Wealthy financier Anthony Wistern is found dead in the lake at his exclusive property during the lavish birthday party is wife Olivia is hosting. The manner of his death is suspicious. As the police and a local amateur detective investigate the list of suspects keeps increasing.
What A Way To Go by Bella Mackie is deliciously devious. If you enjoyed the author's debut novel, How To Kill Your Family, then you have an idea of the satirical style to expect but this time around it is raised a notch as fun is poked at the wealthy.
Based around the possible murder of Anthony Wsitern, the story is told from three different points of view, Olivia, his widow, Jade, a YouTube detective, and Anthony himself. The three different narrators, Kimberley Capero, Gabrielle Glaister and Colin Mace each voice their respective characters perfectly. Using three very distinct voices means that it is easy for the listener to follow the storyline as it jumps between the different characters.
Olivia Wistern is the ultimate snob. She's not upset at all by her husband's death. We quickly learn that as far as she's concerned image is everything. Thanks to the brilliant narration of Gabrielle Glaister Olivia comes across as cold and calculating, with little affection for her four adult children. The children are spoilt as a result of their upbringing and seem to expect their parents to maintain the lifestyle in which they were raised.
The amateur detective, Jade Evans, has a bit of a grudge against Anthony Wistern and this amplifies her delusion. She feels that because she is investigating a possible murder she can say what she wants, challenge anyone and access anywhere.
The final part of the trio is Anthony Wistern. The author has placed his "soul" in limbo, you can only move on to the "next place" once you figure out how you died. Being in limbo means that Anthony can see how his family behaves following his death, but he can't interact with them in any way. Pompous beyond belief and refusing to accept any responsibility for the way he lived means that Anthony is stuck in limbo for far longer than anyone else ever has been.
As the story jumps between the three main characters we get a real sense of how self-centered, spoilt and greedy everyone is as the author pokes fun at the lifestyle of the wealthy. There are lots of twists along the way to keep you listening, I was quite upset when this irreverent tale ended.
What A Way To Go by Bella Mackie is available in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for a review copy.
Author Details
Bella Mackie’s debut novel How to Kill Your Family was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller and spent 47 weeks in the top 10 in paperback. She is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling nonfiction Jog On, and has written for the Guardian, Vogue and Vice. In 2023 she judged the Women’s Prize for Fiction and her work has been shortlisted for the British Book Awards.
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