
Member Reviews

Anthony Wistern, a rich patriarch, dies embarrassingly at his 60th birthday and finds himself in purgatory. To move on, he has to figure out how he died by watching his dysfunctional family scramble for his fortune. Whilst the ending isn't very dramatic, the unique plot and dark humour keep it engaging.
This book is perfect for fans of dark humour and family dramas, if you enjoyed "How to Kill Your Family”,I’m sure you'll enjoy "What A Way to Go” too

This partially filled the void that Succession had left, ever since its finale. I loved the black comedy and the horrific rich family dynamics. I did find it began to drag in the middle, but the overall concept of watching your own families and having to figure out how you died was a fun modern take on the afterlife.

This book started well, but tended to drag a bit in the middle. I really enjoyed all the wonderfully horrible characters but it just got a bit much. Too many side tracks about something irrelevant just when we are in the middle of the action. The ending wasn't as dramatic as what I had hoped. Still a fun book, and I love the dark and twisted humour.

Well this gives a whole new idea of 'life after death' which is genuinely amusing. There's a lot of dark satire and a whole lot of unlikeable characters. Overall it's a good read but it never really takes flight and after a while becomes a bit of a slog. 3.5 stars

Thank you net galley for allowing me the opportunity to read this arc.
While I did enjoy it, it did get a bit weird/far fetched in places and the ending fell flat for me.

What A Way To Go - Bella Mackie
What A Way To Go? Well it certainly is for Anthony Wistern. Dead, in a horrifically embarrassing way at his own 60th birthday party, disgustingly rich and the patriarch of a money centred, dysfunctional family.
Imagine - you’re dead, stuck in purgatory and unable to leave the bland and boring equivalent to a hospital waiting room until you figure out how you died. The fun part? You get 24/7 access to your very own reality TV, observing how your family is coping with your demise.
Your brain switches off 30 minutes before death to make the trauma easier. So Anthony has no recollection of what happened, making it difficult to move on… And his family are more concerned with where their future fortune is.
Enter, The Sleuth. A true crime fanatic, determined to discover the truth behind the supposed ‘murder’ of her rich neighbour but all is not as it seems.
Bella Mackie has the ability to make you point fingers in every direction with every page turn. Hilarious and well-written with some brilliant character development that had me both loving and hating each member of the Wistern family.
From the perspectives of Anthony, his wife Olivia and The Sleuth, the mystery over whether the CEO of Wismere Holdings is a murder or an accident slowly unravels as you get to know the main characters, including his children, Jemima, Lyra, Freddy and Clara.
This book is full of twists and turns mixed with dark humour and has you unintentionally becoming a detective alongside The Sleuth as each clue is revealed.
Highly recommend this book, especially if you enjoyed ‘How To Kill Your Family’!
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in return for an honest review!

Funny in places, real dark humour. As good as this authors previous reads with lots of unexpected twists

I loved ‘How to Kill Your Family’, so was excited to read Bella’s new book.
I was hooked from page one, funny, dark I couldn’t put it down.
Anthony Wistern is dead, wealthy beyond imagination, a dutiful wife and four adoring children. But just how did he die? And as they all gather to claim a piece of his fortunes, perhaps nothing is what it seems. Secrets will come out whether he likes it or not.

Another fun, humourous and light hearted muder mystery from Mackie. I love the way she spins a family drama and then unravels it in unexpected ways. Highly recommend.

Another enjoyable and unique read from this author!
Having loved How to Kill your Family, I had high hopes and I’m pleased to say I wasn’t disappointed.
I loved the fact Anthony was stuck in an in between place while he tried to solve his own murder and there were lots of clever twists.
A wholly unlikeable family, whose downfall I very much enjoyed reading about!

Banter banter banter
Bella Mackie really knows how to make with laugh with the best sarcastic banter
I loved this so much
Brilliant funny crazy amazing characters
I also loved the cover
One of my favourite books of the year

I loved this book! I did enjoy Bella Mackie’s previous “How to Kill Your Family” but not as much as “What a Way to Go”. The life after death perspective was unique and gave a great twist to the tale. Although the characters were unsympathetic, I felt like they were somewhat less so than her previous novel. I was so engrossed in the last few chapters that other people were commenting on how focussed I was,

A brilliant story with a completely different viewpoint - coming from beyond the grave! Loved this book, it had some great comedy moments as well as being told from different perspectives.

What a Way to Go by Bella Mackie dives into a thrilling narrative where Anthony Wistern's extravagant facade unravels upon his mysterious death. Mackie paints a vivid picture of a family entangled in suspicion and greed. The story unfolds with suspenseful twists and turns, which kept me on edge until the very end. Mackie's writing seamlessly weaves together the characters' complexities, making them both relatable and intriguing. A masterful exploration of the dark side of wealth and privilege, What a Way to Go is a gripping mystery that will leave you questioning the true cost of ambition. Thank you to NetGalley for the early release copy.

I loved this book! Just like Bella Mackie’s other books - it was totally addictive and unputdownable! The storyline was fantastic and addictive. Thank you for allowing me to read this!

3.5 rounded up.
I really enjoyed How To Kill Your Family and couldn’t wait to read this book. I found it took a bit of time to get into it. Overall I did enjoy it. I really like Bella Mackie’s style of writing, humorous and light-hearted murder.

Having really enjoyed How to Kill Your Family, I was so excited to learn Bella Mackie was releasing another novel and even more excited to get an early access copy thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins!
Mackie’s second offering certainly didn’t disappoint and was full of the mystery and dark humour that I enjoyed so much in her first novel.
I really enjoyed Anthony and later Olivia’s perspectives and thought this was a really clever plot that added something unexpected to the story!
Bella Mackie may have become an auto-buy author for me after two great and unique reads!

Thanks the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I have been a fan of Mackie since I got my hands on 'How to Kill your Family' and have been excited to see what her next book would be so I was very thankful that I was given the arc for this book as it made my wait a little less.
I think one of the issues is that people are comparing to her first book, but they need to be judged on an individual basis. This book is more of a slow burn and is told over multiple POV's. Think of it as a knives out style murder mystery with a lot of dark humour mixed in.
This is a go to read and will be recommending it to everyone as they all need to experience the diverse set of characters created int his world.

Bella Mackie sure has a knack for writing the most awful, unlikeable individuals! This novel drips sarcasm, wit and humour and keeps you guessing until the end. Thouroughly enjoyable.
Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins Collins and Bella Mackie for this ARC.

Loved this book, I found it very amusing. Told from three different perspectives, firstly Anthony, who dies in unexplained circumstances at his 60th birthday party. On passing he finds he’s unable to fully move on until he works out how he died. So is told from above, like a big brother overseeing how his family are grieving….
And then there’s Olivia, Anthony’s wife dealing with the aftermath of the party and revelations that come about. Finally The Sleuth, whose title speaks for itself.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book from the first page to the last… I look forward to more books from this author.