My workdays are spent at the office, talking with clients about illness, death and taxes. My evenings and weekends usually allow some downtime for me to indulge my inner bookworm. Recently I took a break from the Nordic Noir series I've been reading and picked up a book recommended by a dear friend, The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware.
The book opens with an introduction to Hal, a young women in her early 20s scraping out a living reading tarot cards on a pier in Brighton, England. We learn that her mother, and only family, was killed in a hit and run accident when Hal was barely 18. She is alone, broke, and avoiding a loan shark she now knows was a mistake. And then a letter arrives along with her growing bills. An attorney from Penzance, England wrote, informing her that she is an heir to her late grandmother's estate. An heir? Hal's maternal grandparents were dead, and she had no clue who her father was. And so the mystery begins as Hal hops a train to figure out if this is a valid bequest and the answer to her money troubles. The book is just the right mixture of mystery, suspense, and an ending with a twist.
Even on weekends and evenings I am reading about probate matters! This book set up the stage with just enough knowledge to know a drama would unfold based on the will, but was not weighted down with the ins and outs of estate planning or probate. When I tweeted to Ruth Ware about finishing the book she was pleased that I did not detect an egregious errors. After all, I'm licensed in Wisconsin....not England!
As Spring slowly makes it way into our weather forecast, and you begin packing suitcases for Spring Break vacations, this may be the prefect suspense novel for your beach side or ski chalet reading.
Be well, and thank you for reading.
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