Bella Mackie

Anthony Wistern is wealthy beyond imagination. Fragrant wife, gaggle of photogenic children, French chateau, Cotswold manor, plethora of mistresses, penchant for cutting moral corners, tick tick tick tick tick tick.

Unfortunately for him, he's also dead. Suddenly poised to inherit his fortune, each member of the family falls under suspicion.

And that's when the lying starts...


What a Way to Go

I love Bella Mackie’s story telling but I can never stand her endings 

Elizabeth Denny

One Audiobook over 1 Day and this was the perfect book to get lost in whilst building some Lego Plants and doing the weekly chores around the house. After loving Bella’s writing in her pervious Book I knew that this one was going to be a ride as well and it was exactly as I expected.

Anthony Wistern, a high finance rich person died at his 60th birthday party and in the bureaucratic afterlife he’s trying to figure out how he died so he can move on to the next phase. His family, wife Olivia, son Fred and three daughters are all squabbling, and things get even worse when it’s discovered that Anthony was ripping off his clients. There’s also a true crime Internet sleuth who thinks Wistern was murdered, and she tries to find out who did it.  

Told from 3 POV, Anthony, Olivia and The Internet Detective the Audiobook had 3 characters to bring each of their point of views to life. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the course of the book and when you think you have it worked out another turn comes along and you have to reevaluate who “Did It”

It’s a fun listen with some truly laugh out loud moments.

Ian Brakspear

One Audiobook over 1 Day and this was the perfect book to get lost in whilst building some Lego Plants and doing the weekly chores around the house. After loving Bella’s writing in her pervious Book I knew that this one was going to be a ride as well and it was exactly as I expected.

 

Anthony Wistern, a high finance rich person died at his 60th birthday party and in the bureaucratic afterlife he’s trying to figure out how he died so he can move on to the next phase. His family, wife Olivia, son Fred and three daughters are all squabbling, and things get even worse when it’s discovered that Anthony was ripping off his clients. There’s also a true crime Internet sleuth who thinks Wistern was murdered, and she tries to find out who did it.  

 

Told from 3 POV, Anthony, Olivia and The Internet Detective the Audiobook had 3 characters to bring each of their point of views to life. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the course of the book and when you think you have it worked out another turn comes along and you have to reevaluate who “Did It”

 

It’s a fun listen with some truly laugh out loud moments.

There is a section of the novel where the POV character talks about how old money, new money, all rich people are actually rather dull and I do not know whether the novel was trying to be meta because  the predominant two POV's were those of rich people and they were dull as hell. Not just that, the whole cast of characters were just deeply uninteresting people so it is difficult to care about the "mystery" or about these people's money matters. The narration entirely sucks out any salaciousness, thrill or drama to be had which may be an achievement on its own. The novel tries to be satire but it does not quite manage to push this element far enough to warrant such description; it is rather probably a pretty realistic representation which just rings vapid in the current societal climate.

I struggle to understand Mackie as an author. She always swings and seems to be on the precipice of saying something, making some kind of social commentary - her novels are absolutely primed for this, given the way British society is set up and still functions - but she never takes any of those ideas to completion or too deeply or does anything interesting with them. Much like "How to Kill Your Family", this novel presents a very surface level, simplified view of complex matters which makes it sound just naive, if not a little stupid.

And Mackie's technical writing is serviceable but, unfortunately, not good - or funny - enough to mask that.

There is a section of the novel where the POV character talks about how old money, new money, all rich people are actually rather dull and I do not know whether the novel was trying to be meta because  the predominant two POV's were those of rich people and they were dull as hell. Not just that, the whole cast of characters were just deeply uninteresting people so it is difficult to care about the "mystery" or about these people's money matters. The narration entirely sucks out any salaciousness, thrill or drama to be had which may be an achievement on its own. The novel tries to be satire but it does not quite manage to push this element far enough to warrant such description; it is rather probably a pretty realistic representation which just rings vapid in the current societal climate.

I struggle to understand Mackie as an author. She always swings and seems to be on the precipice of saying something, making some kind of social commentary - her novels are absolutely primed for this, given the way British society is set up and still functions - but she never takes any of those ideas to completion or too deeply or does anything interesting with them. Much like "How to Kill Your Family", this novel presents a very surface level, simplified view of complex matters which makes it sound just naive, if not a little stupid.

And Mackie's technical writing is serviceable but, unfortunately, not good - or funny - enough to mask that.

What a Way to Go

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