Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. This was a fascinating and twisty read but (and I think this was on purpose) but I didn't love any of the characters which made it hard to really get invested in.

This was my first Bella Mackie book. I have How to Kill your family on my bookshelf but I haven’t got round to it yet.

This is a whodunnit told from 3 different perspectives, the deceased, his wife and a crime blogger, which I enjoyed, it was nice to have a different person narrate each chapter.

However, I felt it was a little slow in places and for me the ending felt a little rushed and I felt like something was missing.

I will read How to Kill your family at some point but after reading What a Way To Go I am not in a rush.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in return for an honest review.

It’s really hard to read an authors second book without comparing it to their first. In this instance I really wish I could. I thought the book was written from a really unique angle which I thoroughly enjoyed. And I loved to hate the characters. There were amusing elements of dark honour which I enjoyed, however I felt fell short of her first book which ultimately left me a tad disappointed. I also thought that after all the build up the ending felt a bit rushed.

Following the explosive success of 'How To Kill Your Family', 'What A Way To Go' suffers from less from the sophomore slump and more of the sophomore 'slowdown'. It's a literary thriller insofar as it's overly literary and not much of a thriller, with far too many characters, a plot that feels like wading through treacle at the best of times and chapter choices that add nothing to the plot but an endless ream of exposition that confuse things even more. Bella Mackie is not a bad writer and me even finishing this book despite taking more than a week to read it is a sign that there was clearly something about it that kept me turning the pages.

What I think the problem is is that there are too many ideas being included, but only skimmed over. The narrative jumps between three voices - Anthony, the dead man, Olivia, his wife, and an amateur true crime blogger who starts investigating the case as a murder, not an accident. Anthony's POV largely comes from the purgatory he's ended up in and I did enjoy that - it's a new angle that doesn't really get explored. How do you solve your own murder from beyond the grave, that was really interesting. All of the characters are horrible people, but that's not necessarily a bad thing - the inclusion of the blogger helps to balance things out a bit. I also didn't see the twist coming towards the end. I had an inkling, certainly, but I felt the ending was satisfying enough, if a little rushed.

For me, I think what has knocked this book down two stars was the pacing. This is an eye-wateringly slow novel. Some of the chapters go on for far too long while contributing nothing to the plot. The characters don't change or move very much in any given direction and much of the page is taken up by inner monologue and critiques of other characters - some of whom you've never met - that offer nothing at all. I'm not sure where this has come from because I read Mackie's first book and it was not this bad. Things did start to pick up pace as we got to the second half, but really, you don't dozens of chapters of 'here are my scrounging children doing scroungy things' because it's just deathly dull.

It's hard to justify 400 pages for this - I feel like it would have been much tighter and more interesting in 300 or so. Not quite as spitfire-y as her debut, but still a sign that Mackie can deal with the literary thriller genre rather deftly.

Delightfully dark and funny, Bella Mackie stuns with another domestic caper. Murder, lies and intrigue are all up for grabs in this one.

A semi-fantasy murder mystery story, with the victim left in limbo until he can work out how he was killed.

The victim has to follow all his family and friends to understand which had motive and opportunity (doesn’t narrow it down).

I'll be honest and say I went into this with lowish expectations as I really didn't enjoy How To Kill Your Family. Weirdly, I didn't enjoy HTKYF because of how vile all of the characters were. This is precisely the reason I loved this book!

Everyone is delightfully catty and only out for themselves, a family of cheaters, liars and backstabbers. The book is very witty and the premise (watching your family from what felt like beige hell) was really well done.

I really enjoyed this book, and sped through it. It follows the Wisterns, an insanely wealthy family, after the death of their father. Was he murderered? And, more importantly, what about all of his money?

Bella Mackie’s writing style is smooth, funny and easily digestible, and she has a fantastic way of bringing characters to life that you love to hate. The POV from beyond the grave could have been corny, but actually worked well for this story, and the multiple POVs come together in a satisfying ending. Fans of her first book will certainly enjoy this one.

I have read only one other book by Bella Mackie and that was how to kill your family and loved that book, I finished it so quick so much happened in that book and loved how fast paced it was. Now I got the chance to read what a way to go and I finished that in a day and a half. I’m happy to say this book is exactly what I expected. I love every second of this book, I didn’t guess the plot twist, it had my heart racing and so many emotions. Thank you HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction, for approving this for me. I can’t wait to see what else Bella Mackie brings out!

A great start, rather slow in the middle but a fun, enjoyable, definitely different read. The characters were well written and the plot was very clever!

A bit slow but enjoyable, definitely different and funny. An entertaining read for those who like their murder mysteries with a twist.
My thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I’ve not read one of Bella Mackies books before however I do have How To Kill Your Family on my shelf and I have to admit I will be reading this Very soon!

This book is Hilarious & Dark. I haven’t read anything that makes someone belly laugh and Choke on giggle when talking about Death before! This was a first and now I’m absolutely loving Bella Mackies style of writing that I think she is now one of my favourite all time authors.

The way this story was written is so clever and witty, I’ve built strong connections with the Characters Hating them one minute, Cheering them on the next and wishing some were my actual best friends.

This book was read in a time difficult for me so it took me a little longer than I’d expected to get through it however it’s an absolute Charmer and actually made me snort out my cup of tea when I finished it this morning!

I never have read Bella Mackies previous book but I have it now as a top priority on my read list! I wasn’t sure what I was going into when I read this but I’m so glad I have. I really urge anybody to read this because you will laugh so hard because it’s absolutely hilarious.

What a Way to go stands up for its name and I really recommend reading this. I haven’t laughed at a book before and I have laughed like I never have before. Making a hard to talk topic over death and Murder into something that such a tragic and hilarious outcome with all the bits in between. Absolutely Marvellous read and if I could give this book more than 5🌟 I would without a second thought!

Now I need a breather before I start her other book as I have my suspicions I need to have it in me to laugh all over again!

A fantastic mystery. I loved reading through the different perspectives, even the ones of the victim himself. Great ending.

What a funny and witty book. Such a delight to read, and with a really wry tone. Sure to be a big hit. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review of the book.

This book is so witty and sharp. The plot is unusual and thought provoking. Bella Mackie definitely has a hit on her hands with this one.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
Bella Mackie’s previous book, How to Kill Your Family, was an inspired and quite original narrative that really pulled the reader along with it. I’m not sure that this latest effort has quite the same sparkle, although the plot also has a fair amount of originality.
It’s readable and I think a lot of people will enjoy it, I’m not quite sure where I sit with it - it felt that there were still one or two loose ends and I’m in two minds regards how satisfying I found the overall reveal.

Bella Mackie is the queen of compulsively readable mystery thrillers! Fans of her previous novel 'How to Kill Your Family' will not be disappointed by 'What a Way to Go'.
Darkly witty, completely unique and full of sharp prose.
This story follows Antony Wistern, a rich and highly influential man who is not so secretly dispised by most, including his family. It's his 60th birthday, and he is going out with a bang.
We have one dead hated man, a wife who seems to be the perfect murderer and their four money obsessed children.
It is a story of dysfunctional family relationships, true crime fanatics, twisty murder and some very unique perspectives.
Release date September 12th 2024!!

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and of course Bella Mackie for this ARC. I absolutely LOVED this book, what a witty and clever murder mystery with characters you love and detest in equal measure. I thoroughly enjoyed Anthony’s perspective from the afterlife, that was very clever. In keeping with the witty characters and narrative style of her previous work, this book does not disappoint- 5+ stars from me.

Regrettably, I did not finish the book as I found it challenging to engage with the material. This was my first experience reading a book by Bella Mackie, and I am uncertain if I would try another.

Having loved Bella’s last book ‘How to Kill your family’ I couldn’t wait to get stuck in to this. Overall it was an enjoyable read, but took awhile for me to get into this.

We learn of Anthony’s death at his 60th birthday party, a successful businessman married to Olivia with 4 grown up children and lavish houses.
Anthony has to navigate the cause of his death in order to reach his final resting place.