From the moment I dove into Bella Mackie’s “What A Way To Go”, I was utterly captivated. The premise opens boldly at Anthony Wistern's extravagant 60th birthday party, only to take a wild turn with his untimely—and embarrassingly dramatic—death. Immediately, I was drawn into the chaotic world of the Wistern family: grotesquely wealthy, richly flawed, and utterly entertaining. Each character is a masterclass in the art of being unlikeable, and I found myself marvelling at their many moral failings while chuckling at their absurdity.
This novel stands out because of Mackie's acerbic wit and dark humour pervading every page, and I had to stifle snorts of laughter more than once during my read. The story oscillates between the perspectives of three characters: Anthony, who is attempting to navigate his afterlife and unravel the mystery of his death; Olivia, his glamorous widow grappling with her new reality and clinging to her status; and a true crime YouTuber who sees Anthony’s death as her golden ticket to fame. The multi-POV storytelling is both clever and immersive, allowing the plot to unfold in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat while simultaneously howling with laughter.
I chose to listen to the audiobook, narrated by Kimberley Capero, Gabrielle Glaister, and Colin Mace, and let me tell you, this was the cherry on top of an already delicious sundae. Each narrator brought their character to life in a way that was simply delightful. The distinction between perspectives was clear, making it easy to keep track of who was who, even amidst the chaos of the plot. Their performances added an extra layer of enjoyment, drawing me deeper into the quirks and follies of the Wistern family.
One of my absolute favourite segments was the "holding centre" chapters, where Anthony is stuck in a limbo of sorts, observing the fallout of his death. These moments are both hilarious and poignant—Mackie has a knack for blending laugh-out-loud humour with razor-sharp social commentary. It's a brilliant satire of wealth, privilege, and the absurdities of family life, all while delivering a mystery that slowly crawls towards its thrilling conclusion.
Mackie does an exceptional job of crafting a story that feels light-hearted yet carries a weighty critique of the world she depicts. The characters’ flaws, motivations, and interactions are uncannily relatable as much as they are outrageous, making this narrative both a guilty pleasure and a thought-provoking listen.
If you’re looking for a novel that is refreshingly different, charmingly witty and serves up a perfect blend of humour and mystery, “What A Way To Go” is a must-read (or must-listen). I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish, and I can’t recommend it enough. Bella Mackie has truly created a winner here, and I can't wait to see what she conjures up next!

Anthony Wistern has it all a beautiful wife, three beautiful children, a beautiful house, mistress and bank balance what more could a man want? He’s living his best life until he’s impaled on a light fixture in the midst of his sixtieth birthday party but did he fall or was he pushed. Anthony is sent to a utilitarian limbo where he must watch his family and work out how he died so that he can move on to wherever it is he’s moving on to. This was fine for what it was. There were no likeable characters at all which I don’t have a problem with but they weren’t displayable enough that I loved to hate them either. The narrative was also limited in that we only got a few perspectives and all of them were restricted in some way so we never really got any meat to characters either telling the story or creating the story. It was all a bit flat and I wasn’t invested in any particular character enough to want them to come out on top. It was fine, quite enjoyable but ultimately quite shallow.

Really didn’t think Bella Mackie could top How to kill your family but they definitely have with this.

This is a witty, darkly humorous mystery in which Anthony Wistern finds himself in the afterlife trying to figure out how he died. Anthony watches his family from afar as they deal with the aftermath of his death. He also becomes intrigued by an overly enthusiastic crime YouTuber who is convinced he was murdered.

The story is told from 3 points of view and this allows the story to slowly unravel and provides us with a fantastically enjoyable conclusion.

I both read and listened to this and although I loved the book I was enthralled by the audiobook. The 3 narrators fully became the characters and I couldn’t tear myself away from listening to them.

This was a fun and quick book to read. I enjoyed the characters, seeing it from the wife, husband and sleuths point of view. Unusual to hear from some one who is dead too! I thought I'd figured out why Anthony died but got it wrong, was fun to find out why though!

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

2.5/3

I wish I liked this more than I did, as I really enjoyed How to Kill Your Family!

Unfortunately, most of this book was about rich people whinging, entitlement and then one “poor mentally ill local”. Maybe I just don’t enjoy reading about the incredibly rich but the actual mystery wasn’t satisfying in the slightest and was quite guessable, and the “funny” moments that there were meant to be throughout just weren’t.

My first audio book and what a treat it was, the gossipy insights into the life and death of megarich Anthony Wistern, who is found impaled on a spike at his 60th birthday party, surrounded by the richest and most influential people around.

Anthony finds himself housed in the afterlife in the South Gloucestershire processing centre, where he can face the truth about his own death before moving to the next stage of the afterlife. Whilst he's there, he can watch his family - wife Olivia, and 4 adult children Jemima, Freddy, Lyra and Clara - going about their lives. Olivia has enjoyed her luxury life style but was planning to leave Anthony the day after the party - but everything has changed in a flash.

In the meantime, a true crime aficionado known as 'the Sleuth' thinks there's more to Anthony's death than meets the eye - and despite the post mortem results of accidental death, she thinks that he has been murdered - but by who?

The story is told from Anthony, Olivia and the Sleuth's perspectives- the differing perspectives and voices coming together to build a hugely entertaining story of mega wealthy people who still aren't happy with their lives. There are so many stand out characters, Anthony's four children are all very different from one another but are all selfish and self-motivated. Olivia's upper-class attitude seeps through everything she says and does- and Anthony himself still can't see what he's done so wrong in his life.

I enjoyed this book but wasn't totally gripped by it. I loved the premise and having multiple pov always makes for a good read. The characters were well developed and mostly quite horrid people! A fun read.

I enjoyed Bella’s previous books so was looking forward to this
It did not disappoint

A fun light hearted book about murder (does that sentence even make sense?)
A great easy read

I adored How to Kill Your Family so I couldn't wait to start reading this one and I enjoyed it just as much.

Bella Mackie writes such enjoyable, fun books and includes humour so well. I completely recommend this and I can't wait for the next book by Mackie.

What A Way To Go by Bella Mackie is a fun, entertaining murder mystery. I really enjoyed the premise of the main character trying to remember his death and being able to watch his family as they go about their lives in the aftermath of his death. All the characters are unlikeable but I still found myself intrigued by their decisions and character development throughout the book. Overall this is a fun, entertaining read which is different from anything I have read recently.

I have previously loved the last 2 books from Bella Mackie so was excited to read this one. It doesn’t disappoint- a weird but fun mix of murder and black humor! Great for reading on holiday!

Took me a while to get into, but a thoroughly entertaining follow up to HTKYF. The characters were really unlikeable so you didn't care about them, however that's not to say that I wasn't intrigued to find out who was responsible. Some good twists and turns and a satisfying ending.

This is a very entertaining new novel from the enjoyable Bella Mackie, and a worthy follow-up to How To Kill Your Family. It is centred around a very rich family and their complicated relationships. Things becoming interesting when the paterfamilias is found dead and hidden truths emerge. Anthony is able to spy on his family once he has departed this world and is looking down! Great fun

What A Way to Go is a clever narrative told through three distinct perspectives: Anthony and Olivia Wistern, and an obsessed Sleuth.

Anthony Wistern, the influential CEO of Wismere Holdings, finds his life cut short during a lavish 60th birthday celebration thrown by his wife, Olivia. Caught in limbo, Anthony is determined to unravel the mystery of his death while keeping a watchful eye on his family.

Olivia, the scorned "ice queen," grapples with her husband’s careless legacy, left penniless with greedy children who only add to her woes.

Meanwhile, the Sleuth, a true crime enthusiast, becomes fixated on the notion that Anthony's death was murder, setting off a quest to uncover the truth.

This darkly humorous tale unfolds at a leisurely pace, filled with intrigue and a colourful cast of characters, each capable of nefarious deeds. The interplay of family dynamics and sharp wit makes it a compelling read, especially for those who relish tales of the affluent facing their downfall.

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What a way to go really took me by surprise by how much I enjoyed it. I found it really funny and often caught myself laughing aloud. I found the point of view from husband, wife and local true crime enthusiast really worked and heightened the entertainment value enormously, especially when told from Anthony’s perspective in the afterlife holding centre. The writing is sharp, witty and flows really well. The cast of characters are delightfully awful and the twists and turns keep you wanting to come back for more. I know a number of people who will definitely enjoy this and I will be recommending it !

I make it no secret that How To Kill Your Family is one of my absolute favourite books, and I've had this one in my sights since it was an untitled coverless listing.
Anthony Wistern has died in suspicious circumstances, and what follows is how his family deals with it, as well as an Internet detective. We also saw Anthony himself witness everything after his death, and get his perspective on at all, as he tries to piece together how he died. This in particular was a unique and interest addition to the story. I loved seeing the family dynamic play out, often turning on each other as they looked for the truth.
Another aspect I enjoyed was the Sleuth - a nod to the growing obsession with true crime and people taking solving crimes into their own hands.
Full of characters you love to hate, Bella has created another story of dark humour that gives you lots to think about morally - and once again takes some very interesting turns.

A very funny, entertaining story and super quick and easy to read. My second Bella Mackie book and she just keeps getting better. 4 stars.

Anthony's wife Olivia has organised an extravagant 60th birthday party for him that proves memorable for all the wrong reasons. Anthony's unexpected demise and fallout are explored from Anthony's viewpoint as he negotiates his new state, Olivia's, and a true crime YouTuber called The Sleuth. The murder mystery aspect has many suspects and twists, and a contemporary investigation method makes this engaging and immersive. It is a detailed but pacy story that uses sensory imagery to draw you into it. The satirical comment that runs through the narrative, which is politically astute and socially aware, gives the story authenticity and contemporary relevance that I enjoyed. I like the characterisation. There are many unlikeable characters, but you still invest in their lives and want to know what happens to them and how they will react.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

📚 review 📚
what a way to go - bella mackie

ya’ll know i am a sucker for bougie rich people drama - especially when they get what’s coming to them. bella mackie did that with such gusto and hilarity with how to kill your family and she’s done it again with what a way to go.
honestly when i saw that bella mackie was releasing a follow up that involved more people murder, i prayed to the publishing gods that i would get an early copy and i must have been particularly pious that day cos here we are!

in what a way to go, we meet the wisterns, a dysfunctional and obnoxious family unit who are holding a party for patriarch, anthony’s sixtieth birthday. only, to wife olivia’s chagrin, the whole thing gets cut short because anthony manages to get impaled on a spike and dies.

everyone in that family has secrets, none of them are good people (except maybe freddy. he just wants to plant trees) and all those secrets and double crossings start to come out as anthony, looking on from an afterlife waiting room ala beetlejuice but without a moulding ghost in a stripy suit, tries to figure out how exactly he came to be impaled. in life, he isn’t the only one trying to prove what happened - a local amateur sleuth is also on the case and is convinced there is a murderer on the loose. as their follower count grows and anthony’s secrets start to come out, some interesting points are raised about the nature of the true crime community and the consequences of being an awful human.

told with bella mackie’s usual humour, this is another funny, intriguing book about some seriously dysfunctional rich people and those that get pulled into their orbit.

thank you @netgalley for the early copy. what a way to go is out now

3⭐️⭐️⭐️



✨ different povs
✨ darkly funny
✨ psychological thriller



✨ a influential finance boss found dead on a lavish 60 th birthday in the Cotswold .
A psychological thriller which has the base of ‘whodunit’!
✨ tbh, this is a very slow paced of a story. I almost dnf it but I want to finish it as it was my first book on this author. Funny and witty at the middle of chapters until it gotten boring again.
Predictable ending and I thought it would be different kind of recipe .



Thankyou for the opportunity to read this arc for a honest review.



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