INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A superb suspense writer…Brava, Ruth Ware. I daresay even Henry James would be impressed.” –Maureen Corrigan, author of So We Read On “This appropriately twisty Turn of the Screw update finds the Woman in Cabin 10 author in her most menacing mode, unfurling a shocking saga of murder and deception.” –Entertainment Weekly From the #1 New York Times … deception.” —Entertainment Weekly
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lying Game and The Death of Mrs. Westaway comes this thrilling novel that explores the dark side of technology.
When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss–a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten–by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.
What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare–one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.
Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the home’s cameras, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman.
It was everything.
She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty–at least not of murder–but somebody is.
Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware’s signature suspenseful style, The Turn of the Key is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.
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Rowan takes a job as a nanny at a secluded home in Scotland. The mother gives her full disclosure that previous nannies have left because the house is rumored to be haunted, although she hasn’t seen any evidence of this herself. Rowan is left with an 18 month old, a 5 year old and a hostile 8 year old. The bulk of this story takes place over the course of a week. You don’t know the true reason why Rowan has been arrested until about 30 pages till the end. This was one of those books where if I was reading it, I was wrapped up in it but if I got interrupted, I would walk away from it. It wasn’t an “oh I can’t wait to get back to it” kind of book. That being said, the last 100 or so pages, I couldn’t wait to get back to. From a smart home in which things fail, footsteps in an attic, and a locked door in the nanny’s bedroom, everything finally comes together.
Gothic thrillers and horror are back in vogue, and this makes me so happy! I grew up reading Barbara Mertz aka Barbara Michaels, who could write a fantastic Gothic tale. Her, Amelia Peabody mysteries, that take place in Egypt is another great series.
Jess and I recently did a podcast over on Books Don’t Review Themselves for Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, where Ruth Ware is quoted on the cover saying, “Move over, Rosemary’s Baby, urban paranoia has a deliciously Gothic new address.” And Ware certainly knows what she is talking about with this Gothic novel that takes place in the more traditional setting of a large house in the middle of nowhere.
While I enjoyed Sager’s book for all the nods to horror movies, Ware’s book actually had me feeling creeped out at times. And me being creeped out really is a high compliment to an author, since it rarely happens.
It could be that I was reading it on the Kindle with all the lights turned off, or because children can really give stories more of a scary vibe, think Children of the Corn, the twins in The Shining, or Gage in Pet Sematary. More likely, it’s because Ware is a fantastic writer that knows how to slowly ratcheted up the fear and paranoia.
The other thing that Gothic is known for is all the secrets, and Ruth revealed them in a slow, steady stream. Just when I thought I knew who the murderer was or who was sabotaging the house, another secret would be revealed that had me changing my mind. What was behind the locked door really had me questioning my previous thoughts.
So lessons learned time and time again. Don’t babysit children in the middle of nowhere or at all. If you start hearing bumps in the night and things are in different places then you left them, burn the house down. Trust no one and become a hermit in the woods. Just make sure you bring enough books with you!
Some other books that I enjoyed and you may too, that are in the style of Gothics are The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews, and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware was an interesting read with an engaging point of view. Rowan comes across an ad she was not looking for but seems too good to pass up. That is how she found herself leaving London to become a live-in nanny by the Scottish Highlands. The offer is very generous and the house is a “smart” house that never sleeps. How could she pass it up?
Told only in Rowan’s point of view, the nanny, we come to learn how she got the job and learned not everything was as it seems while she was there. Now a child is dead and she is charged with the murder. The story that unravels is creepy, surprising and will have you gasping.
Happy reading!
This was the other highly anticipated book of the year for me and it did not disappoint!
I read the bulk of this book while on vacation so it took me longer than expected to finish, but if you really sat down and dedicated time to it, you’ll finish it in three sittings tops.
The end is heartbreaking and infuriating for different reasons. This book will leave your emotions all over the place!
I read the last 10% on the plane ride home and when I finished I had to wait a couple hours to message someone to talk about it. It may not seem like a big deal, but trust me, it is.
The writing style was different and yet it worked. The whole book is penned in letter form- which was a little irking at first, but I got used to it.
You feel for the main character, in some parts you want to slap her and in others you want to hug her. I also went back and forth with the handsome handyman- read it to find out why .
Ware does a great job at juxtapositioning the old and new and at creating a creepy yet intriguing story to follow.
Again, the ending will leave you with a gazillion questions.
Short review: this is Ruth Ware’s best work- don’t miss it!
I’m assuming from the title and premise that The Turn of the Key is a retelling of a certain drawn out James novel. Actually, I didn’t make the connection until I started reading. Maybe it’s because I’m older now, or maybe not, but this one held my interest and didn’t drag nearly like I was afraid it might once the connection clicked. Ruth Ware gives us a modern day smart home with all the bells and whistles, yet she still manages to give the story a Gothic feel. There is a lot of the mundane, taking care of kids, everyday stuff to get through, but interspersed throughout the story we get strange sounds, drafts, sinister comments, a rather strange family, and a nanny with secrets. Oh, and it’s all wrapped up and tied in a pretty little bow with a completely unreliable narrator in Rowan as she tells the story via letters to a solicitor. Smart house or no, I can’t imagine reading this one and not feeling the need to occasionally look over your shoulder as you notice all those little noises that houses make. I will add that this one does take a good amount of suspension of disbelief, especially in this age of everything being on the internet. There were a few too many key elements that just couldn’t have happened in this day and age. That would normally be a deal breaker for me, but this time it wasn’t. Whether is was the writing, which is quite good, the creepy atmosphere, the secrets, or a combination of it all, I enjoyed the read. I also enjoyed the twists. It does take a while to get there, and I did have one figured out, but I still enjoyed them. I think the final twist will receive mixed reviews with some liking it more than others, but I am firmly in the former category. In the end, unbelievable or not, I found The Turn of the Key hard to put down from the very beginning, and I will be checking out more of this author’s work.
This story starts with an accused woman incarcerated in jail awaiting trial for a crime she claims she is innocent of.
Pleading by letter with a Mr Wrexham to hear her pleas and provide assistance in proving her innocence.
As opening statements go this one was such an attention grabber instantly managing to pull me deep into the narrative.
We then get the story of events direct from Rowen herself as she explains in exact detail just what went down at Heatherbrae House.
So nannying for four children up in the middle of nowhere with a fantastic salary seems a dream come true and when Sandra and Bill Elincourt hire Rowan for the job it seems the ideal chance to leave London and her lowly paid nursery job behind.
Instantly thrown in at the deep end Rowan finds herself in sole charge of the children.
But her new residence comes complete with uncooperative children, strange noises, creepy footsteps, objects disappearing and lights turning themselves off and on randomly.
There are tales of ghosts and a creepy poison garden on the grounds.
The house itself is a smart house with voice activation and cameras in every room controlled by her employers.
Also what has caused all past nannies employed to quit so suddenly.
Add in an unpleasant housekeeper and Rowan isn’t finding things smooth sailing in her new job.
Thank god for the lovely live on-site handyman Jack who seems to be her only friend besides the baby.
This is most definitely a story of secrets and I was suitably intrigued and then impressed with where this eventually took us.
Told Completly from Rowans POV this really did have a spooky gothic vibe to it.
Almost like a modern-day ghost story.
I did like the eventual conclusion here know I kinda guessed but I also wasn’t a fan of the open-ended direction the finish eventually took.
I would have prefered some more clarity in regards to those letters.
The ending here is what dropped this a star for me as it did leave me a tad underwhelmed.
Despite that I still really enjoyed this it was such an engrossing read.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of The Turn of the key.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
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3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
The book starts with the main character in prison for murdering one of the children in her charge. She is writing a famous solicitor whom she hopes will take her case and prove her innocence. Through her letter(s), she tells her story.
Rowan Caine, 27, is hired to be a live-in nanny to the four children of architects Sandra and Bill Ellincourt at their home in a remote part of Scotland. The prior four nannies quit due to stories and superstitions about the house, Heatherbrae, formerly named the Struan house. Rowan isn’t superstitious, finds the salary offer extremely generous and eagerly leaves London when selected for the position.
The home is part Victorian, part ultra-modern – a rather jarring combination. A smart-house designed by tech loving Bill, everything in the house is controlled by an app with control panels in each room. After meeting three of her charges, Maddie 8, Ellie 5, and Petra 18 months, Rowan is astonished to learn that Sandra and Bill plan to leave the next day and will be gone a week (what parent does that?) The fourth daughter, Rhiannon 14, lives at a boarding school during the week and will be home for the weekend.
It doesn’t take long after the Ellincourts leave for strange things to begin happening at the house. Ware skillfully builds a sense of dread right from the beginning. Something dark and sinister lurks beneath the pleasant veneer. I liked how the author slowly ramps up the creepy factor, tension, fear and suspense as the story unfolds. There are twists and turns, some not a surprise, others quite a surprise.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware is a psychological suspense story which can be a bit confusing at times. The main character Rowan Caine is waiting for her trial in the death of a child which was in her care. I did not enjoy or like the Rowan/Rachael character. She seems very haphazard in her thinking, reasoning, and actions. It seemed Rowan was impatient even when asking for a favor of the lawyer. Also, some of the ‘key’ facts of her character seem to be thrown in close to the ending of the book. I won’t post spoilers, but this is not my favorite Ruth Ware mystery. The house which is totally controlled by electronics was a nice twist to the story.
Publication Date: August 6, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I have read and enjoyed all of Ruth Ware’s books, therefore I was incredibly excited to be fortunate enough to receive an early review copy of The Turn of the Key. Being a fan of the author, it is very hard to write a review about a book that just didn’t WOW me. This was a good but I wouldn’t say great read.
I have recently read several books where we know what happens, what the “big tell” is at the beginning of the novel. We then work through the past events and how we got to this ending. This style just doesn’t work for me, I like to feel a lot of tension and excitement in mysteries/thrillers and I just don’t experience that when I know the ending, it takes that part of the surprise and tension away. This may just be me, there are many 5 star reviews for this book.
First off, this is definitely a slow burn type of mystery, in fact I think I was at 75% on my kindle before I was turning pages quickly.
From the blurb you know that there is a creepy, “smart house” and I felt as though that would be a large part of the excitement in the book, unfortunately after much is explained about how the controls are all used, etc., the house doesn’t really play that large of a part in the story. The idea and descriptions of the smart house reminded me of a few other books written about the smart house which “takes over”, does horrible things, etc . I really thought the house was going to be one of the primary elements in the crime, was it????
Rowan is the main character, the nanny, from whom I quickly starting thinking that something was not quite right about her. She quickly seems out of her element and these kids are not at all what she was expecting. She is also left with the four children, one a toddler, only 18 months old, alone for many nights while the parents are away at a meeting of some sort. What does this tell us about the parents? The teenage daughter comes home from her weekly boarding school and immediately begins to give Rowan trouble, from her attitude and actions including sneaking out with a much older man, to doing much more dangerous things. Rown fails to contact the parents immediately as she certainly should have.
A lot of the book is about taking care of the kids, we are taken along on picnics and other outings but don’t really get to know the kids. The only really well developed character is Rowan and I found her rather ordinary when I was hoping for something more This is a part where the plot gets bogged down, for me, the everyday taking care of the kids and descriptions of dinners and baths. It is pretty clear that although Rowan likes the kids, this isn’t something she wants to continue to do with her life. Why did Rowan actually take this job then, and was her CV spot on????
There is a driver/ handyman named Jack who may or may not be a good guy. He is the book as a possible romantic interest for Rowan, it seems every book must have one.
I think that it comes down to the characters in this novel. I just didn’t like any of them. I also would have liked to know more about the parents, as a couple. We do find out more about Bill but the children could have been more well described.
I think that Ruth Ware will continue to be one of my favorite writers, this book however wasn’t one of my favorites, I’m sure that it will find it’s audience. I would describe this as a well written, enjoyable mystery with plenty of twists to keep you reading.
I received a ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.