I haven't read a Ruth Ware book before and was totally smitten by her writing skill. Her characters are well developed and she articulately sets a scene with powerful description. She injects suspense, atmosphere and a fascinating compulsion in her prose. I was glued to this from start to finish. There's a charming aura of old-fashionedness in her writing. It's not glaringly obvious, but every now and then, you find yourself thinking, oooh!, there it is again.
There's a little complexity about the plot, not simplified by two characters having very similar names, but keep your wits about you and it's all fine!
Tarot reader, Hal, receives a letter informing her she been bequeathed an inheritance from her recently deceased grandmother. But she knows full well that the wrong Hal has received the letter. Her deceased mother's parents have long been dead…and they certainly didn't have any assets worth bequeathing. But…what if…what if she goes along with it? She has some serious financial woes, and this might just be the answer to her problems. However, no sooner has she arrived at her 'grandmother's' funeral, than she realises the house harbours some appalling secrets and perhaps her financial situation is better solved another way, however desperate and serious it is.
There's almost a Hitchcock-like atmosphere about this book: think lots of magpies, bleak, dark architecture, fog, rain, cold, frost…and bolts on the outside of bedroom doors…and you'll get the picture. Oh, and a totally dysfunctional family.
Sounds like just the sort of book I'd enjoy. Great review! Got me imagining things already!
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