's free delivery in the UK. The books are second hand but they are very honest about the condition and most of them are good, very good or like new. I've not had a bad copy yet, they've all looked new. The Death of Mrs Westaway @ World of BooksI really can't recommend them enough. |
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2021 10:31:32 GMT
Thanks for the link, Hippiejo. I rather wait to see if Tesco or Asda has it. Or The Works in the town centre. I don't like to buy second hand books. Did it once, and there were several pages missing. *sigh* And that was through an Antique book shop. Got a different copy after I took it back. But I just prefer new books.
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Post by Hippiejo on May 5, 2021 23:12:16 GMT
1. When Hal receives the letter informing her of her inheritance, she isn’t sure what to do. What would you have done in Hal’s position?I probably would have done the same thing in her position if I was that desperate but not with the intent to con the family knowing I wasn't the right Granddaughter. I think I would have guessed that there was clearly some connection and would have wanted to find out more before I burnt my bridges. 2. Mrs. Warren is a curious character. Discuss Mrs. Warren’s personality and her role at Trepassen. How do you explain her behavior?Well regardless of the fact that she tried to warn Hal to 'get out while you can', she was still a cranky, mean spirited old bat. The pictures she had of Ezra in her room were a bit creepy and I don't really feel that was explained particularly well. 3. What are your thoughts about Mr Treswick?Difficult one really. I think in some ways he epitomised one of the few things I didn't like about this book in as much as there were too many conversations that weren't had that should have been. Too many misunderstandings and non-explanations and I think there was always the intimation that he knew more than he was letting on. 4. Did you feel that you'd solved the mystery on more than one occasion?
Lost count!!!! LOL. Although, I did early on think that the confusion was going to be down to a mix up with the two Westaway girls. 5. Were you surprised by the ending? Why or why not.I think due to the nature of the book there was always going to be some element of surprise regarding Hal's parentage so not in that sense no. I was however, surprised by Ezra's response when he realised Hal had worked it out. 6. Despite the fact that her name is in the title of the novel, we don’t know much about Mrs. Westaway. What do you think of her?As the question suggests, we don't know much about her so it's difficult to try and analise her. The overall feeling I got about her was that she was just a terrible mother, abusive and just not a nice person. 7. Why do you think Mrs Westaway crafted her will the way that she did?My first thought was that she did it deliberately to cause conflict between her children but what didn't really make sense to me was that if Ezra was her favourite child as intimated, why would she risk exposing his deeds by including his child in her will. Why did she just not leave the estate to him? I can only conclude that maybe she wasn't as bad as we're led to believe and she wanted the truth to be known but didn't want to be around to witness the downfall of her favourite son. 8. There were lots of twists in this book. How do you feel about that?I really enjoyed it personally but I did get to the point of not bothering to try and work it out in the end and just enjoyed the story unfolding. 9. Were there parts of the book that you felt were a little too far fetched?
A little. The whole photograph moment when nobody actually pointed out who was who. I suppose it's possible but usually people point people out. The other moment that was a little bit stretched was why Ezra went back to the station during the snowstorm after he'd already left Hal there. If he was so desperate to keep the truth hidden, why did he go back to the station and make himself available to Hal. 10. If you were to write a 2 year later epilogue, how would the story have reached it's conclusion?I wish there had been an epilogue as I generally like books to have a more fleshed out ending than the one Ruth Ware offers in this book. I'd like to think that Hal sold the estate and shared the money with her family. I'd have written that she moved closer to Harding and Mitzi and became very much part of the family. She would have used part of her inheritence to buy her own little cottage knowing that she would be financially secure for the rest of her life. Love a happy ending!! Overall thoughts...I really enjoyed this book. Yes there were some weak plotlines at times and some ambiguous characters but it kept me gripped. I enjoyed the initial guessing games with trying to work out what was going on and how Hal was clearly linked to this family. I wish the ending had been better fleshed out and I wish we had learned a little more about Mrs Westaway and the mad housekeeper. Tying to get my head around the complexities of Hal's parentage took a moment or two but it was a surprisingly believable plot. It's an intriguing read and I would definitely recommend it. 
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Post by Susanne on May 7, 2021 15:40:31 GMT
1. When Hal receives the letter informing her of her inheritance, she isn’t sure what to do. What would you have done in Hal’s position?I would have cleared things out right away. Even if I needed the money my conscience would never have allowed me to try and commit fraud. 2. Mrs. Warren is a curious character. Discuss Mrs. Warren’s personality and her role at Trepassen. How do you explain her behavior?Think she’s spend too much time with Mrs. Westaway. Her warning to Hal was not great and could have been handled a lot better. On the other hand, I don’t think she wanted Hal to find out about Ezra, otherwise she would have said something. So instead she makes it sound that she’s the one threatening her and not something in the house. 3. What are your thoughts about Mr Treswick?I feel like he knew more than what was let on and I don’t feel like we got in the depth of things with his involvement in the will and the discovery of Hal etc. 4. Did you feel that you'd solved the mystery on more than one occasion?Well I thought Ezra was the dad from the beginning, it was the confusion between his sister and Hal’s birth mother that had me puzzled, even though there were small hints here and there, now that I think about it. For example the journal and the photo. 5. Were you surprised by the ending? Why or why not.I needed a bit more. Felt like it ended a bit abrupt, could have used an epilogue or something. 6. Despite the fact that her name is in the title of the novel, we don’t know much about Mrs. Westaway. What do you think of her?We don't really hear about her when her husband was still alive. Was she like that even when he lived? But overall I think she was a b*tch and no maternal instinct whatsoever. I’m amazed it’s only one kid who went mad. 7. Why do you think Mrs Westaway crafted her will the way that she did?Honestly I think she just wanted to stir up trouble and yet, I think she had a feeling which way things would go for Ezra. After all she leaves pretty much everything to the daughter of her favourite son. But who knows, might just to a cranky old woman’s crazy ideas. 8. There were lots of twists in this book. How do you feel about that?I like twists, sadly the twists in the story were also very predictable in my opinion. 9. Were there parts of the book that you felt were a little too far fetched?On the top of my head, I can’t. But nothing is far fetched in my book, so that might be it 10. If you were to write a 2 year later epilogue, how would the story have reached its conclusion?Hal would spend holidays with her newfound family. Maybe she even managed to go back to school. Not sure what she'd do with the estate, doubt she would live there, too many bad vibes. My point of viewIn overall I really enjoyed the book. I normally don't read this type of books, but this one I liked. There were things I'd really liked to have a closure on. What happened to the guy, she owed money? What about her book on the pier? Basically what happened to her after everything was over?
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Post by Hippiejo on May 7, 2021 20:56:14 GMT
This is brilliant... I am too now I think about it  I actually didn't connect that... That makes so much sense!! Glad you enjoyed it Susanne  |
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