Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing an advanced copy for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own! 

I know many of us have been excitedly anticipating the new novel from Ruth Ware so I wanted to be sure to screen this one for you. I think it is important to know that I would categorize this one as more in the horror realm than as a typical Ware thriller novel. Fans of The Haunting of Hill House will love how this home has a dark past, filled with terrible secrets. 

The book opens with a prisoner writing to her lawyer, as she attempts to explain how she has been set up for her crimes. She takes her reader down the twisted path of applying for a too-good-to-be-believed nanny job and the horrors that unfold in this infamous Heatherbrae House. 

The house has had a lot of revamping under the new owners and is outfitted with all the latest smart home technology. Just as soon as the complicated house has been explained, the parents decide to head off for weeks, leaving their new nanny in charge of three little girls (and a bonus teenager), two wild dogs, and a couple of weird people working for the family. 

Of course, everything with the smart technology starts backfiring on Rowan and she becomes increasingly paranoid that something is going to happen to her or these children. Not only that, but she hears someone above her room walking back and forth and keeping her up throughout the night. As Rown becomes more and more unhinged, the naughty daughters get naughtier and encourage pushing their nanny right on over the edge. 

I was on the EDGE OF MY SEAT through this whole book. Ware beautifully develops misleading clues, a sense of distrust with everyone, and a plausible reason for Rowan's sudden career shift to nanny. 

I loved it all the way through...until the last few pages. 

Ware's cleverly crafted twists unfold, but the last sections feels jumbled and rushed. The big reveal is shared in letter format with an abrupt conclusion that begs to have an epilogue. It doesn't have an epilogue though so it left me feeling dissatisfied, knowing how incredibly satisfying the rest of the novel was.

I still loved it, but wish the ending was less rushed and as supported as much as the development of the story. 

This review will go live on MomAdvice.com on July 1st!

This book was creepy and amazing. It's about a nanny who is in prison after a child in her care dies. Rowan, the nanny has been accused of murder and is retelling her account of what happened to a lawyer she is trying to get to represent her during her trial. The way the story is written, from the perspective of Rowan writing letters to this attorney, was great. I loved how you felt as if you were on the outside looking into the story. The children were brats, but you find out why they act the way they do and you sympathize. There were a lot of twists in this story, and despite being surprised multiple times I feel like the big main twist was a let-down for me. It just felt like the story ended abruptly with little explanation and tied up everything way to quickly. I wish that all of the well-written build-up and tension led to a satisfying ending. This book is still perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and thrilling mysteries.

A nanny in jail accused of murdering one of the children in her care. This is her story.

When Rowan, a young nanny who lives in London, comes across for an ad seeking a nanny to live in a remote area of Scotland, it sounds too good to be true. The pay is high, the house is beautiful, and the family seems lovely. She is warned that previous nannies have quit due to the house being haunted. Rowan doesn’t believe in ghosts, so she pays no heed to the warning. She is hired for the position and packs up her life in London and moves to remote Scotland. But what is beautiful on the surface is hiding deep dark secrets.

One of my favorite things about The Turn of the Key is the house which is named Heatherbrae. Equipped with state of the art technology (the whole house runs off an app), it takes on a life of its own. Juxtaposed with Victorian architecture and Gothic feel, Heatherbrae adds another layer to The Turn of the Key.

The Turn of the Key is told only through Rowan’s eyes, as she shares what led to her arrest through a series of letters to a solicitor. Rowan is an unreliable narrator and the reader must contend with a lot of telling. While this type of narrative style usually irks me, I found that it works in this case as Rowan provides a detailed account of her time at Heatherbrae. One just needs to continue to question whether or not her version of events is accurate.

There are some twists as well some red herrings thrown in for good measure. I guessed many of the smaller twists, but I completely missed the most significant twist. And I was looking for it! Sadly, my detective skills failed. This twist added an additional layer and made me want to reread from the beginning. The ending felt a bit rushed and I could have done without the final letter. I would rather have been left guessing than be told a less than satisfying conclusion to Rowan’s story. Overall, this is an atmospheric, slower-paced psychological thriller with some intriguing twists and turns.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I had really high hopes for this book but it just wasn't as engaging as the synopsis made it out to be. I felt like the plot dragged for most of the book and had predictable "twists". If you're new to mysteries and twisty books, this might be the one for you. But for veterans of this type of genre, take caution.

Very well written story full of suspense. Ruth Ware had a strong sense of the story she was trying to tell with enough details without being cumbersome. I liked the approach taken by the author to tell Rowan's story to her advocate. Enough suspense to keep it interesting. The ending was unexpected!

A modern retelling of The Turn of The Screw, featuring a remodeled smart house isolated in the Scottish Highlands. I was a bit frustrated with the ending but all in all, a good read.

This book was amazing! A great story with well developed characters that pull you right in! This would make a wonderful movie or min series...I’m talking to you Reese Witherspoon!

Wow, wow wow! I never guessed the ending! I suspected early on, but ruled it out! This is Ruth Ware at the very height of suspense. A dream nanny position that goes awry in so many ways, with a romance thrown in for good measure. Who do you trust? I highly recommend this book/author!

Wow. This is the best thriller since Finn’s - Woman In The Window. From the first page, you will be totally hooked. The story progresses at the perfect pace. Ware is a true master story teller.

The story centers around a female au pair that decides to hit the Scottish highlands for a highly paid full time nanny position. The setting is described as a beautiful, but disconcerting modern/Victorian combo house seemingly with a split personality. Rowan, the main character, is to care for three girls of varying ages while the parents travel for work. It tension in the house is evident from the front door. Mysteries abound as Rowan is plunged into increasingly stressful and painful situations.

This is a great read. Recommend it highly. No one does it like Ware.

Wow! This was a book I could not put down. Really kept my interest and had no idea how it was going to turn out. Interesting in how it was written in letters to an attorney. Ruth Ware has done it again - great read! If you like mysteries this is a book for you.

Fans of Ruth Ware will not be disappointed in The Turn of the Key. Suspense, mystery, bumps in the night. Be prepared to be scared while reading this book through the night; you won’t be able to put it down until you’re finished.

I’d been wanting to read Ruth Ware when this book became available from Netgalley (thanks for the ARC) I couldn’t miss the opportunity!
This was a good, interesting read overall, but the primary device for unspooling the story was a letter that the protagonist is sharing with us — she is writing to a famous lawyer hoping he will take her case, because she has been accused, while serving as a live-in nanny for a ridiculously wealthy couple in their eccentric and frightening (haunted?) high-tech house, of murdering one of the children in her care. Unfortunately, this device became tiresome and a bit of a distraction. The characters were interesting, even if unlikeable, and the misdirection, while expected, was a surprise, creative and believable.
I’m glad I read this book, I recommend it, and I look forward to reading another by Ruth Ware, but now that my review is all said and done... I’d tweak my rating to 3.5 star not 4.

This book belongs in a special category here on Paul's Picks... it is a rare one-day read. I was obsessed with this one. A scorcher of a slow burn that took me back to its pages in 5 sittings. I just had to finish.

Ware has a way of depositing her characters alone in an unfamiliar place. An expensive yacht in The Woman in Cabin 10, a family's manor house in The Death of Mrs. Westaway, and in this novel, an ultra-modernized country estate in the Scottish Highlands. Rowan Caine travels to Heatherbrae House to interview for a nanny position. She finds a couple, Sandra and Bill Elincourt, who is trying to do it all: raise a modern family and run a successful architecture firm. They need help... while they are trying to work and while they are away at their projects and conventions. Rowan thinks her resume and a good interview will get her the position, along with the staggeringly high salary. But certain information is left out of the process... namely, the Elincourts will be leaving in two days, the newly-remodeled smart home has a history of eerie 'coincidences,' and one of the middle children is especially difficult.

Rowan rolls up her sleeves and gets to work trying to acclimatize herself to the daily routine (as described in the 150-page binder Sandy leaves her). She battles with the SmartHome's tablet and its many intrusive cameras, and gets to know the attractive driver/ handyman/ gardener, Jack. She also has a creepy run-in with Bill.. But, she suffers through the creaks of the house at night and the girls taking her into the historic poison garden on the grounds. Things slowly get more serious as Rowan feels her control over the situation start to slip...

The story is told as a letter of desperation asking for a lawyer's help as Rowan awaits trial after the death of one of the children. She is stuck in a women's prison in Scotland several months after the crime that she claims she is innocent of. It's a clever way of setting up the plot, a confession of sorts that really allows Rowan to tell her version of the story. Themes of family secrets and all-consuming surveillance make for a creepy tension-filled plot. Ware is one of the best at waiting at the right moment to drop a great twist. I found myself reading several passages over and over to make sure that got the big reveals while thinking, "Did that just happen!?!?!"

The Turn of the Key is another winner for Ware. If you liked her first books, then this will be perfect for you. And if you are new to her writing, pick this up for a superb weekend read.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery Press, and Ruth Ware for an advanced copy for review.

Wow oh Wow! Another piece of perfection from Ms. Ware. A huge thank you to Ms. Ware & NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Whenever I am preparing to devour a Ware novel I know I'm in for a fantastic wild ride and this latest gem does not disappoint at all what so ever. I'm not sure what more a thriller reader could need it's a jammed pack murder mystery with twists and turns some you may be able to see coming but other I promise you won't. Murder Mystery in the Scottish Highland how can one go wrong

I went into Turn of the Key expecting a scary thriller that I couldn’t put down, I was wrong. The description of the book does not match the actual story. The description talks of a nanny who applies for a job because she wants to live in a smart house and then bad things happen. The smart house is scary and there’s ghosts.

To start Rowan, the nanny, is frustratingly boring. You know from the start that she’s not being honest, that she doesn’t want to take care of kids. The entire book, outside of the last few pages, is a letter she’s writing her lawyer explaining,in excruciating detail, how she didn’t kill a child. It is a very slow burn, which some people may like but I lost interest early on. This was a struggle for me.

Here is what we learn during the slow burn, Rowan is lying, one of the kids probably needs to see a therapist and hates nannies, the parents of the kids are never around, the kids daily schedule, that something/someone is in the hidden room above Rowan’s room, a love interest (completely unnecessary), the house which the current family has redone and added smart home features to has a terrible history, there is a poison garden (interesting) on the land.

We never get to know the kids, the parents, the love interest, in fact we barely get to know Rowan until the last 15% of the book when finally things start happening. The sad part is once the story ended I realized how much of the story didn’t play a role in the outcome. The ending is abrupt and dissatisfying, especially after pages and pages of details that weren’t necessary.

***SPOILER ALERT***



The “scary” smart home and ghosts were all in her head and although I believe our mind can scare us, I was hoping for a little more than 2 letters at the very end to explain everything that happened.

Thank you Net Galley and Gallery/Scout Books for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was excited to get this book as an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review of the book.

The story was an interesting concept to me and one that I thought I would enjoy, having read several other books by this author.
However it felt like the build up to the big "reveal" or twist was ultimately a let down.

One of the most twisted books I've read in a long time. There is no guessing-ahead here. The story unfolds evenly and draws you in more and more with every turn of the page. Totally original and well worth your time!

Another Ruth Ware book I have had the pleasure of reading! This book read at a good steady pace revealing bits of goodies along the way until all is revealed at the end...well almost ;) Another of Ruth Ware's books I would highly recommend!

The Turn of the Key is the perfect summer/fall thriller. There were so many twists and turns and it truly made my heart pound at some points. It is written in the form of a letter from a nanny to her attorney, which I found to be pretty unique. The writing is excellent - which I have come to expect from Ruth Ware.

If you are looking for a dark thriller that is unpredictable, definitely add this to your TBR list!

#The Turn of the Key #NetGalley

Another Ruth Ware's signature suspenseful style writings! Once you start the book, you have to keep reading to find out all of the who-why-where-what happened. So, there has been a murder, so the nanny was being blamed, this book pulled me in right away. I needed more details!
Here's a "lucky" Nannie getting the job she wanted in a beautiful home, with a wonderful family. Maybe she did exaggerate a little on her references, but, hey, things are going to work out fine now, right? Then why is she trying to get help from an attorney she doesn't even know?
Details I needed, details I got. Maybe even more than necessary! This was a good book, written in a good style, with a good ending. What more could a reader want?