4/5 ⭐️ for THE TURN OF THE KEY by Ruth Ware!

I’m such a big Ruth Ware fan so of course I was excited to read her newest book which is set to release this August!! And, it’s one I’d definitely recommend you to pick up if you like a good mystery.

I loved the setting of this story - it was dark, eerie, unsettling and so mysterious. I wasn’t exactly sure how the book was going to end and I was pleasantly surprised! Not to mention that the protagonist, Rowen, was a bit of a difficult character to like 100%, and you know what? I kinda like that 😂
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If you’re in the mood for a good mystery book, I’d pick this one up! Ruth Ware does it again with a good book that you can read in a sitting 🙌🏼🔍

Wow! I was hooked on this book from the start! This mystery kept me guessing until the very end, with an ending I didn't see coming.
Rowan is a daycare worker who takes on a job as a live-in nanny at Heatherbrae House, a victorian home converted into a modern "Smart House". In her new nanny position, Rowan cares for the Elincourt's 4 children, who are, for the most part, a challenge to say the least. On top of the difficult children, strange things begin happening to Rowan from the moment she moves into Heatherbrae. She begins to see why the previous few nannies have quit after such a short amount of time. Rowan becomes wrapped up in a crime that she claims she had nothing to do with.
I highly recommend this mystery from Ruth Ware. I have read some of her previous books, and for me they have been hit and miss. I thought this was by far her best book. I literally could not put it down and finished it in a couple short days.

Ruth Ware is a must-read author in the thriller genre, so I was thrilled to receive an eGalley of her latest work, The Turn of the Key. It is a well constructed thriller, and I can imagine that people will pick it up and enjoy. However, some aspects of the premise (the "smart" house watching the nanny), were not for me. While this title doesn't scream "instant, timeless classic", it is an entertaining read.

Rowan gets what she thinks is her dream job as a live-in nanny for 4 young girls. Until she winds up in jail, desperately writing to a solicitor pleading her innocence in the involvement of a suspicious death of one of the young girls. What really happened that fateful night at Heatherbrae House?

Unpopular opinion here, this story did not do it for me. I was completely bored from start to finish. For the first 75% of the book it felt nothing was happening, literally nothing. We just followed along a job interview and the day-to-day job of a nanny with difficult kids. Then, when things did starting happening, I was still bored. Nothing that shocking, nothing all that exciting. I also feel like I am left with a lot of questions about many different plot points. I did love the description of the house and surround grounds, Ware can really set a scene! While it was definitely the slowest of burns, there was still enough there for me to keep reading and needing to know what happened that terrible night. My feelings of disappointment aside, this book seems to have mostly stellar reviews so maybe I am missing something or this just wasn’t the right book to audience match for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an arc of this novel.

I really enjoy this mystery / suspense, although generally I’m not a fan of “ghost” mysteries . I thought Ms Wade did a very good job of leaving clues along the way that tied back to the ending, without making it too obvious !

Definitely recommend this one !

Another great read by Ruth Ware. This book again shifts away from her earlier style and moves towards horror. (I've preferred her more recent books.) It's not a perfect story, but I couldn't stop reading and it kept me entertained right to the end.

The story is told in flashback, so that, from the beginning of the book, we know that Rowan Caine is in prison for murder (but not how that came about). Rowan is the new nanny at Heatherbrae House, an isolated Scottish home. She is initially ecstatic about her new position (a chance to start over, a huge salary, and a beautiful home with adorable children to care for). She is immediately left alone with three children (and the promise of a teenager arriving soon after) and begins to find it challenging. (To be frank, Rowan just doesn't seem as experienced a nanny as she suggests during her interview.) The house is a creepy smart home, in which everything is controlled by an app. There are strange unexplained occurrences (music turning on, lights turning off) and the children aren't quite what she expected. The handyman, Jack, is sometimes around and tries to help Rowan, but it's not clear if he is too good to be true.

Thanks to the author, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchanged for a review.

The Turn Of The Key - Ruth Ware

This is a good Gothic Story. It does have a slow beginning, but I still feel that it is worth getting through the first part, as you will be rewarded by a very suspenseful, heart thumping haunting and maybe a little unsettling read.

The beginning is very slow, too detailed, too much rambling. Not something that a person would believably write in a letter to a lawyer (Mr. Wrexam) from prison to explain their innocence. I feel that a real lawyer would have stopped reading after a couple pages of such confusing babble. Now, if you forget that the protagonist has written this in a letter to Mr. Wrexam, a lawyer and perhaps instead, she is reminiscing in a journal while in prison charged with Murder, then I feel it would have been much more believable.

I also felt a lack of empathy for the protagonist and a total dislike of Bill & Sandra, the parents, of the children. I did however, love all the children, the baby Petra, Maddie and Ellie and I even felt empathy for the troublesome teen, Rhiannon. I think the character Jack was interesting and added to the story.

There is a lot of suspense, a haunting mystery and at times heart thumping moments, that worthy of a great gothic novel.

There are a few twists & surprises at the end, and I did like the way the author ended the novel. It is the only time that I truly felt empathy for the protagonist sadly.

I have read all of Ruth Wares books and the Death of Mrs. Westerham was my favourite. I love Gothic Novels and The Turn Of The Key is definitely a Gothic Novel.
If you just give the story sometime to find its feet, it will take offend you will not want to stop reading till the novel ends. It will leave you with mixed emotions but satisfaction that you have read a very entertaining novel.

I really enjoyed this book, but the ending left me not really knowing what happened. It's about a nanny who is in prison for the murder of a child she was nannying, and she goes on to tell her story to a lawyer. I thought it was a psychological thriller, but then I thought it was a supernatural book, but then it went back to being a mystery/suspense. Very good book!

Thank you to @simonschusterca via @netgalley for this ARC.

Um what in the hell did I just read?!?!?! So good. This is my third Ruth Ware and so far my favourite. Some things were predictable, but others... I was holding one of those little pug paws freaking the fuck out thinking I was totally and completely safe with a small dog to attack the fears this book gave me 🙄. In my opinion, this story tells more like a ghost story to begin, slowly adding the threads of a psychological thriller to then become horror like to then return to psychological thriller.

I recomend this book for sure! Seriously. Check it out. Release date: August 27th 2019

There have been some mixed reviews about Ruth Ware’s latest novel, but I think it was fantastic. I was hooked after the first chapter and couldn’t put it down. She truly is a master of her kind and I love knowing that any novel of hers will be fast-paced, creepy and thrilling. I hate long-winded reviews so I will make it short and sweet. You will not be disappointed with this one. Just read it.

When Rowan Caine takes a job nannying for a wealthy family in the remote Scottish Highlands she’s expecting to deal with cranky children and overbearing parents. What she isn’t anticipating is that she’ll soon end up in prison, accused of killing a child and upending the lives of her employers. But, since this is Ruth Ware we’re talking about, of course that’s exactly what happens.

Since the release of her first psychological thriller in 2015, British author Ruth Ware has been churning out page turners at an almost unprecedented rate. The Turn of the Key, set to be released in September 2019, is Ware’s fifth stand-alone thriller, following closely on the heels of last year’s The Death of Mrs. Westaway. Like all of Ware’s novels, The Turn of the Key is a heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat read about a young woman with more than a few secrets.

The Turn of the Key begins as Rowan awaits trial for her alleged role in the death of one of the children in her care. The novel takes the form of a letter written from Rowan to a solicitor she is hoping will take on her case. In the letter, Rowan tells her version of the events that transpired leading to a child’s death, and presents evidence she believes will acquit her. Ware’s upcoming fifth novel is part murder mystery and part ghost story. Upon arriving in Scotland, Rowan quickly realizes her new employers are not your average parents. A pair of successful architects, Sandra and Bill have outfitted their home, called Heatherbrae House, with smart technology, cameras, and voice-activated controls. Under constant surveillance, Rowan struggles to get a hold on her new life, and to control the four children she has been tasked with taking care of. To make matters worse, from the moment she arrives, Rowan feels as though someone – or something – is watching her, and a series of bizarre happenings leave her terrified and frantic.

Like everything Ware does, The Turn of the Key is overflowing with atmosphere and vivid descriptions of the setting. Heatherbrae House comes alive under Ware’s pen, and the strange events unfolding inside of its walls will keep readers awake at night, both too afraid to turn off the light and too electrified by the story to but down the book. Ware is a master of foreshadowing, dropping hints throughout the novel that come together to create a shocking and climactic ending. Rowan is an expertly composed character, serving as a compelling witness to the novel’s events, but also holding just enough secrets of her own to keep readers questioning her innocence.

If you grew up loving Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie you’ll absolutely love The Turn of the Key. It will be the perfect book to read in preparation for Halloween when it hits shelves this fall.

The following review is posted on Goodreads and also on my personal blog.


I have read all of Ruth Ware’s books to date and this one is my favourite so far. In the previous books I have been frustrated by the flawed main characters’ irrational behaviour and unreliable narration. In Turn of the Key, somewhat ironically, the main character is flawed, irrational and unreliable but it didn’t annoy me as much.

The novel is presented as a series of letters from an inmate to an attorney. The inmate is nanny Rowan Caine and she’s awaiting trial for the murder of a child in her care. In these letters, she tells the story of events leading up to the death and proclaiming her innocence.

Rowan has been working in a daycare/nursery school environment but she’s not entirely happy there and jumps at the chance to move to a remote part of Scotland as a live-in nanny for a wealthy couple with 4 daughters. The couple lives in an old creepy manor house which has been modernized with a creepy smart home assistant that controls everything.

Meeting Mrs Elincort, who will be her new employer, Rowan discovers that the none of the family’s nannies stay very long. She also learns that she will be alone with the children almost immediately as the parents are going out of town. In addition the daughter Maddie warns her that she should leave because it will annoy “the ghosts”.

Any one of these things would make me turn and run but Rowan is made of sterner stuff and takes the job. Sure enough, various creepy things happen–doors lock by themselves, there are weird noises in the attic and one of the children composes hate messages in Alpha-Getti.

I’ve never read Henry James’ Turn of the Screw which was the inspiration for this story, so I enjoyed this updated version thoroughly. It’s a fast, suspenseful read and will appeal to those who enjoy suspense thrillers. It would also be a good fit for fans of Iain Reid.

If you want a scary novel with tones of gothic and supernatural that makes you want to put the covers over your head, this is it. It definitely has the creepy factor and I guarantee you when reading it at night, you will hear every creak and noise around you.
Rowan works for “Little Nippers” a day care centre but one day, leafing through the paper, she happens upon an ad that sounds fantastic. Too good to be true maybe. A live in nanny job for three young girls in a large house in the middle of nowhere with great pay. A house from the past that has been redone with every modern convenience.
After a successful interview, Rowan finds herself at Heatherbrae House. A house of your nightmares with the tragic past glossed over with a complete renovation. Rowan barely has time to unpack before her employers Sandra and Bill leave for a lengthy business trip. She’s left alone with three young girls she doesn’t know, in a house where everything is operated by voice, phones and tablets way out in the middle of nowhere. But she can handle this, right? It’s just children, it’s what she has trained to do.
But this job is a little much for her. She’s isolated. She is on duty 24/7 with children that don’t even know her (and for that matter, what parents leave their children for days with a complete stranger?) and has daily struggles with their sometimes hostile behaviour. She’s in a house she has no clue how to operate and everyday things in the household are a mystery and frustrating. The property is huge and the house comes completely with things that go bump in the night. And what’s with that garden? And why have there been so many nannies before her?
Ruth Ware mesmerized me with my first read of her with “In a Dark Dark Wood” which I read in a small cottage, pretty much in a dark dark wood and like that one, this one is so visual; I could picture it all. I got the creeps as she did. And I couldn’t stop reading.
Turn of the Key” is Rowan’s story, written in the form of a letter from prison to a lawyer in explanation of events that occurred and hoping he will take her case. As a character, I couldn’t help but be endeared to her. She makes mistakes like we all do and she’s in an unfair situation out of her element.
As always when I read a novel like this, my mind is racing for possibilities and explanations and trying to figure it all out before I got there. I was so far off. I love a book that can surprise me and isn’t predictable and this one has twists that I never saw coming. And I have to admit, a little piece of my heart broke at the end. My favourite genre now is the so popular now psychological thrillers and this was a bit of that with a twist.
I can’t wait to see what Ruth Ware comes up with next.
Thank you to the author, publishers and net galley for allowing me the privilege to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’d like to thank NetGalley for this ARC!

Ever since I read The Woman in Cabin 10, I have wanted more from Ruth Ware. I was so excited to see The Turn of the Key! Picky as I may be, I am not a fan of the cover. I really liked Cabin 10’s cover, so I hope they do change it up a bit.

This follows Rowan Caine (the summary says Rebecca, but there’s no Rebecca in this book) who applies for a live-in nanny position at Heatherbrae House, a “smart house” in secluded Scotland. The house is half Victorian and half modern technology. There’s an app that controls the locks, lights, heat, and numerous other things. What could go wrong?

Rowan is to care for Ellie, the youngest; Maddie, the middle child; and Rhiannon, the oldest. The girls are a handful, but the pay is good. There are other reasons, but who can say no to £55k a year? Not Rowan. So she applies and eventually gets the job.

Things start going downhill quickly. The kids are more of a hassle than anticipated, the house is creepy, and Rowan is in over her head. Things go missing, things appear and reappear where they shouldn’t be, there’s things that go bump in the night.

It’s written in an interesting way, Rowan is writing to a lawyer, trying to explain her side of the story. She’s in prison for murder, so as you’re reading, you’re trying to figure out 1. Who dies? 2. Who is the killer, if not Rowan? 3. What are the other secrets she’s holding? I really enjoyed this, it wasn’t obtrusive, you forgot about the letter almost instantly as you get into the story. It definitely has its spooky moments, and I do like the Ellie/Maddie dynamic. I like Jack, the handyman, and it’s interesting watching Rowan unravel. It’s not as intense as other thrillers, but I still enjoyed it. The ending was amazing, and makes me wonder what happens next.

The plot twists aren’t all that “mind-blowing”, but they still added new layers to the story. I want more stories about spooky houses and murders. I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to her next book. I would recommend this book to friends; it is worth reading. It’s exciting to read as all the pieces fall together, and I enjoyed always trying (and failing) to stay ahead of the game.

Ruth Ware is a comfort read for me. I've read a handful of her books, some I've enjoyed more than others, but I will always read a new publication when I can get my hands on it because whether or not it surprises me, it’s always a great story and I love a great story.

I didn't realize it until I started reading, but this was exactly what I was looking for. A story about a young girl and an old, large house. There was an air of Gothic to this, making me forget that it's actually very modern and I’d start anytime there was a swear. But I liked the mix and I liked the overall atmosphere of the book, how Ware slowly unveiled the vastness of the house and the secrets of the family living among it.

I was fascinated by this modernized smart home, where pretty much everything ran on an app and voice or tablet controls. Something it seems like society is trying to strive for, anyway. But in this, it was very creepy and added to the suspenseful nature of the book. Has technology gone haywire? Is there something supernatural going on?

I’m not sure how I truly felt about Rowan. I thought a lot of her actions didn’t quite fit with her role and she sort of rubbed me the wrong way for the most part, but it also wasn’t entirely out of place given the circumstances of the house and the situation.

Ware did a great job of blurring the lines and not making it very clear about what was going in. There were some transparent moments, but the overall mystery of what was going on was well lead through the entire book and I could never quite land on one side or the other.

I definitely enjoyed this much better than The Death of Mrs. Westaway , which I did not review very strongly. Seems like Ware has found her groove again and I can’t wait for the next book.

** I received an advance copy of The Turn of the Key for honest review through Netgalley from Simon and Schuster Canada and thank them for the opportunity to read this and share my thoughts.

Finally! The Ruth Ware novel I have been waiting for!
“The Turn of the Key” is the newest novel by Ruth Ware, author of “The Woman in Cabin 10”, “The Lying Game” and “The Death of Mrs. Westaway”, to name a few. I found these books moderately entertaining, more middle-of-the-road, not-living-up-to-expectations novels, but “Key” is exactly what I’ve been missing.
When Rowan Caine sees an ad in a newspaper seeking a live-in nanny, she is intrigued. Even though it isn’t what she expected, Rowan is impressed by the salary and, maybe even more so, by the sprawling grounds of Heatherbrae estate, in the secluded Scottish highlands. Decked out with the most modern and convenient of technologies, the “Happy” app controls mostly everything in the mansion, from the lights to the temperature. Rowan is immediately left on her own when the children’s parents go out of town and right from the onset strange things begin to happen- footsteps overhead, cold draughts from behind locked and closed doors, and even the cryptic messages whispered to her by the children, warning her of the dangers of the house. Again and again, things go wrong in the house and soon, Rowan is doubting her own sanity. But when her secrets are discovered by the oldest child, Rowan begins to wonder if more than her sanity is at risk.
This novel checks all of my boxes; a haunted house full of possible ghosts and ethereal beings, the Scottish highlands setting, and a murder mystery. To be honest, I need nothing else. However, Ware delivers this and more with her well-developed characters and addicting storyline.
I enjoyed the character of Rowan. She was relatable and honest, and just charming enough to be likable. The struggles she faces with the young children are also realistic, compounded with her struggles with the “Happy” home and its many appliances.
This story is told in order, narrated by Rowan who tells the tale to her lawyer from her prison cell. Cryptically, we find out Rowan is in jail and a child is dead but we do not yet know the details. Then we are taken to the Scottish highlands and the haunted house- what more do you need?
Although the story was gripping, I found the character of Jack to be a confusing addition. He appears in Rowan’s life simply to be a suspect in all of the wrongdoings in the house (and of course to be a romantic interest) but then when things are resolved toward the end, Jack is simply written out (in a weak way). As with Ware’s other works, she has strong characters and plot points, but there is no follow-through and major plot points seem to end abruptly, and often disappointingly. The twist at the end though was surprisingly unexpected.
All that being said, “The Turn of the Key” is a creepy read, for those who aren’t looking for blood and gore, Ware weaves a mysterious whodunit, where a child ends up dead. Some of the twists are expected, some of them are not, but this novel is certainly an entertaining one that will hook you from page one.

What a fantastic book. I am a big fan of Ruth Ware’s and think that this is definitely one of her best. A classic Gothic novel, The Turn of the Key features multidimensional characters, a fantastic setting (spooky old homes in Britain are my literary weakness), and an intriguing exploration of what happens when you interweave the old and the new. The Turn of the Key had me hooked from the first page, and I highly recommend it to fans of Gothic literature, psychological thrillers, and/or fans of British mysteries.

I will start by thanking NetGalley for the eARC for my honest review. Its the best yet! Ruth Ware is becoming a true queen of the mystery genre. The carefully paced out drama mixed with her skill at finding the right time to twist her tales easily makes this her best novel yet! I cannot wait to start up-selling this to the customers of our bookstore.

I've always been a fan of Ruth Ware, though the last few didn't fully hit the mark for me. I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to read an ARC of The Turn of the Key.

This story is told from the perspective of the nanny, Rowan, by way of letters written from jail to a lawyer she hopes to represent her. As this story starts with Rowan behind bars, she has to go back to the very beginning to prove her innocence.

Really enjoyed the plot, the format, the writing style... and most of all the twists & turns that had holding my breath the whole way through!

I'll be recommending this one to all my book-loving friends.

Amazing! I couldn't put it down!! This story was very well-written and I thought I had it figured out so many times, but I was wrong each and every time. You need to read this book - you won't regret it!
5/5 stars