Eat the rich tropes meets true crime podcast in this novel, from the author of the excellent How to Kill your Family. I’m sorry that this one fell a bit flat for me.
Lacking a bit of subtlety and I failed to care much about the characters as none of them liked each other. A bit one dimensional. Audiobook was well narrated and the voice artists did a great job. The best part was probably about the true crime blogger, as the wistern family were just totally unrelatable and the we all hate each other vibe got tired pretty quickly.

A somewhat meandering story with a bunch of characters that are not particularly likeable. Not really sure of what The Sleuth added to the plot, I was hoping for some sort of twist at the end to include her, but it really just petered out in the end. The narration was good and I enjoyed the voices and some of the sub plots, but in the end there was no great climax or twist and it was a bit of a let down

Listening this book felt like having a conversation with a friend. The story drew me in with its straightforward approach to tackling difficult topics, without any unnecessary embellishments. The audiobook made the experience even more engaging, as the narration brought the protagonist to life in a way that made me feel deeply connected to her. The blend of ironic humour and introspective moments had me laughing and reflecting in equal measure.
I noticed that the pacing of the story varied quite a bit. Some parts felt slower, but to me, this made it feel more realistic—life doesn’t always follow a linear path. It’s true that certain parts of the plot were somewhat predictable, but I was more interested in following the protagonist’s journey of growth and how she dealt with her ups and downs. The humour, in particular, stood out to me, as it lightened the heavier moments without taking away from the depth of the narrative.
What resonated with me most was how the story made me reflect on the way I approach my own challenges. It’s not about finding easy answers but about moving forward, even without guarantees. It was an experience that left me thinking about a lot while still managing to make me laugh along the way.

I was so excited to listen to the next Bella Mackie as I loved How To Kill Your Family. The narrator's are brilliant and definitely added an extra level to the reading experience. Whilst I did enjoy this one and found it really easy to listen to I did find the characters quite grating. None of them were particularly likeable and therefore I struggled to sympathise with me. An entertaining and quick listen!

I really liked how to kill your family but this one just fell flat for me. I quickly lost interest, even on audio, and the humor didn't hit as much as it did with this author's first novel. 2 stars

A not very likeable family, murder and an amateur sleuth. I liked the differing perspectives and enjoyed the narrators for this story. It made me laugh out loud on a number of occasions and although none of the victims engendered much sympathy, I did enjoy this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this murder mystery! I will admit that I predicted how Anthony died quite early on in the story, given that how he died was the most fitting end for a man like himself, but I still continued listening because the book was just that good! I completely didn't see Olivia's plot twist coming near the end of the story so I was very glad that I kept reading. Each of the characters are well-developed and hilariously out-of-touch with the real world which made me love them and hate them in equal measure. The ending of the novel was incredibly satisfying (although in my opinion, Anthony could've done with a lot worse!) and I will definitely be recommending it to all thriller/murder mystery fans!

Sorry but I did not finish this ... couldn't get past the first thirty percent or so. I didn't like the narrator or the characters and the story just wasn't holding my interest. Not for me unfortunately but thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen to this book.

I DNFed at 27%. Im sorry about it because I loved her other book but the narrator especially the dad was too much, I can’t do that Boris Johnson style posh boy voice. I tried reading it physically after and just couldn’t get the stupid voice out of my head. It really took away from the story.

This is my first book by Bella Mackie and I have been missing out!

What A way to Go is a witty murder mystery told from 2 perspectives, one dead and one alive. This makes for a fun, witty approach to the classic murder mystery genre. It has some quite dark humour ( which I love ) and Bella does a fantastic job with her writing style to combine a balance between character development and plot direction. There are some great character, some likeable, some outrageously not. This is a sort of book Id happily re read /listen to multiple times.

This was narrated by Kimberley Capero, Gabrielle Glaister, Colin Mace who did a fantastic job in being in-tune with the characters and made the narrative come to life even more


4.75 stars for Storygraph, 5 stars for another review sites

Known for her hugely successful debut novel How to Kill Your Family, Bella Mackie is a novelist who's done the nearly impossible - she's followed it up with a second book that might actually be even better!

Anthony Wistern's is a life to die for, blessed as he is with success, riches, a beautiful wife, a good looking family, and more lovers then you can shake a stick at. Unfortunately, that's exactly what he does.

So, when this unpopular zillionaire is, shockingly enough, found dead at his own birthday party (under some very peculiar circumstances), the jury is out as to whether he was murdered or not. Be that as it may, this story is less about the possible murder or suicide of Wistern than the gloriously unruly cast of characters Mackie has gathered to entertain her readers.

And what a sterling job they do in the process of doing just that! From his resentful wife and deeply dysfunctional offspring, to a legion of spurned lovers and his many disgruntled colleagues and acquaintances, it is hard to find anyone who's actually SAD that Anthony Wistern is dead...

Once Anthony is gone, it quickly becomes clear that as far as his nearest and dearest are concerned, his assets and lifestyle weren't just to die for, but very possibly worth murdering for. But who in fact did the deed?

Mackie has delivered a wickedly funny and clever tale, and her use of the afterlife device in this story is a hilarious and brilliant touch.  Can you tell that I liked this book?! This one gets five stars. I strongly recommend it if you're looking for some light, caustic and witty entertainment!

I was so excited to receive this audiobook as I absolutely LOVED Bella Mackie's previous book. Sadly I just can't say the same for this one. I liked the sound of it and parts of it really did make me laugh but, ultimately, perhaps for me to love a book, I need to at least one of the characters to like and there was just no-one for me to root for in this story. They were all just so utterly repugnant that I couldn't care less what happened to them. The only one who was really remotely likeable was 'The Sleuth' but I really didn't like the narrator's voice (sorry - feel horrible writing that!) so I was put off that character too. It won't put me off reading another of Bella's books in the future as I do think she's a great writer and I do love her humour just please give me someone to like!

4.5 stars
This book tells the story of a murder from the point of view of three people: the murdered man from a kind of limbo, the murdered man's wife and a young woman who comments on real crimes on the internet in her spare time and uses the murder of her neighbour to try to be somebody. Bella Mackie has once again created horrible, self-centred and rich characters. They hate each other and create ridiculous and exaggerated situations. Nevertheless, the book has a social critique, a very acidic humour that is very reminiscent of her first book. It is not a quick or easy read, but it is entertaining, and although the characters are made to be hated, you can almost be on their side.
The truth is that this author's ability to create obnoxious and insufferable characters is impressive, and at the same time keeps you totally glued to the story.
Really liked the three narrators that create the perfect atmosphere for the audiobook.

It’s not always necessary to like the characters in a book, but I found most of the cast in this murder mystery to be unlikeable and annoying. I liked all of the different PoV’s, including that of the deceased, Anthony, but I really didn’t care how he died. I persevered, but found it hard going at times and it turned out to be kind of boring and not at all humorous. Many thanks to NetGallery and HarperCollins UK Audio for allowing me to get an early copy of the audiobook - shame it fell a little flat for me, but I am grateful for the opportunity nonetheless.

I'm very sorry but I gave up on this half way through. I wish I'd read it as a book rather than an audio as I think I'd have finished it. The characters were too horrible to relate to, which meant I didn't connect with them, and regrettably I found the female narrator's voice gratingly strident.

Thank you for my advance copy.

I found this a bit of a slog I'm afraid - too long to want to stick with unpleasant characters and it didn't grip me at all as a result!

Bubbling over with repugnant rich people, Bella Mackie’s story about the untimely demise of Anthony Wistern, and the resulting fall-out caused by his complete sense of self entitlement, is hilarious. Indignant in the afterlife, Anthony must remember how he’s died, in order to pass through the ‘sorting office’ and on to the next phase of death. Despite making an obscene amount of money whilst alive, he’s not that bright, so it hasn’t quite occurred to him where he might be heading. Meanwhile he’s absorbed with observing how the impact of his unexpected departure implodes his already dysfunctional family, in the hope that he’ll discover just what actually caused him to kick the bucket in the middle of his lavish 60th birthday party.
The narrators were spectacular, and I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook, which is out now. With huge thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK audio for the review copy. I’ll definitely be reading more from Bella Mackie. Five big shiny ones from me.

I had a lovely time with this wonderfully terrible family; they’re all absolutely horrendous, but it’s so satisfying to get to know them as you try to uncover Anthony’s final moments. Bella has a gift for crafting addictive characters, even the ones you don’t necessarily like.

What I liked most about this book was the setup, it follows the recently deceased in a kind of purgatory, where they have to figure out how they died by watching their loved ones navigate life after their passing.

It was a fast paced, entertaining whodunit with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.

2.5

now i don’t have much experience reading thrillers so maybe this is just me but HMMM

firstly, i love the premise of this story?? basically it’s set in a world where in the afterlife you need to find out how you died by watching your family & close ones (murder mystery vibes!!) which i thought was so so cool

however, the execution was a little rough 😭 it jumped between povs a LOT (each chapter was a new pov & they were like an average of 3 pages) & also it jumped between flashbacks & present time too so it was really hard to get a sense of what’s happening

the main plot was interesting-ish, but i struggled to connect with any of the side characters. it was a little boring from around the 20-80% mark, not a lot was said and it didn’t really add much to the story

i don’t know if this is spoilery, but i really didn’t like the ending?? it just felt so unsatisfying?? like something just feels so off & i can’t exactly put a finger on why but yeah

thank you so much netgalley & book buzz au for the arc!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bella Mackie for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give a honest and unbiased opinion voluntarily

I listened to this book on audiobook and I found it hard to connect with. I didn’t find the characters relatable. This was my first book I read from this author.