The Death of Mrs Westaway

The Death of Mrs Westaway / Ruth Ware
Toronto: Simon & Schuster, c2018.
368 p.

A great gothic read from an author better known for her domestic thrillers - yes, there are similarities, but the gothic themes of family secrets and old houses, with a young woman protagonist, are much more my thing.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this seasonal read, as I wasn't taken with this author's other, very popular novels. But this one starts out promisingly, and moves along quickly with lots of trails to follow. While I did feel the ending was fairly guessable, it was still an entertaining journey.

Harriet (Hal) Westaway reads tarot on Brighton Pier, struggling to make ends meet after her mother has died. She receives a letter saying that she has received an inheritance from her grandmother, also named Westaway -- but she knows that this is a mistake, as her grandmother died many years previously. The enticement of money, just enough to catch up and pay the loan sharks, and maybe to find a better place to live, is too much for her, though, and so she travels down to Trepassen House to meet her "relatives" and cash in a little, even though she knows that it's wrong to claim this mistaken inheritance.

When she arrives, though, she slowly realizes that there is a real family connection between herself and these Westaways. A dark, crumbling house with deadbolts on the outside of Hal's attic room; a creepy housekeeper who slinks around the house like Mrs Danvers; family secrets, unexpected bequests, and deep dark twisted love affairs of the past come to light slowly and bit by bit -- until Hal has to keep herself alive just long enough to escape. 

It's perfectly old-fashioned gothic reading, with even the landscape and climate colluding with the story's atmosphere. Hal is a modern heroine, but still plays by the gothic heroine rules of not seeing what's right in front of her and metaphorically going into the basement... but it works wonderfully. The use of Hal's tarot as symbolic foreshadowing also adds to the richness of the story. The mix of classic tropes and modern conveniences is great, setting this clearly in the present but with a strong sense of the reach of the past. 

Really a great read, shivery and mysterious in all the best ways. Companion read: Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca.