How does this tug-of-war between skepticism and superstition affect each of the characters? Would things have turned out differently if Hal believed in fortunes and fate?ħ. Westaway as the swarms of magpies at Trepassen. The interplay of skepticism and superstition is as present throughout The Death of Mrs. What does this skill say about Hal’s character?Ħ. Hal is skilled at stepping into different roles-she plays Madame Margarida for her clients, she plays the regretful granddaughter for the funeral. How did you react to Hal’s ultimate decision to attend the funeral? What do you think her true motivation was? What would you have done in her shoes?ĥ. Treswick, change the outcome for Hal and the Westaway family? Did he do his due diligence in finding and vetting Hal? Do you think Hal is glad to have been found, in the end?Ĥ. How does the unknown identity of the writer of the diaries from Trepassen affect your understanding of the events? Did you guess at the identity before it was revealed?ģ. What else did Hal inherit from her mother? How does Hal’s understanding of her inheritance, physical and otherwise, change over the course of the novel?Ģ.

Hal learned tarot, her eventual trade as an adult, from her mother at a young age. where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it.ġ. Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person-but that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot reader might help her claim the money anyway. With a loan shark and his cronies beating on her door and physically threatening her, Hal is struggling to eke out a living at the tarot-reading booth she took over from her mother on Brighton’s West Pier.īut on a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a glimmer of hope in the form of a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance.

Twenty-one-year-old Hal has been down on her luck since her mother’s death two years ago. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. Westaway includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Ruth Ware. This readers group guide for The Death of Mrs.

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