The Turn of the Key is my first read by Ruth Ware. I expected creepy, and I got it. Here's a great idea: accept a position as a nanny in a horror house. In Scotland,
the main character, Rowan, does just that. Unfortunately, the story begins with her imprisonment, so the house probably ate somebody. Just saying. The story is told in a somewhat epistolary style through letters Rowan writes to a lawyer explaining what happened. It's slow at first, but eventually, it picks up a bit. So, Rowan is a nanny to some weird kids in a creepy technologically advanced house. The atmospheric presence of the house is its own character full of menacing darkness and bad mojo. This middle of nowhere Scottish mansion pretty well controls itself. What?? Wouldn't a person have to be a bit screwy in the head to voluntarily work here in the first place? I questioned Rowan's reliability from the start. Something about her seemed odd. It's a continuous freak show right to the end. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. It's okay, but I didn't love it. The overall story is a creepy trip down a bizarre road, so read if you dare. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ruth Ware and Simon & Schuster for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Rowan was cruising the Internet one day when she found a job posting that sounded perfect for her. It’s a nannying position with a really generous salary; when she goes for her interview, she falls in love with Heatherbrae House with all its technologies and luxuries. What she doesn’t know is that this will end with a dead child and her going to prison awaiting the trial for murder.

I love how dark and creepy Ware’s novels are and this one is no different! I loved the dark and dreary atmosphere that goes along with the house and the creepy history of the land! I really enjoyed that this one was written by Rowan to her attorney and how we get the whole story from start to finish only knowing what Rowan knows about the family, house and what is going on. I love the idea of a haunted house way out in the middle of nowhere in Scotland and I loved the new idea of a “smart” home and how they really screwed with Rowan. I enjoyed Jack and the part he plays in this novel. I was just totally smitten with this novel and the ending was so shocking. I really didn’t see it coming and I loved how it all made so much more sense once we find out what was really going on!

Out August 27th!

The Turn of the Key is my fourth book by this author. I would classify this book as mystery/suspense. Apparently this is sort of an updated version of Turn of the Screw.

The main character is Rowan (27 years old). She is a nanny. The book begins with her in a Scottish jail awaiting her trial. She writes to a lawyer asking him to take her case. The entire book is made up of her telling her story to him in letters.

I really did not like this method of storytelling. I would have much preferred to live through the story vs this retelling. Even if the author had done one chapter at the beginning with Rowan in jail. And then continued with the story in the present I think that would have worked better for me.

As mentioned the story is told through Rowan telling her story to the new lawyer. However only the first few letters are addressed "Dear Mr. Wrexham." After that we are just to assume that she is writing to him, but it's just page after page of her explaining what happened.

This book features a house in the middle of nowhere in Scotland. The house has all kinds of crazy advanced technology, which was sort of cool. But very crazy.

Rowan is responsible for three small children, as the parents are away. And the kids don't like her. We learn that lots of past nannies have quit. There might be ghosts. There are rumors that the house is haunted and people have died there.

I really struggled with how this story was told. But the last part of the book was the strongest. We find out what happened to put Rowan in jail. And at the very end we actually find out what really happened.

Ruth Ware has done it again!

She is a go-to author for me and The Turn of the Key does not disappoint. The epistolary structure works really well at building suspense and drama and we learn more about Rowan, the mega creepy Heatherbrae house and the increasingly disturbing Elincourt family. Ware manages to make a "smart house: run by an app seem at home in a Gothic story about ghosts, poisoned and creepy children and mysterious noises that go bump in the night.

Ware is great at crafting characters that keep you guessing- I went back and forth on the innocence and guilt of all of the major characters at one point in the novel. She makes unlikable characters like Rowan that you can still root for. And boy is she good at creating creepy children that add to the story and are not just filler.

The ending took me by surprise- I had to read it a few times to make sure I understood things properly, but that didn't take away from this being a 5 star mystery read for me.

Highly recommend for all the fans of her previous books and anyone looking for a great mystery that blends the past and the present to create a thrilling, creepy read.

Thank you S&S for the advanced reading copy!
I still honestly don’t know how I feel about this book. It seems impossible to rate on a five star scale. I loved every second (until the last 5 pages). It was creepy, thrilling, shocked and left the reader confused right along with the protagonist. However, the last five or so pages left me saying: “that’s it”? That’s never something you want to say at the end of a mystery book. I think it was just disappointing in the grand scheme of things. This will definitely be a polarizing book, some will adore it, some will despise it. I am left bewildered. This rating will probably change with the more time I have to think about it. I honestly can’t say if I hated this book or if I enjoyed it.... i don’t know.

Oh Ruth Ware, you never cease to amaze me! Your storylines forever grabbing my attention and writing style pulling me in. Can't get enough! When Simon & Schuster Canada gifted me this review copy I was in book heaven. One of my most anticipated reads of the summer, yes please! Annnnd, it did not disappoint.

The Turn Of The Key is another brilliant novel with a unique storyline, interesting characters and mega creepy atmosphere. Que Heatherbrae House - eek! Seriously, this house gave me the chills. The homes freaky history, the sounds ...

I enjoyed the way this was written, in the form of a letter that the main character, Rowan is writing to a solicitor in hopes he will take on her case.

A nannying position gone wrong, one child is dead and Rowan is being accused of murder. But is she guilty?

Huge thank you to S&S Canada and Netgalley for my review copy!!

The Turn of the Key uses an interesting literary device: It is in the form of a long letter that the protagonist plans to send to her lawyer, therefore, we get a first person point of view of the story unfolding. When Rowan is hired to be a nanny at an isolated house in Scotland, she discovers that the house is “run” by an app called Happy. The children’s mother is so harried that she barely explains things to Rowan before leaving, and Rowan struggles with door locks, telephones, surveillance cameras, the shower and, to top it all off, difficult children, one of whom is always trying to get her in trouble.

The book is deftly written, and we feel Rowan’s frustration, fatigue and suspicion. There is a sense of building tension and impending doom, and we know, right from the start, that things will turn out badly. Rowan is portrayed as an imperfect person, and at times, we wonder if she really did kill the child! The tension builds, and the conclusion provides a satisfying and interesting twist. All in all, a very satisfactory “thriller” novel.

**Disclaimer: I received an advance reader’s copy of The Turn of the Key through NetGalley from Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware is a mystery-thriller set in Scotland. It is written in a semi epistolary way, which was rather unique. The book releases on August 6th, 2019. I gave it 5 stars on GoodReads.

Here’s the summary from GoodReads:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, and The Death of Mrs. Westaway comes Ruth Ware’s highly anticipated fifth novel.
When Rowan stumbles across an ad for a live-in nanny, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—with a staggeringly generous salary. And when she arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” house fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.
What Rowan doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and Rowan in prison awaiting trial for murder.
Writing to her lawyer from prison, Rowan struggles to explain the unravelling events that have led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the children, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.
It was everything.
Rowan knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.
Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware’s signature suspenseful style, this is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

Ruth Ware is one of my all time favourite thriller authors, so I was beyond excited when I got the chance to read her newest book, The Turn of the Key. It was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019, and I was fully not disappointed!

I will admit that at the start of the book I wasn’t sure about it. It seemed like not a lot was happening and the atmosphere was really creeping me out and I kept picking it up when I was in bed and it was dark out, which meant I wasn’t reading a lot because I would get too freaked out to continue on in the story. However, once I got past the start of the book, I found myself having a hard time putting the book down.

I’m not sure what it is about Ruth Ware’s writing that really gets me, but she always seems to come through and get me hooked and devouring the story. This is definitely one of my favourite things she has written, though I haven’t read The Death of Mrs. Westaway yet.

When it came to The Turn of the Key, one of the things that made it really unique was the format. Having the protagonist write letters to a lawyer hoping he would help her, made for an interesting way of revealing the details of the story. The clues were there and it was so fascinating to watch the pieces all come together as the narrator revealed details to the lawyer she was hoping would help her. I was sceptical but so engaged in the story because I just needed to see what actually happened and how it all played out.

Ware has such a talent at making her protagonists not the most reliable characters while still making them interesting and almost empathetic? It’s weird to say that when the protagonist of this book has been accused of murdering a child, but it’s definitely true. The main character of this book was definitively not a good person, but you can relate to the way that she acted as she was put into various situations. Maybe it wouldn’t be the same thing you might have done, but you can somewhat understand what might have pushed her to that point.

The atmosphere is one of the best parts of this story. The bulk of the setting of the book (when it comes to the content of the letters that is) is a remote mansion in Scotland. The house is weirdly technologically advanced and the juxtaposition of the technology and the remote locale is fascinating. The clash of those two things brought about the question of the supernatural, and whether the book was based in reality or was there something else at play.

My one criticism would be that it’s slow to start and it builds up gradually, but ultimately I think that this story needs that slow build, so I’m not even sure if I can fully criticize that aspect of the book. Besides, once you get over the initial hump, it’s hard to put down because you desperately need to know what happened. At least that’s how I felt.

In the end, I highly recommend this book, and when August 6th rolls around, I will definitely be picking up my own copy!

I absolutely loved the his book! Kept me guessing right till the end! I couldn’t put it down. Ruth Ware has another home run. I highly recommend this book

This is my third book by the author so by this point I know she's great at creating a creepy ambiance!

New nanny working for a family living in a remote house in Scotland. Past nannies leaving after the house seems haunted with its dark history and secrets... you get it.

It was interesting, even unique since the main character wasn't very likeable and that the format is through letters she's writing to a lawyer from prison since she's accused of murdering one of the child in her care...
Very intriguing!

The ending was a bit lukewarm in my opinion but I can't wait to see how others feel about it all!

If you're looking for a quick read for the fall and have liked her other books, I would recommend.

The Turn of the Key is a thriller that grabbed me from the beginning and kept me guessing until the end!

Rowan isn’t really looking for a change when she replies to an ad to become a nanny to three children, in a remote home in Scotland. She applies anyway and what happens after she arrives lands her in prison. Told solely from the Rowan’s perspective, it’s an intersesting and quick read that I couldn’t put down.
There are several twists that I didn’t see coming- and I was looking!

The ending felt a little rushed compared to the build up, but overall it’s an excellent book!

Thank you Simon and Schuster for the ARC.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rowan Caine is writing her lawyer from prison. She has been charged with the murder of a child in her care.

After answering an ad for a nanny with an extremely generous salary, Rowan arrives at Heatherbrae House set in the beautiful Scottish Highlands. She is instantly captivated by the "smart" house—that mixes the old charm with new modern conveniences—and by the Instagram-worthy family.

What Rowan doesn't know is that everything on the surface is a complete facade and that she's actually stepping into a nightmare. There's constant surveillance from cameras that appear to be in every room, noises coming from the attic, a poisonous garden, and the children are certainly not the well-behaved girls that were at her interview. Rowan has also been mislead in that she's been left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the mysterious handyman, Jack Grant.

While maintaining her innocence for the crime of murder, she is forthcoming about the other mistakes she's made. She's admitted to lying to get the job and that she's not a good nanny, but she is most definitely not a murderer. So this begs the question, who is?

Ware's The Death of Mrs. Westaway was a Gothic gem and I was expecting more of that from this book. In this novel there is also a creepy Gothic Victorian. In fact, the house is not only the setting, but ends up being more of a character in the book. Other effective ominous elements were the poisonous garden, footstep noises, and the locked closet—these types of macabre nuances are where Ware excels in her execution.

The characters were intriguing, even the secondary and tertiary. From the opening, you can tell there is something not quite right where Rowan is concerned. Given that she's supposed to be a nanny, Rowan appears to be out of her element. I do however feel that Ware could have fleshed out the husband and wife more. I mean what kind of parents leave their three little girls—soon to be four when Rhiannon arrives home from boarding school—with a virtual stranger?

I loved that this was an epistolary novel. The letters were the perfect vehicle to deliver the story. Where the plot stalled was with the ending, especially given the extensive build up. This was a bit of a disappointment given that the narrative was a slow burn—with the pages and pages of the day-to-day childcare and feeding which got a bit mundane after a while—and the reader was not fully rewarded for their patience.

Wow. I like. I like a lot. A very current book. I don’t own a smart home, but I do know how I am so tied to technology. A ping on my iPad means I must get up from whatever I’m doing to check it immediately. How did we become slaves to something that is supposed to help us? But I digress. A very good murder mystery that I kind of figured out a wee bit, which always makes it more enjoyable. There were twists and turns. The ending was excellent. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced ereader copy. (Does that make it an AEC?)

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Shuster Canada for a copy of The turn of the key for a review. Rowan seemed to have found the perfect Nanny job. However, not all is what it seemed....The turn of the key is a thriller written as letter to a Solicitor by Rowan in prison for the death of a child. What happened? She keeps insisting she is innocent ... but is she? This book was a creepy thriller for me, and I loved it but I will admit that I put it down early on for several days and I am not quite sure -- is it a ghost story....or is someone gaslighting Rowan? I guess that's question...I will say once I settled down and started reading it again, I couldn't put it down; and the ending was totally mindblowing! One last thought...for all those who are thinking a computer run house would be the bomb....FORGET IT!!!! Read this book....you will change your mind....I did!

The Turn of The Key

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgally for my ARC copy!

As I’ve stated before, I’m a huge Ruth Ware fan and she has become an instant buy author for me. This thriller is a good depiction why!

When Rowan take a nanny job for the Elincourt family in Scotland, she takes on the charge of four little girls. What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare..in which one of the children ends up dead and she’s in prison awaiting trial. She swears she’s not guilty which means, the true killer is still loose.

The premise of this one was fantastic! I was hooked from the start and my God; the description Ruth Ware uses to put you inside the house with Rowan when strange things start happening is so gothic and creepy. She has an incredible talent at making us see Rowan’s Fears as terrifying at night, and ridiculous during the day. The buildup left me craving for more and more!

She also had some great elements of the story thrown in there to add to the eeriness of the setting. The Elincourt’s may live in an old creepy house, but they have outfitted it with the latest technology and it was hard to decide what was more questionable! The history of the house was sinister but the new tech with cameras everywhere watching was chilling! The combination of old and new components was super well done.

I had high hopes for the narrative that started so promising! It was structured as letters from Rowan in prison to a lawyer she’s hoping to take her case, which was very different and enjoyable, but by the end this narrative made for a confusing ending! While still a great read full of suspense, I am always harder on thrillers endings than anything else!

I’d say this is my second favorite of all Ruth Wares books as The Woman in Cabin 10 remains my favorite. Strongly recommend for all her fans out there and for the Gothic thriller types! This one goes on sale August 29th!

Rachel's Rating: 4.5/5

The story is told in the perspective of the nanny, Rowan, in the form of a letter to a lawyer. She is writing him from prison explaining the events leading up to her incarceration and the death of a child in her care.

I was super excited to get my hands on this book! I’ve read all of Ruth Ware’s books and they have always been a great read! This is another great read, but not my favourite out of the other books she’s written. This book will definitely keep to reading with the many surprises and the creepy factor of the story. That being said, I thought it was quite rushed and a little confusing… I found the ending a little random and unrealistic, in my opinion.

Nonetheless, excited to read the next Ruth Ware book :)

A child is dead, and nanny Rowan find's herself behind bars accused of murder. A nanny job turned wrong. The plot begins with Rowan coming across the perfect live-in Nanny job, it is everything she has wanted and more. It has the perfect pay, and seems too go to be true. When she applies she doesn't expect much from it, the is until she gets an email asking for an interview. It isn't long before Rowan finds herself at the Heatherbrea House, a luxurious "smart house" that can be controlled by an app. It doesn't take long for things to start going wrong; things missing, lights being turned on on their own, and even creaking from above Rowan's bedroom.

In The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. Rowan is our main focus of this book, and is told through her eyes as she is writing to a solicitor behind bars. Now, this isn't my favourite perspective as I find we don't get all the details, but the author did such an amazing job at including details and making it seem like we were right there with Rowan. We learn the steps she took to get the job, and how she felt in every exact moment of this book.

This novel is a fantastic slow-burn, normally I am not a fan of slow paced books, but this one had me hooked from page 1. We knew from the start that a child had died, but it never explains the how or why. So as a reader we want to get to the end to figure out what really happened to the poor child. This book had me shocked since all the theories I had from the start were wrong. I loved how their were smaller twists that all connected to the bigger mystery in the end.

I found the characters so well written, I loved how Rowan had her own form of "support" in the form of Jack and Jean., This is an amazing book and would highly recommend it to anyone who would love to read something that just blows your mind

*I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon&Shuster Canada for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

A Nanny accused of murder...a haunted Scottish home...a cast of suspicious characters...well, bless your heart and take my money!

As the story begins, twenty four year old Rowan Caine is writing to a lawyer that she hopes will overturn the murder sentence of a child in her charge. Through flashbacks, the young nanny explains her arrival at Heatherbrae House and the days leading up to the murder. What soon becomes clear is not everything is picture perfect. But is it supernatural forces? Or is something more secretive happening?

Ruth Ware is a master at making me feel very insecure while reading her books. The girls under Rowan's charge were so horrendous that I kept on the edge of my seat wondering if they were evil. Even after finishing the book, I still am on the fence with that particular issue. Half-joking! As well, I was very terrified by the modern technology in this house- cameras everywhere! Who wants to live in that kind of enviroment?

I had spotted a few mixed reviews for Ruth Ware's 5th book, but found myself really enjoying it.




Goodreads Review 02/01/19
Expected Publication 27/08/19

Rowan is thrilled to be hired by a family at a very good salary. She is in charge of two little girls, a baby girl and a fourteen year old girl away at school. The only catch is - it is in a beautiful old house in the north of Scotland and several nannies have quit because of ghostly happenings. The story opens with Rowan in prison for the murder of one of the girls. The story is told through her writing to a lawyer asking him to represent her. This was a really good story, ghosts in the attic, poison garden, suspicious handyman - not to mention the unsettling feeling that secrets abound. I love Ruth Ware and this was a good story with interesting characters - loved it. Recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

When Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House for her dream live-in nanny job with a generous salary, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family
.
.
What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder
.
.
Ruth Ware has hit The Turn of The Key out of the park. In true form she leaves you guessing until the very end with an unpredictable plot that draws you in from page one. It has all the elements for the perfect thriller from a SMART haunted house in a rainy forest setting with a history of deaths, door bells ringing with nobody at the door, items that go missing, unreliable narrator, suspicious characters, deception, and last but not least a killer build up with MURDER 😱 I was shaking in my boots not knowing what would be around the corner with each page turn. The psychological effect this book had on me was unbelievably creepy and lead me to be startled a few times when I heard noises in my house, but still I couldn’t resist and continued on with this unputdownable pulse pounding book into the wee hours of the night. While the ending left me wanting a bit more and felt slightly rushed, I still highly recommend that you read this when it comes out August 6th. I can’t wait to read more Ruth Ware novels!
.
.
.
Would you take a nanny position in a rural town at a known haunted home where you would be alone with the children?