Ruth Ware’s latest novel, Turn of the Key, is a compelling read, taking us on a ride as a London woman becomes a nanny up in the Scottish highlands. She’s in what may be a haunted mansion, but with super high tech flair. Previous nannies have all quit, and the children are also a handful, but the salary is enticing. Ware keeps the tension up all the way through, and the several twists and reveals near the end come out of the blue, but with a believable rationale. This is a terrific book for those who don’t mind tension and can sleep easily after a little horror.

“Dear Mr. Wrexham, I know you don’t know me but please, please, please you have to help me”

The book starts with that first quote above. Immediately, I was grabbed. “What happened? What is going on?” From there I was hooked. This is the type of book that will tell you the ending (of sorts) and you work your way backwards.

I think Ruth Ware did a fantastic job on regards to the level of detail in the book. I could see the house, Especially in Terms of the Smart House feature and how that could make you feel watched. I could empathize with Rowan and how she felt.

Rowan is the main character in the book and she sees an advert in the local paper for a nannying position in Scotland that seems to good to be true. She decides to take the leap and apply. What follows is the day to day duties of caring for the 3 youngest children and eventually the difficult teenager, Rhiannon.

Along with the typically suspense Ruth is known for, she also mixes in some supernatural that has you feeling the same way as Rowan, “am I going crazy.”

I would recommend this book for Ruth Ware lovers. I really enjoyed this book and could not stop reading it!

I was lucky enough to receive and early copy of the book and I loved it. Thank you Scout Press.

The Turn of the Key kept me on the edge of my seat. It had all the elements of a great thriller. I was disappointed with the ending - it felt as if there was so much left unsaid and ended too abruptly. Even with that said, I highly recommend the book.

I have read all of Ruth Ware's books and have enjoyed all of them - this one is no exception. I devoured this book in just a couple sittings. Ware has a way of keeping me guessing (and I'm almost always wrong) until the end of the book when she pulls a fast one and twists in a different direction. This ending made me say "ah ha!" and everything throughout the book just made sense. Another wonderful novel by Ruth Ware - I'm already recommending to co-workers and patrons at my library!

Excellent, creepy, gothic thriller. As a huge fan of Ms. Wares books, I was very happy to get a copy of Turn of the Key, and it did not disappoint. I believe this is her best book yet. The book begins with a nanny in prison awaiting trial for the murder of a child who was in her care. What then ensues is a super scary mystery that will literally keep you guessing until the final few pages. As the nanny pours out her story in letters to an attorney who she hopes can help her, she tells of the creepy house she was hired to be an into after all the previous nannies left quickly after their employment began. Fantastic, suspenseful book, read in one day. Highly recommended.

Thank you netgalley for an early preview of this book for an honest review.
Wow, Ruth Ware has done it again. Fantastic plot twists and an ending that wasn’t predictable. It is one of her best books. Great psychological thriller.

Maybe Ware’s best book yet. This was a page-turner, full of twists, that kept me up late reading it. I absolutely loved the creepy vibe, and it evoked The Turn of the Screw but brought it into the 21st century. Great characters too. A must-read for fans of mysteries, ghost stories, and epistolary novels.

Loved it! Completely loved it! The Turn of the Key is a thoroughly absorbing tale full of just the right combination of creepiness, mystery and suspense in this new modern gothic mystery.

The story is told through letters Rowan has written to a new lawyer she hopes to win over to her side by explaining the child's death. She believes that if she can just fully explain everything then perhaps he can help her out of a potential murder conviction. What starts it all is her application to become a nanny in a remote part of Scotland. The family is seemingly perfect with an incredible smart home and Rowan is more than happy to accept the position. Even though the previous nannies haven't stayed long at all, she brushes off the warning signs and is determined to make this work and love the children. Soon, little things begin to happen that she can't explain as the mystery starts to unfold.

The unfortunate thing about a review on a mystery/suspense story is you can't really say too much without potentially spoiling something. What I will say is that I was engrossed in the story so much that I read the majority of it in one day. I also can say that going into the last pages, I still didn't have any of my theories completely nailed down. And if you're lucky like me, you'll get to read it during a long Saturday morning thunderstorm with dark skies that just adds to the ambience of it all.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery, Pocket Books for this advanced copy and the opportunity to provide my honest review.

This is my first exposure to the writings of Ruth Ware ... I had no idea what a treat I was in store for .... this gem was gobbled up quickly. The story unfolds in a very unusual manner ... our main protagonist Rowan Caine is sending letters to attorney , Mr. Wrexham in the hope of enticing him to represent her. She is imprisoned for a murder she did not commit.
She stumbles upon an advertisement for a nanny position in Scotland ... and immediately desires to seek out an interview. She travels to Heatherbrae House for the interview and is immediately enthralled with the gorgeous remodeled Victorian mansion located in the remote Scottish moors. The orderly and regimented mother, Sandra Elincourt presents her family of four girls: 8 year-old Maddie, Ellie is five, baby Petra is just eighteen months old and the fourth girl is Rhiannon .... fourteen years old going on twenty-four and away at boarding school. Maddie whispers in her ear as she's leaving" " It's not safe ....They wouldn't like it" When pressed on the meaning she intimates that the "ghosts" wouldn't like it. And, then she learns that the last four nannies have abruptly left under mysterious circumstances
Her first day is momentous .. Bill the husband makes a pass ... and she learns that they're leaving immediately on a week long business trip .. and she's immediately in charge of the girls, the house, and the two dogs.. On her first night she is awakened by the sounds of footsteps pacing above her ceiling ... apparently coming from a walled off attic. Maybe this place really is haunted!
Ruth Ware spins an amazing pervasive undertow of unrelenting menace permeating a narrative that is punctuated with feelings of trepidation and impending doom. Thanks to NetGalley and Scout Press / Simon & Schuster for providing an Uncorrected Proof of this gem in exchange for an honest review.. Excuse me ... I have to back and download her earlier books ... immediately!

In typical Ruth Ware fashion, this book kept me guessing all the way to the end. She will lead you through twists and turns to keep you spellbound. I couldn’t have predicted this surprise ending. Thanks Ms. Ware for challenging and entertaining stories!

Ruth Ware is amazing. I absolutely love her writing. This book was not a disappointment. Twist and turns. Things I definitely did not see coming. Equal parts creepy and twisted. Fast paced and a page Turner.

I received a free ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read The Woman in Cabin 10, and it was ok. I wasn't blown away. It didn't make Ruth Ware an auto read for me. However this book was so much better. Maybe Ruth Ware has finally found her grove. The characters were well described. I don't try to think too far ahead to try and figure things out as I like the surprises as they come, and they came for sure. The creepiness factor was totally there and I had to make myself remember it was fiction lol. I am actually pretty excited to read more by this author now. I enjoy authors who do not make the characters perfect or two flawed but have legit human reaction and feelings and she did that very well in this book.

A young woman, Rowan, answered an ad for a nanny at isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands that offered a high salary. Although the CV listed experience at a day care center, she did not want them to check with those employers as she was still working there. The couple, Sandy and Bill Elincourt, were both architects. Their house was part Victorian and a newer part with modern architecture and high tech effects.

Rowan took the train to Scotland and interviewed with Sandy. She was introduced to two school aged girls and their baby sister. Sandy told her that an older 14 year daughter was away at boarding school but would return in the early summer. The 3 younger children were charming and well behaved and the interview went well. So it was no surprise that Rowan was offered the position.

However Sandy requested that Rowan start very soon after and informed Rowan that she and Bill would be off to a conference the day after Rowan arrived. So Rowan was left with a large book with all the procedures to operate the confusing electrical system that controlled almost every function in the house. Once the parents left, Maddie, the older of the two primary school aged girls, turned out to be a terror and also intimidated her younger sister, Elie, to misbehave as well. The two other employees in the house were not very helpful. Then tragedy struck.

The story is told as a letter Rowan wrote to a prominent attorney while in jail for murdering one of the children. Rowan hoped that if she pled her case to the attorney and told him the truth about the many falsehoods she had told the Elincourts as well as the police, he would defend her and have her freed.

Ruth Ware is known for her gripping mysteries and this one will engage the reader from the first page. Ware paints a vivid picture of the beautiful but remote house and the area. Many mysteries, including how the child was killed, are not revealed until the very end of the book.

*Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I have read every Ruth Ware book and love when she releases a new novel! I find I can't put her book down! Some of Ruth's titles I love and some I feel just so-so about. "The Turn of the Key" was one that I absolutely loved! It is creepy, full of twists and turns, and dark! I found myself reading this before bed and getting chills! the main character is so relatable and the twists are brilliant!

READ IT.

4.5 stars

Out of the four Ruth Ware novels I have read (still need to get to The Lying Game), this one is my favorite. While I liked her other books, either my interest would wane a bit and/or I had an idea or two about the ending. With this book, my eyes were practically glued to the pages because I really had no clue where the author was going to go with the story. This was a fun read for me which is all I really wanted when I picked up the book.

A nanny is in prison awaiting trial for murder. She knows she has made mistakes but she did not kill that child. She is concerned her current lawyer doesn't believe her so she begins writing letters to another attorney, Mr. Wrexham, with the hope he will see she is innocent of the crime. She explains how she got the job as nanny to the family living in Heatherbrae House, and how everything went so horribly wrong. If she tells the truth, the whole truth, will Mr. Wrexham believe her? Will anyone?

From the get go you know someone has been murdered and over the course of the story it is slowly revealed everything that led up to it. The house is basically a character itself and really contributes quite nicely to this creepy, horror style vibe. I loved how the technology features of the home actually made me tense and allowed me to really feel like I was in the main character's shoes.

This was one of those rare times I didn't even have a decent theory floating around in my head about what was going on and that just made reading all the more fun. It's like I could just sit back and enjoy the ride. Now when it comes to the big reveal or whatever you might call it, I would not say I found it extremely disappointing, more like it wasn't 100% satisfying. I feel like there was so much build up to the moment and I needed more as in some ways it felt anti-climatic. Overall though this was a great read for me and I highly recommend checking this one out especially if you have enjoyed other books by the author.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

Ruth Ware has done it again. The Turn of the Key is a suspenseful novel that I could not put down until the last page featuring Rowan Caine who speaks from her prison cell awaiting trial for murder of a child under her care as their nanny. She says she is not guilty of murder, but as the plot is revealed , what isn't she guilty of? An enticing story that you don't want to end. Read it!

I have read all of Ruth Ware's books, and they all managed to hold my attention, but when it came time to rate them I couldn't bring myself to give them more than 3 stars. They were entertaining, some more than others, but nothing new or special to me. However, I just had to give The Turn of the Key 4 stars because I really, really enjoyed it. I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than The Death of Mrs. Westaway and The Lying Game.

The Turn of the Key starts off with a young woman writing to a lawyer from her prison cell, trying to explain to him that she isn't guilty of the murder she was charged with, but that she needs to tell her whole story in order to make him understand. She starts by explaining how she applied to a live-in nanny position in remote Scotland on a whim, and ended up getting the job. The house she was staying at was a "smart" house, equipped with cameras in every room that could be accessed from a tablet or phone and panels that controlled everything from the lights to the curtains. She is thrown right in, given no time to adjust before the parents leave on a business trip and she is left alone with 3 children who are a handful and a handyman that lives on the grounds. Strange things start happening around the house that she can't explain, which continue to make her uneasy, especially as she starts learning the history of the house. It all culminates in the death of a child, which she adamantly denies being a part of.

Obviously, this book is meant to be a modern day Turn of the Screw, which was a book I enjoyed. I am a fan of books/movies that are creepy with supernatural elements, and you're unsure if something supernatural is going on, the person/narrator is unreliable, or something else sinister is going on. The book started out a little slow, but once it started picking up I couldn't put it down. I definitely jumped once or twice while I was reading a spooky part and heard a loud noise. I also liked how the author made the handyman a good looking, likable, possible love interest as opposed to some creepy old guy that keeps popping up everywhere. I thought it added a nice layer to the story. And I am also a big fan of the ending. I don't know if it's because I wasn't trying that hard, but the ending was not that predictable to me and I like how the author got the information across to readers. So overall, if you have enjoyed Ruth Ware's other books or are a big fan of The Turn of the Screw or books similar to it, than I recommend reading this book.

Ruth Ware has done it again! I did not want to put this one down. It was so riveting up until the very last page and I loved this page turning thriller! Thank you net galley so much for this copy from one of my favorite authors!

This is the second book I have read by Ruth Ware and I will say I really enjoyed it. The story opens in a prison, a child is dead and a woman is in prison writing a letter to a barrister protesting her innocence and begging him to take her case. But first she must tell the story of how she ended up in prison.

Rowan Caine is a nursery worker who applies for a job as a live in nanny with a wealthy family living in remote Scotland. The house is an old house that has been totally renovated by the owners, who conveniently happen to be architects, to modern standards, some would say too modern. The front of the house is traditional, but the back is modern with banks of windows and other modern amenities. Oh and the house is smart home, which sounds awesome until you realize you cannot take a shower, or turn lights on and off without an app. ‘

The family consists of Mom Sandra, Dad Bill, Rhiannon (14) away at boarding school for most of the book, Maddie (8), Ellie (5) and little Petra (2).During the interview only Sandra and the 3 youngest girls are around. Maddie seems a bit standoffish but the other girls are sweet. After an interview Rowan is offered the job and moves in. Then things go downhill, Sandra and Bill immediately leave for a trade show, Maddie is a controlling, malicious child and the smart home appears to be possessed. There are creepy steps in the night, lights and music that blare out of nowhere, doorbells that ring in the middle of the night with no one there, oh and a poison garden. Stories of children that have died in the past, all the makings of a good ghost story, but is it a ghost or a very human culprit?

The book really amped up the suspense with the crazy happenings and the children’s behavior, there was a nice twist at the end that I did not see coming, the only issue I had was the ending was open ended. I have had some time to mull over the ending and I think I know what probably happened, but I have to admit I am a tie the ending up neatly in a bow kind of reader, so not sure I am happy with it.

Over all I feel this was a great thriller with all the elements I enjoy, an old house, creepy children and possible supernatural happenings,

I found this book to be a well-written more modern take on The Turn of the Screw. The pacing is excellent, and I found myself devouring the book quickly as the gothic setting, creepy events and unreliable narrator really appealed to me. While some of the twists and turns at the end I saw coming there were others that were a surprise, and I'm glad I picked it up.