In her fifth novel, The Turn of the Key, Ruth Ware has reached peak compulsive thriller. She has taken a page or two from the gothic genre of yesteryear, delightfully blended it with a bit of Henry James ghost story, and modernized it for our reading pleasure. The combination is a pastiche that works for readers of both crime and gothic novels, and the result might be her best book yet.

The novel begins with a series of letter fragments from a prison inmate addressed to a lawyer. Their tone is desperate and in them, Rowan Caine, a young woman awaiting trial for the murder of a child, insists on her innocence in an attempt to explain what led to all of this.

When Londoner Rowan answers an advert for a live-in nanny position in the remote Scottish Highlands, she thinks she has hit the jackpot. Ready for a change, Rowan is keen to start a new job and is happy when the shiny new family of Heatherbrae House offers her the post, even though there has been a series of nannies who have stayed a worryingly short amount of time—one even fleeing in less than a week. Rowan soon discovers that the house is feared to be dreadfully haunted.

From the beginning, Rowan is left with the three young children while the parents are away, given no time to become acclimated to running the house or the needs of her wards. The estate has been renovated and fitted as a “smart” house, requiring phone apps to turn on light fixtures and coffee makers, get hot water to stream out of shower heads, and stream movies on the television. There are cameras everywhere—even in the privacy of the bedrooms. And instead of phoning, the disembodied voice of the children’s mother chimes in over the house intercom to intrude unexpectedly whenever she wishes to check in.

It isn’t the modern technology, however, that is Rowan’s undoing. It is the old-fashioned ghost above her bedroom that really terrifies her. When the sun finally sets each night and the children are down to bed, Rowan hears pacing and scratching above her. Despite the spooky goings-on and a head full of local village gossip about the home’s previous owner (who poisoned his young daughter many years before), Rowan is determined to remain in her post.

Ware is adept at combining sleek modernity— the smart house, the ubiquity of cell phones—with the creaks and creepiness of the gothic genre: the pacing footsteps in an upstairs room, a disturbing unfinished warning letter left by a previous nanny, a veritable garden of local ghost lore, and, of course, a creepy Victorian-era doll’s head of unknown origin.

Ware’s The Turn of the Key is a thrilling love letter to the ghost story genre, and a mystery with plenty of turns up twisty attic staircases.

Ruthe Ware did it again. Another fantastic page-turner by my current queen of mysteries! I cannot wait to see what she does next.

Turn of the Key lived up to all my expectations. Ruth Ware is a master of the mystery/thriller genre. This book was creepy and suspenseful. Ware knows just how to pace a book to keep you on the edge of your seat. I would definitely recommend to library patrons.

4.50 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery/Scout Press

Ruth Ware is really great at telling modern Gothic stories and this book is no exception. One day Rowan comes across an ad looking for a nanny to take care of three little girls in an estate in the Scottish highlands.

Rowan is confidant in her child care abilities but she ends up becoming overwhelmed as she is left alone in the middle of nowhere with three children, one of them being a bit hard to deal with.

As the days go on things begin to get stranger and stranger with creaking sounds upstairs, alarms going off and doorbells ringing in the middle of the night.

I don't want to go into too much detail about the actual plot because I don't want to give away spoilers. The novel has a very Gothic, creepy vibe and you find yourself worrying for Rowan a lot.

The only reason I didn't give this a full five stars is because of the ending leaves you hanging a little bit.

This was my second or third Ruth Ware book. I'm not a huge fan of British mysteries but I thought I would give her another try. The storyline was okay but as a bit of a techie, I have problems when authors write books about tech that aren't spot on. It had a decent twist in the end and I did read it quickly, but I'm more of a psychological suspense fan with books that have more action.

This book took my quite a long time to complete and several tries. To be honest, I almost gave up on it as I was not very fond of the way it was written, but I finally finished it.



As I mentioned, I was not very fond of how this book was written. The format is done in the format of a letter written by Rowan to a lawyer that she is hoping will take her case. She previously had another lawyer who did not find that it would be helpful for her to tell her whole story, so this time she decided to write to a new lawyer who she was told could help her. The lawyer was known to help those whose case seemed most helpless, which hers was because she was being charged with the murder of one of the children she had been watching. Because it was written as a letter, there are a number of different places through out the story that Rowan is trying to tell where she stops to make a comment about her current situation or what she thinks the lawyer might be thinking or feeling at that time in the story.



Rowans story is quite long and it honestly took a very long time, towards the end of the book until it really starts to pick-up. It starts with Rowan at her job at Little Knickers, which is where she works prior to getting the nanny job. It then progresses step by step on how she found the nanny job, applied, interviewed, accepted, etc.



The house that the Ellincourts live in that Rowan is going to stay at as a live-in Nanny, reminds me of the movie Smart House. If you are not familiar with the movie, it is a house that is built to be smart and to learn about its occupants as they stay there. It is a very highly tech savvy house. This is very similar to the the Ellincourts house as they are architects and interior designers who renovated an old house to be very tech savvy. Every aspect of the house is controlled by the Happy app and it has cameras in every room, including Rowan's room. The idea of being spied on 24/7 is unsettling and it was for Rowan as well.



The character development was slow. It felt very drawn out and it is hard to connect with the characters at first. This is the case with the story itself as well. Towards the end of the book, it becomes easier to relate to Rowan and the stress that she is feeling with the children. I feel like it is almost more relatable during these times of our pandemic where we are all stuck at home with not much to do, very similar to what Rowan is experiencing.



I happen to like a good supernatural story, not so much ones about ghosts though which is what I thought that this was going to be at first. I was wrong though. Once you get about 75% into the book, the pace of the book picks-up and so does the "supernatural" aspects of the book. If you spook easily, I would recommend possibly not reading this book late at night, which is what I was doing.



As I approached the most integral part of the story, the death of of one of the children, you get to really start to feel like you know Rowan. You get to see how she was charged with murder. She is extremely stressed out due to the children and the home. She works with four difficult children, which vary in age from being a baby to a teenager. Each one of the children have their own personalities which shine very brightly in the story. You also get to really get to know the history of the house, it's previous owners, and how the other residents of the Scotland town view the home.



I truly enjoyed the last 25% of the book. Learning the history of the previous owners and the home really helped to pick up the story. The mystery of the weird noises that Rowan was hearing being discovered. And so much more, I don't want to give too much away. However, I feel like the ending of the book was left unfinished. The ending provided a very unforeseen twist, which was quite a shocker. But whatever happened to Rowan and her case? I want to know.



Rating: I am giving this book a 2 out of 5. I'm giving it a two for a few different reasons. The first is how difficult that I found to get in the book and the format of the book was just not to my liking. Second reason, is that story was just too slow. I prefer a book that can hook you into it from the beginning of it. Third and last reason is that I am very disappointed by the ending and feel like the story was left hanging.

Rowan Caine finds a job listing that seems too good to be true. And when something seems too good to be true -- it usually is. This is one of those books that once something was revealed, it made me want to go back and re-read to see if I missed any clues. I found myself trying out different possible scenarios in my head while reading and I was just sure i had it figured out, but Ruth Ware is the queen of suspense!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Rowan is looking for a change, and an ad to be a live-in nanny pops up in her search, what could go wrong with applying for the position? Everything about the job is a dream, however things take a sinister turn once she started her position at Heatherbrae House. The mixed perspective from Rowan of the past and Rowan of the future builds the suspense and mystery, because the reader thinks they know exactly what has happened. But not everything is as it seems. There are some moments of suspense and fear that build the tension and suspicion. Unpredictable, and unbelievable, this book was an adventure to read!

Fast-paced atmospheric thriller set in a remote castle in Scotland. Plenty of twists to keep you guessing until the end and a good cast of characters. 5 stars! Can't wait to read Ruth Ware's next one!

Rowan goes to interview for a job as a Nanny that seems to good to be true. Sandra the mother of the children vaguely mentions that four nannies have quit due to some unexplained supernatural-ish incidents. Rowan doesn’t give it a second thought but as the days go buy sure enough she starts hearing footsteps, items appear and disappear also, the children’s behave strangely . Rowans life takes a turn for the worst as she is incarcerated and charged with the death of one of the children. She then writes a letter with a full account of her experience and why she took the job to
A solicitor. All is not what it seems and you have to read this amazing story to understand the plot behind the plot.. A great book for thriller lovers .

Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to read this ARC prior to the book's publication, but we did end up buying it for our library collection.

Ruth Ware keeps getting better and better!!!! This was a mind blowing read that kept me guessing every page that I turned. I couldn't put it down and have recommended Ruth Ware to so many of my friends. My book club has read 2 of her books and we always enjoy them. I can't wait to read what she writes next!

Rowan Caine spies an ad for nanny position, with a generous salary, in the beautiful Scottish Highlands. Heatherbrae House is stunning. An old Victorian restored by the new architect owners who have installed every modern convenience imaginable. Sure, the house may be haunted and sure, the last four nanny's have resigned, but who could pass up the opportunity to work in such a beautiful place? Upon arriving, Rowan finds that she may have more than she can handle - three children to take care of while the parents are away, traveling for work. Then things start to get weird. Strange sounds in the middle of the night. Lights and music and doorbells that turn themselves on and off at random intervals. Is the house really haunted? Or is there something more sinister going on? .Full of unexpected twists, The Turn of the key has all of the mystery and suspense that we have come to expect from Ruth Ware.

Wow! I wasn’t sure what to expect but the book blew me away. I had a variety of theories and though I had a small piece right, the final reveal was astonishing. Well written, intriguing characters, and plenty of twists and turns made this a quick read that I couldn’t put down! Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a complimentary digital review copy of this title.

“The Turn of the Key” was my first read by Author Ruth Ware. I loved that I was totally immersed into this story. The setting was amazing. I do not want to give anything away so I will just say that my mind was blown with the series of revelations towards the end. The overall pacing of this book was steady although the ending was a little rushed. Overall, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from Ruth Ware in the future.

*I received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I just love Ruth Ware! I was intrigued by the storyline & it lived up to my expectations of a suspense thriller. Definitely recommend this book & author!

Ruth Ware has become one of my favorite authors and I was very happy to get access to an advance copy of this book. I think once I started reading it I finished it in three days. The pace moved quickly and I was really unable to put it down for long. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I was never sure of what exactly was going on. Just the kind of read I like. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by what I felt like was an implausible ending. I just couldn't buy the explanation given at the end. That is a matter for every individual reader to decide on their own though. The book itself was well-written, atmospheric, and quite spooky and chilling. I enjoyed it, I just wish the ending hadn't seemed rushed.

Another creepy Ruth Ware novel! Her books always keep me on the edge of my seat and just wanting to know what happened.

In this book Rowan just can't let a live in nanny job pass her by. Once she is there the weirdest things begin to occur, the children aren't nice, and the grounds keeper is weird. All of those things together kept me reading and unable to put this down.

Thank you for another amazing book!

I’ve read all of Ruth Ware’s novels and my favorite is The Lying Game, which is the one most people didn’t like. My relationship with Ruth’s books are complicated. I read all of them expecting to be blown away, but I never am. The Turn of the Key pulled me in immediately and I thought the storyline was intriguing. Also, I really liked that the format is through letters the protagonist is writing from prison to an attorney. There were some twists I didn’t see coming and the ending was a nice touch.

I could not put this one down! It kept me on my toes and had me guessing until the very end. My one complaint is that the ending felt so rushed and incomplete. I hated how ambiguous it was! I'm am, however, looking forward to reading more by this author!