What a Way to Go
A Novel
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Instant Sunday Times Bestseller
"Wickedly funny." —People
"A gleeful satir[e]." —Sunday Times
“Ferociously entertaining.”—Good Housekeeping (UK)
With the bite of The White Lotus and the family dynamics of Succession, What a Way to Go is an uproarious and satirical whodunnit about people behaving badly—and perhaps finally getting their just deserts—from the author of the mega-bestseller How to Kill Your Family.
When Anthony Wistern died, he expected his family to make a bit more of a fuss about it. Especially after he’d died in such dramatic fashion: skewered by an exorbitantly expensive party decoration in the private lake of his Cotswold’s manor house at his sixtieth birthday party, surrounded by the people for whom he most loved flaunting his wealth. And now even death has disappointed him; instead of Heaven or Hell or an empty void, Anthony’s soul is stuck in a strange kind of purgatory while he tries to figure out who killed him—before he is finally released from this interminably exasperating waiting room.
Olivia Wistern knows she should probably try to appear at least a little upset about her husband’s death, but she honestly can’t be bothered. As usual, he’s left behind an unbelievable mess—financially, socially, personally—that she’s going to have to clean up. Their four grown children will be of absolutely no help; she shouldn’t have let them become so hopelessly spoiled. And is it just her, or are the police and their “murder investigation” intentionally getting underfoot? There’s no shortage of people who hated Anthony, so can’t they look for a killer somewhere other than her house?
While the Wisterns are more concerned about the fate of their money than the fate of their patriarch, one internet sleuth is highly interested in Anthony Wistern’s death. She isn’t about to let the opportunity to create a sure-to-be smash true crime podcast pass by, not when the murder was committed mere yards away, and not when she has her own history with the victim. She’ll make her name and her own fortune off Anthony’s death one way or another, whatever it takes. . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A wealthy ghost, his beleaguered wife, and an internet detective narrate this sharp satirical mystery from Mackie (How to Kill Your Family). After hedge fund CEO Anthony Wistern is impaled by a spear-like decoration at his lavish 60th birthday party, he becomes trapped in a bureaucratic purgatory until he can recall the exact details of his death. Refusing to linger long in a place with low thread count sheets and monochromatic clothing, Anthony starts observing his family and friends for clues. At first, their indifference hurts; his wife, Olivia, can't even be bothered to pretend she's in mourning. Then it becomes a logistical problem: if everyone hated Anthony, anyone might have killed him, and he could be stuck in purgatory for eternity. All appears hopeless until an anonymous, true crime-obsessed internet sleuth in the Cotswolds takes up Anthony's case, unconvinced by the official narrative that his death was an accident. Filled with bitter laughs and nasty characters, this stinging send-up of the ultra-wealthy might grate on some, but Mackie has obvious fun doling out her characters' just deserts. The story's whodunit plot, too, is sufficiently twisty and designed with care. It's a strong sophomore effort that will please fans of Mackie's debut.
