August 11, 2018 HOTTER THAN HELL

 Imagine. Standing in your kitchen making chocolate chip pancakes at 8 in the morning covered in sweat. That's my life. I'll let you in on a little secret --I DO NOT HAVE AIR CONDITIONING. Not even a window unit in the bedroom. Isn't that CRAZY?? Whenever I tell people I don't have AC-- they look at me like I HAVE A SCREW LOOSE. And I must BECAUSE what normal person would tolerate this heat-- It's NOT like we live in a third world country. It's definitely been a BONE OF CONTENTION in my house EVERY SUMMER FOR 25 YEARS. My husband is NOT a fan of AC but he goes off to his air conditioned office every day--while I sit at home SWEATING MY ASS OFF all summer. A few years ago after a particularly HUMID--SCORCHING--HOT summer--and a HELL of a lot of WHINING-- he DID have someone come to our house to give us an estimate for central air-- Apparently it was just a RUSE meant to appease me until the HOT SPELL ended though.   How much do you want to bet we will have AC when he retires?? SHOULD HAVE DEMANDED IT FROM DAY ONE. Once a SETTLER--always a SETTLER.  Harriet "Hal" Westaway, the main character of Ruth Ware's new psychological thriller The Death of Mrs. Westaway should have been more demanding too.

After the tragic death of her mother, Hal Westaway is barely making ends meet. Desperate for money, she borrows from a loan shark but can't afford the payments on her meager salary as a tarot card reader on Brighton beach. Her prayers seem answered after she receives a letter from a solicitor informing her that she is to inherit a significant amount from her grandmother. Even though Hal thinks it's a mistake, she decides to skip town and the loan sharks  to go to her grandmother's funeral  and find out about the inheritance. When Hal gets to St. Piran, she finds that her  grandmother lives on an old Victorian country estate and that she is the sole beneficiary-- much to the chagrin of the rest of the family. It doesn't take long, however, for Hal to realize that something is very wrong at Trespessan House and she must uncover the past to understand how she is entangled in the web.  Hal doesn't know whether to trust her new found family either. Will they  keep her safe or would they rather see her dead?  Ware does not disappoint, another great read with lots of twists and turns. This mystery is about 365 pages-- or a 4 mile run--that you will have a hard time putting down.