I am reading my way through all of Ruth Ware's novels. This was my fourth one, with two more to go. I love reading psychological thrillers, even if I figure out some of the "surprise twists" in the story before it's actually revealed. (Side note: if you want to watch a show with a true twist that I did NOT see coming, watch "The Lie" on Amazon Prime!) Anyway, this story is about a 21 year old (Harriet aka Hal) Tarot card reader who has been alone in the world (and extremely poor) since her mother died in a car accident three years previously. Her mother, Maggie, was actually the "psychic" who earned her money reading palms, Tarot cards and giving psychic readings. Hal took over the business after her mother's sudden and unexpected death.
Hal owes money to some not very nice people. When a letter comes in the mail saying that she has inherited money from her wealthy grandmother, she is convinced that the letter came to the wrong Harriet Westaway. But since she desperately needs money, she decides to accept the invitation to the funeral and reading of the Will. Once there, she meets her "Uncles" (Harding, Ezra and Abel) and for the most part, joins the family that she has never met - and who didn't even know she existed. She is introduced as the child of their only sister, Margarida (called Maud), who happens to have the same name as Harriet's mother (Margarida, called Maggie). Of course I can't forget to mention the "setting" of this story: an old, rundown, creepy and extremely cold mansion, called The Trepassen House, that has been in the Westaway family for generations. Oh, and a hateful old miser housekeeper called Mrs. Warren.
The thing I love about these books is trying to figure out all of the secrets that people are hiding. It's difficult to know who to trust. It takes awhile for Harriet to figure out who everyone is and why they all hate their mother, Mrs. Westaway. Hal finds out her mother, Maggie, is actually the cousin of Harding, Ezra, Abel & Maud and used to live at The Trepassen House after her own parents died. Hal has a difficult time with all of the secrets that her mother kept from her since Maggie never once mentioned to Hal anything about The Trepassen House or her cousin and best friend, Maud. And no one seems to know what happened to Maud after she ran away from home as a teenager.
I did manage to figure out some of the secrets before they were revealed, but it might be because I read a lot of these type books. I should say I suspected what had happened. I guess I didn't know for sure until the end. Hal tries to figure out who her father was, and I wasn't sure about that until it slapped me in the face. Ha!
Ruth Ware has written one book a year for the last six years, so hopefully she will continue at this pace. I plan to read them all!
Wendy's Rating: ****
