What A Way To Go

I adored Bella Mackie's previous novel How To Kill Your Family. It was a thoroughly cheeky update of the classic black comedy film Kind Hearts and Coronets. What A Way To Go is so much better. A truly vile man, Anthony Western, dies in an innovative and funny way at his 60th Birthday Party. We then follow the fall-out from his event, and its impact on Anthony's awful family, and also, hilariously, on Anthony himself. Will we find out what happened to Anthony, and will there be any redemption for the Western family? You'll have to buy this super book, and find out!

Anthony Wistern is a wealthy, obnoxious man, with 4 spoilt children and an equally entitled wife. Anthony is found dead at his grand 60th birthday bash, the list of suspect is long!

The story is told from 3 points of view:

Anthony himself
Olivia his wife
A local online sleuth obsessed with finding out who killed Anthony.

The story is witty, comically and full of twists and turns! Bella Mackie has a way of capturing you right in to the story and gets those laugh out loud scenes perfect

The format the book is written in, is really unique and makes the book more captivating.

Well what a treat this turned out to be! Anthony Wistern celebrates his 60th birthday by dying. The seriously rich businessman with a family, a few mistresses, fancy watches, art and a delight in not playing by the rules, is dead – and his family aren’t exactly heartbroken. But to get to wherever he’s meant to go, Anthony has to discover who is responsible for this cruel act, and whether or not the buck stops with any of his family, all of whom believe they’re to inherit his fortune. Split between family goings-on and Anthony shooting at cameras, the reader must also work out who is the culprit. A heady blend of Succession with a cosy crime drama, this is a funny, often very funny, read.

Wildly Entertaining..
When the obscenely wealthy Anthony Wistern is found very dead at his sixtieth birthday party- impaled on an orb lance - things go from bad to worse for his family and friends and, indeed, for Anthony himself. One would imagine that it couldn’t get much worse for Anthony - but remarkably, it does, as he finds himself in a very odd place indeed. With suspects numerous, was Anthony murdered or was he hoisted by his own petard? Wildly entertaining with a plot populated by an irreverent and eclectic cast of characters and a narrative heavy with humour and satire, this is a one sit escapist and wholly compelling read.

So much fun! A very worthy follow up to the brilliant How to kill your family.
This is told from. 3 perspectives…. There’s Anthony, a millionaire investor who has just been found dead at his 60th birthday party, the. There is Olivia, his long suffering wife. And finally an internet sleuth who lives local to the dead millionaire and sees this as her opportunity to make her mark in the True Crime community.

Anthony’s story is told from the afterlife. At first I was really really sceptical… but I stuck with it and gave the author the benefit of the doubt, and glad I did as it actually works really very well!


There have been lots of copycats to Bella’s debut novel. From titles to writing style. And this was a great reminder that the original does it best! Bella’s acerbic wit on fine form. It’s devilishly dark, very funny, and that’s exactly what I needed!

4.75 stars
As a huge fan of Bella Mackie's How To Kill Your Family, I was counting down the days until I could start reading What A Way To Go. And it did not disappoint.
Now, I will say, it's a little bit of a departure from Bella's last book in terms of the the layout and the change of POVs with each of the chapters but I really enjoyed this shake up.
Are they all pretty terrible people? Yes, with the exception of 'The Sleuth'. But I loved how we got an insight into the thoughts of the super rich and some brilliant social commentary on them too.
It has the same wit and dark humour that I was expecting from this author and I enjoyed having some of it be set in literal limbo, as well.
It's actually the second book that I've read this year that's featured death's waiting room (The Love Of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood being the other) and both used this setting in such a compelling way.
This kept me hooked the whole way through and I was so intrigued to see how it would all wrap up in the end, even if I was always very wary of two of the male family members in particular and I wasn't wrong about either.
The only thing stopping me from giving it 5 stars was the fact that the ending was a little bit rushed for me, especially once we find out what really happened to Anthony. But I absolutely devoured this book and it's easily one of my absolute favourites of the year so far.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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,

What a book! I laughed out loud when I was reading alone as well as when I was reading whilst using the train. Thanks, Netgalley for an advanced e-reading copy, I'm so glad I got my hands on the book. The humour, the sarcasm, the timing- aahhhh, too good. A must-read for those who enjoyed How to Kill Your Family!

Top murder mystery comedy romp in very much Bella Mackie's trade mark darkly humorous style. The setting - the arrivals area after death - is inspired, with the guests watching their family whilst they try to establish their cause of death. The characters are generally not very likeable, so any unfortunate events are deeply relishable and I found myself trying to think of a suitable death for the father figure.
Very enjoyable!

I didn’t want to put this down! So worried reading a second novel but this was soooo much better than the first! I loved it! Was gripping and everything was not as expected. So many different perspectives

When someone dies, it is usually considered a tragedy. But, when Anthony Wistern dies (in a fairly spectacular way, it must be admitted), it is more of a cause for celebration. Of course, his family cannot admit this but finally, they can access his money. And then the fun really starts...
What A Way To Go is one of the more unusual novels that I have read in recent years as we have one deceased protagonist who is investigating his own death, a living investigator and an angry family!
With a wry commentary on life and excess, this is a whip smart and funny novel. I absolutely recommend that you read it - you won't regret it!

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.