The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware caught me completely by surprise. I did not expect it to be the intense, riveting, and heart wrenching tale that it was. Though a quick read, it is also a deep read. It had me on the edge of my seat for the entire time and kept me thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. Every character in the book is flawed and a victim, one way or the other; each and every one of them with dark secrets of their own. This was much more of an experience than just a book and I highly recommend it, giving it a rare five star rating. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

Thank you so much to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Holy cow, best Ruth Ware novel yet! This book was everything I’ve ever wanted in a great thriller and more! It had paranormal aspects, suspense, and honestly gave me the creeps at times. I have enjoyed all of Ruth Ware’s novels but this was my favorite one!

This story follows Rowan who applies to be a nanny for 4 children at Heatherbrae House, a modern “smart house” tucked away in the Scottish Highlands. Thinking the live-in job is too good to be true, Rowan is shocked when she gets the job. After finding out all of the other nannies have quit due to “paranormal” things, Rowan starts questioning whether the house is haunted. But then a child dies and Rowan finds herself in prison on a murder charge and all of her own secrets start to come out.

This whole story is told from Rowan’s letters to her lawyer while she sits in prison awaiting trial for a murder charge and details everything that happens before she gets hired up to her getting arrested. At first, I thought I would be turned off by that style of writing but I immediately was gripped into the story and couldn’t get enough. All of the suspense and creepiness in this book was amazing and unlike anything I’ve read before. Ruth Ware was so vivid in all of the details that you actually felt like you were there with Rowan, seeing and hearing everything she was. If I can give any advice, don’t read this book alone, especially at night.

The ending of this story completely blew me away, everything that I thought I knew was completely wrong.
She set the book up so well that I couldn’t even begin to guess what was going to happen next and I love that. I don’t like to be able to figure out everything about a book, I want a big surprise at the ending.

This is definitely now my favorite read of the year and something I can reread again and again.

Wow. Let me just start out by saying . . . I love Ruth Ware. She's a modern-day Agatha Christie and her books are fast-paced thrillers that keep you guessing the whole way. I've read all but one of her books, and this is definitely my favorite. The main character, Rowan, takes a job as a nanny at a private country house that is a strange mixture of quaint cottage and modern smart house. There's something infinitely creepy about a "smart house" with cameras in every room, voices carrying through the house from unseen speakers, and the constant big-brother style monitoring. The book is formatted as a series of prison letters written by Rowan to an attorney, but it reads like a normal novel, so this style doesn't distract from the story. If anything, it adds to the suspense because we know from the first pages that Rowan is in prison for killing on of the children she was hired to care for. But which one? And why? Every character was a suspect for me at one point, including Rowan herself. I adore books that keep me guessing until the last page. Absolutely loved this modern-day twist on a traditional "ghost" story. Highly-recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The author has an very engaging style of writing that makes the reader want to turn (or swipe) the page. The atmosphere in this novel was an unique twist of an restored Victorian home contrasted with the use of "smart" technology throughout the home. While this angle is touted in the book's description, it actually plays very little role in the story and seems to be an abandoned concept that makes the reader wonder why this element was even part of the novel. While I enjoyed reading this novel, there were many loose ends that dragged on and were abruptly resolved at the very end which felt highly anticlimactic and rushed. Bottom line, this is worth a read for those who enjoy Ms. Ware's novels but it is not as cohesive and satisfying as her previous works in my opinion.

Ruth Ware is an amazing mystery/thriller writer! She will not disappoint you for those that enjoy that genre! I was so excited to be able to review this and loved it as always!

When Rowan answers an add for a residential nanny position, there are hints that things are not going to go well and the suspense builds throughout the book. This creepy, gothic story has twists and turns that I did not see coming, right up to the very last page. I think Ruth Ware gets better with every book.

Heart pounding, nail biting, with a jaw dropping conclusion, The Turn of the Key reminds me why I enjoy curling up with a good book! Highly recommend Ruth Ware's latest to mystery lovers!

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware is another one of her exciting and intense thrillers. Rowan Caine is in jail, having been accused of murdering a child; she is desperate to prove her innocence. The story starts with her writing a letter to a solicitor to plead for his help, and detailing everything that happened from beginning to end, and that she did not kill the child.

We learn early that Rowan was offered a job to go to Heatherbrae House in Scotland and be a nanny for a family’s three children; the money is very good, and Rowan wanted to leave her existing job. On her arrival she meets the lady of the house, who is welcoming and Rowan s thrilled by the home that has modern technology and conveniences. She will quickly learn that their were 4 nannies previously in less than a year that left, and the children tell her the ‘ghosts’ do not want her there. Is the house haunted?

In a matter of days, the husband and wife go on a business trip leaving Rowan with the two girls (the 3rd girl is away at school until later in the book); Jean, the housekeeper and Jack, the handyman. Jack did turn out to be a friend to Rowan, helping her out when things go wrong, and they do go very wrong. Each night she can hear creaking footsteps, and missing items; even a doll’s head, a locked closet or being taken by the girls to a poison garden. Rowan at first ignores things, but with each passing day, things do get worse and she is desperately trying to fight off her panic. Though this was a thriller, I felt it had too much of the ‘creepy factor’, causing me not to enjoy it as much.

What follows is a dark, scary and intriguing thriller that has us on the edge of our seats, with many twists and surprises as we race to the climax. I do not want to give spoilers, as it will definitely ruin things for those reading this book. I thought The Turn of the Key was a well written story by Ruth Ware. I did think the ending was a little rushed, and a shocker or two that I never expected. I did feel that it left a little bit open at the end. But that is my opinion. If you like a thriller with a bit of creepiness, then I suggest you read The Turn of the Key.

Ive always enjoyed Ruth Ware's books - having read them all. . I would say this,, out of all them, kept me on the edge of my seat right up until the very last page. It was a fun read for sure. I will say that I had a hard time with the ending - while it was wrapped up, it felt a little implausible, or at the very least unrealistic. I would have also loved if they involved the mother more in the story - she seemed to get lost. But still my favorite Ruth Ware book so far

Ruth Ware is one of those rare authors whose entire collection of works I’ve read. I started out in 2016 with The Woman in Cabin 10 (my favorite to date), and I’ve been hooked ever since. Ware’s newest release, The Turn of the Key, is a close second to TWiC10, and once I started reading I just couldn’t stop.

This mystery/thriller is written in letters from protagonist Rowan Caine to lawyer Mr. Wrexham, whom Rowan has never met but is hoping to convince to take her case. We learn quickly that Rowan is in prison and she herself considers her case hopeless, but is nevertheless determined to tell Wrexham the whole story on the off chance he might believe it.

Rowan then unfolds the story of how she came to nanny for the Elincourts — a wealthy Scottish family with four daughters, one of whom is now dead, and for whose murder Rowan has been convicted. This immediate reveal of the novel’s outcome made for interesting reading, and as Rowan describes her relationships with each of the four girls, I couldn’t help but speculate as to which one might end up dead and why.

The Elincourts sprawling home served as its own character, and the house staff added to the short list of potential suspects. In typical Ware fashion, the author excels at weaving in both the setting and an unexpected element — the supernatural, in this case — in order to keep readers even more captivated. There is not only a murder, but also ghosts, poison, adultery, hidden identities, and secrets revealed. How can one possibly put this down?

The Turn of the Key is a fun, quick, spellbinding read that I’d recommend to any thriller reader. Ruth Ware has yet to disappoint.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The title, setting, and narrative format tip a wink to Henry James’s ghost story (or is it?) The Turn of the Screw as this gripping contemporary mystery thriller has Rowan heading up to be a nanny to four children in an isolated house in Scotland. We know right from the start that one of the children dies, that Rowan has been convicted of murdering her, and that there are some things that Rowan isn’t telling us. Like Heatherbrae, the house and something of a character in its own right, this story is a mix of Victorian gothic and futuristic tech, but whereas it doesn’t work architecturally the juxtaposition works brilliantly in the novel.

I’ve read all of Ms Ware’s previous novels and have been gripped to a greater or lesser extent by all of them. The Woman in Cabin 10 and In the Dark Dark Woods worked best for me, with both intriguing set ups and satisfying resolutions. However, The Turn of the Key outstrips both of those as the tension is ratcheted way way up and a supernatural element adds another turn of that screw. With this type of book, I find that the best part is usually the set up of the mystery and the resolution can often be a bit of a let down. The author has found an excellent solution to that which I won’t spoil.

If you like this sort of psychological-unreliable-woman-narrator-in-danger thriller - and I do - then this is very much for you.

Thanks to Gallery/Scout Press and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Ruth Ware comes through again with an unsettling tale. What really happened at the remote high tech house in the wilds of Scotland to cause a child’s death? The story unfolds in the form of letters from the accused nanny to a solicitor. Unreliable narrator ?? What is true and what isn’t? This book was the opposite of a “page turner” for me. It made me so anxious that I had to step away at times. But I always returned to find out what happened next. As always Ruth Ware does an excellent job of character development.

When Rowan Cain comes across a job posting for a live-in nanny at an incredible salary, she thinks it must be too good to be true but applies anyway. She gets the job and at first, it seems like a perfect situation in a beautiful house in the Scottish Highlands. The parents are both architects, and their house is a “smart” house designed to test out various kinds of technologies, including touchpad controls, surveillance cameras in most of the rooms, and a super-stove that cooks meals by itself. But the children that Rowan met at her interview turn out to be far different from who they actually are, and the house’s remote location and sinister history unnerve Rowan as they have the four previous nannies (there is even a poison garden on the grounds). However, Rowan is hiding her own secrets, and when disaster strikes, finds herself accused of murder.

Gothic and creepy. Ruth Ware takes the uneasy feeling that we all get about technology controlling our lives, and ratchets up the tension. The title and the story are both a play on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw," set in a “smart” house instead of a haunted house. This would be a great spooky read for the Halloween season.

I was really hoping The Turn of the Key would turn out differently than it did - I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone so I’ll keep it vague- but I enjoyed the book up until the end! The end kind of ruined it for me... I hate when that happens. I don’t regret my time spent reading it though - the characters were interesting and the pacing was spot on! Thank you @netgalley for the advanced copy - Out 9/5/19! .

Classic Ruth Ware. Hard to review without giving away anything.
Wonderful twists and turns that kept me guessing.
The best part is the, smack me in the head, end.
It's a MUST on your to read list.

This author understands atmosphere and slow burn storytelling. That being said this isn’t a particular favorite for me. The twist was fairly obvious which isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker for me but did lessen the novel’s overall appeal. I appreciated the format of letter writing and the subtle way the main character was constructed, liking her just enough but never really all the way. It’s kept an edge of paranoia throughout the book.

Turn of the Key is an unnerving story told by a murder suspect as she recounts the background and incident to the death of a child while she was the nanny. Rowan Caine is the nanny who is accused of killing a young girl she was caring for and she is writing the story in the form of a letter to a solicitor, Mr Wrexham, requesting his services to defend her. Within the story, there are periodic passages where she speaks directly to Mr Wrexham outlining how her story may be considered and continuously stating her innocence, no matter how the evidence looks. As a technique, it was used to remind the reader that this is only one account and perhaps a very unbalanced and disconcerting version, but I felt it more distracting.

Rowan applies for the nanny position with Sandra and Bill Elincourt, and their 4 daughters ranging from 18 months to 14 years old. The family live in a remote part of Scotland in a house that jolts between new and old. The Victorian architecture of the building clashes abruptly with the high-tech sensor and communication technology that controls features throughout the house. Door access, lighting, heating, curtains, music and room-to-room communications all offer an opportunity to mix faulty operation, malicious intent and/or paranormal interference. Before Rowan has even taken up the position, young Maddie warns her not to come as the “Ghosts wouldn’t like it.”

There is a theme of uncertainty littered throughout the story, from the reliability of the accused’s narration to the contrary characters and the house itself. Everything that happens is projected through the house and so many nannies have previously left feeling threatened as the house could be harbouring something sinister. With so many flawed characters it often adds to more realistic personalities and relationships, but in this case, I found it difficult to empathise and connect with any character as their personalities were all disagreeable and distant.

Sandra and Bill are partners in their own architectural business and travel all the time. In fact, they first leave Rowan alone only 2 days after she starts. Rowan has at best embellished her CV and feels the struggle to maintain the professional image she created and wrestles with a seething anger that threatens to spill over into how she deals with the children.

“I hate you too! I wanted to scream after their retreating backs, as they padded quietly away into the media room to fire up Netflix. I hate you too, you vile, creepy little shits!”

The plot sets up various possible routes and each offers equal plausibility and opportunity. There is a final twist that I didn’t get and that deserves a lot of credit as it wasn’t even on my radar.

The split personality Victorian Smart house, mixed with a dark history, provides a unique canvas to play out a family constantly in flux as nannies are forced to leave until one nanny puts up a battle and a child dies. I felt the pace of the book was slow but the main disappointment was that the characters didn’t cry out to be championed. I would rate 3.5 stars but still recommend the book and I’d like to thank Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

Ruth Ware's newest novel, The Turn Of The Key, blends the creepily invasive smarthome of The Girl Before with the highland isolation of The Hunting Party.  Rowan, a nursery worker in London, finds a too-good-to-be-true job posting as a live-in nanny in a beautiful home in the highlands... but she also needs to be too-good-to-be-true to get it.

Rowan finds endless troubles at the house. The kids are either little jerks testing the limits of a new babysitter (who may not be quite as experienced as she claims), or bringing freakish messages from beyond the grave.  The smarthome allows the distant parents to watch her at any time, and sometimes the app that controls everything from locks to lights has a mind of it's own. There's also a history of little girls dying or disappearing on this property... 

I’ve really enjoyed the twists and reversals in Ruth Ware's other books,  like The Death of Mrs. Westaway and The Lying Game. Yes, I know The Woman In Cabin 10 is the one everyone else likes, but it just didn’t pull me in the way her other novels did. Rich people using endless wealth, power and connections to be Extremely Evil isn’t nearly as compelling as regular people pushed to do awful things to keep their secrets hidden.  In The Turn Of The Key, I was pulled in by Rowan wanting the job and then wanting to stay in the luxurious house, and even when I worked out her first secret, I was stunned by the following ones. 

I really enjoyed this page-turner, but I didn't love the flash-forward opening. There's a payoff in the end, sure, but I thought the letter to a solicitor from jail took the suspense down a bit. (Also, I tend to find epistolary novels forced and artificial.) 

This is another not-gory pageturner, and a great successor to The Lying Game and The Death of Mrs. Westaway.

A familiar set up with a really nice follow through. This story keeps you on edge most of the way with a couple of good twists and turns to keep you engaged. I really liked how Ware handled the ending.

I don’t even know where I’m going to begin with this book. Having only read one other books of Ware’s, I’m still pretty new to her writing, but I knew that I had to get my hands on this book as well. Right off that bat, I was going through the pages of this book like a woman possessed. I don’t know if it was the storyline or the fact that I think Ware has a really great way with her words, but I could honestly not put this book down.

The storytelling is interesting to say the least. We have a main character writing this entire story in the form of a letter. So already from the beginning, we are just getting her perspective and let me tell you, that there's something almost unreliable about it? Like I don’t want to believe her at all and I loved every minute of it. Like I said, I flew through this book. I didn’t realize how fast I was actually reading until I was almost at the end.

The plot twist! It's not the biggest plot twist in the world. I don’t know how to describe it, because it’s not something that’s really mind-blowing, but I didn’t see it coming at all. Our main character became had all her secrets unraveling in the span of minutes and it was glorious to watch. I think the thing that I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that this could honestly happen. It wasn't something absolutely crazy, it was just so normal and I really did enjoy it.