This book had a lot of suspense and uncertainty in it. The whole book had me thinking Rowan was responsible for the crime! I never guessed the ending and it totally threw me off. I love Ruth Ware’s writing and have read them all to date. Looking forward to more of her work as they are always a surprise!

I absolutely love Ruth Ware's writing! I have been eagerly waiting for her newest - The Turn of the Key.

The cover image makes me wonder what's on the other side of the door and the title itself hints at things hidden away. The premise builds on that initial impression.....

Childcare worker Rowan is looking for a job change. When she sees an ad for a live in nanny for the Elincourt family, she applies - and to her surprise gets the job. One catch - she must start asap. Did I mention that Heatherbrae House is quite isolated out in the countryside? And that it is a 'smart' house - controlled by an app? A Gothic feel with a side of modern.

We know that something has gone very, very wrong right from the beginning of the book. Rowan is writing a letter to a lawyer, explaining what happened and I was caught up in the tale immediately.

Rowan is left in charge of the four daughters right away as Mr and Mrs Elincourt must travel to a convention for work. This was unexpected for Rowan. And the children do not seem to want her there. But is it just the children? The house seems to have a mind of its own as well.....

Ruth Ware is a master at building the suspense. Everyday occurrences take on a malevolent air - items misplaced, unexplained drafts and noises and more. The tension grows and grows - and I found myself mentally shouting at Rowan to just leave the house. The movie equivalent of don't go in the basement applies to the attic in this case.

Ware's description of the house made it easy to imagine the setting. Making the house a 'smart' house adds a layer and more questions to the story. I appreciated the many what if's and possibilities afforded by the isolation and the electronics - and the history of the house and previous nannies. Let alone the family - there are secrets in this house, and Rowan hints at one in her own as well.

The ending provides a twist - one I hadn't thought of, but the finale wasn't the outcome I had imagined. Excellent!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. There's something about Ruth Ware that I just can't get into. This book felt long and yet the twist happens SO quickly, like no time to process it at all. I feel her writing is improving, I think she wants to improve herself and I admire her for that. Maybe the next book of hers will be the perfect read.

A stellar read. Keeps the reader guessing and at the edge of their seat with twists and turns.

A thrilling modern fiction title

Mystery | Adult
I’m part of the growing fan base of Ruth Ware, the new young mystery author out of Britain who has given us several great stories, including The Woman in Cabin 10, The Death of Mrs. Westaway, and In a Dark, Dark Wood. She offers a modern twist on the gothic mystery – isolated settings, young women in peril – what’s not to like? This is a clever take on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, a book I’ve admittedly not read. An epistolary novel, it opens with our protagonist writing to a lawyer pleading with him to take her case. She has been charged with the death of a child in her care, less than a week after taking a plum position as a nanny in the Scottish highlands country.
The Elincourts are desperate for a nanny. There are rumours of ghosts and four others have left in the past 14 months, so the pay is magnificent. Rowan Caine takes the job of looking after baby Petra, Ellie, age 9, and 11-year-old Maddie, and occasionally teen Rhiannon who boards at the high school in Inverness as the daily drive to a day school is too far. Sandra and husband Bill leave for work the day after she arrives, and by the end of her first 24 hours, Rowan has a good sense of what may have driven her colleagues away – a predatory boss, a very difficult child, a dangerous garden, a series of unexplained noises and events, and worst of all, a “smart” home that lets the parents watch from wherever they are and speak suddenly out of hidden speakers, and complicates the simple act of flipping a light switch or closing a blind. Through the letters, Rowan details the mounting challenges she faces, from creepy pacing in the empty attic above her room to a lying and scheming Maddie. She also resists revealing her own lies and secrets, which make it nearly impossible to defend herself against the charge of murder. Pretty much no one in this book is likable, and the story moves at a slow but steady pace, building in tension until an explosive last few pages that leaves an important question unanswered. I liked the ending a lot, though I found the pacing a bit too slow along the way. Call it a spooky psychological thriller or a gothic with a modern slant, it’s not Ware’s best imho, but a good choice for chilly autumn evenings. My thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Grand Forks residents will find a copy at the library too.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40489648

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

I’ve read most of this authors books and this one did not disappoint. It was a fast paced mystery/thriller with a bit of a supernatural element. As usual, there are so many twists and turns, though some are a bit predictable, and a whopper of an ending.
I really enjoyed it. I found myself on edge for most of it and I finished it in one sitting. This is a perfect read for the Halloween season. It’s got creepy children, a house surrounded by tragedy and death which might be haunted, and a brand new nanny who’s left in isolation with it all.
Definitely recommend this one.

From the very start, we believe this woman's name is Rowan the Nanny who is on trial for murder. We don't know who was murdered but when she retells her story to her solicitor she has to go into detail with her side. It was a nightmare but the character building was formidable as I was drawn in and felt very close to the important characters which IMO were the children. Always the children ho-hum. Brats. Yes. They were brats. The only exception, 5 yr old Ellie. She was adorbs ♥

Heatherbrae House wasn't a "smart-house" if a young child could manipulate it AND from an older phone on top! UGH! I could never live in a house like that! I am not one who trusts technology enough for my life to depend on it. The house was wired up and could function on an app called Happy as it didn't even have doorknobs or light switches.

Still, creak...creak... goes the sound of something in the attic.

Admittingly the suspense was killing me but when the attic was finally opened up there were still the unexplainable open windows, the lost or stolen necklace, the sudden music disturbances and most importantly the history.
Why would all the hired Nanny's tuck tail and run?
The Turn of the Key is a well-written murder mystery/haunting but I felt I was deceived with all the hidden secrets.
The main one being about who Rowan was. I can't imagine what the girls had been through. Was it because of their father? What disturbed them so much? They kept repeating that they hated her and she should go away. Why? Was it not because of what their father made them do?
The strange poison garden seemed exciting but I was disappointed that nothing became of it. All we know about the history of the house is that it used to be called Struan House and that Dr. Kenwick Grant planted rare poisonous plants nowhere else found in all of Scotland. His daughter died from ingesting some of those plants and he and his wife also passed away there. I wasn't convinced the house was haunted *shrugs, even though it was meant to be believed as such.

Not particularly fond of the end. Too many loose ends.

The Turn of the Key definitely offered the atmospheric sense of creepiness that Ruth Ware is known for with her books. Although it took me several chapters to start feeling compelled to read through to the end, once the protagonist ended up posted at a remote estate in the Scottish Highlands, the suspense of her situation drew me in. For fear of spoilers, I won't say much more, other than you really do need to keep reading to find out what happens!

I've always liked Ruth Ware's books and thought they were good but this one I REALLY enjoyed and thought it was VERY good! Her best one yet and such a perfect book to read this time of year!🎃

The story revolves around a lady named, Rowan who sees an ad in the paper for a live-in Nanny in the Scottish highlands. The book had some gothic creepiness to it. There was a lot of suspense around the strange noises and happenings around the house. The plot had me intrigued every bit of the way!

I'd say Ms. Ware is really finding her own in writing stories about gothic old houses. It soon may just become known as her trademark style! The title was perfect!

This book is perfect for Spooktober! Don't read it before bed, like me, because you won't be able to sleep... it's so CREEPY!!!

I loved how I was totally kept in the dark. I just went with the flow and lived the story with Rowan. The way the story is told too, by letters, is unconventional. More than once, I was so engrossed in the story that I forgot that Rowan was writing to her solicitor.

Really, a pretty good book! I love Ruth Ware!

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Turn of the Key is my second Ruth Ware read and is just as dark, twisted and compelling as I expected. Ware is a master of the psychological thriller genre and continues to do so with this book.. Rowan is a young woman working in London as a child care provider. She is looking for a change and comes across an ad for a nanny for the Elincourt Family in a remote area of Scotland. The salary is unbelievable and she contacts the family immediately for an interview and secures the position.. The Elincourt's have four children, aged 18 months to 14 years, which becomes a substantial responsibility for Rowan as she finds the parents often travel without the children and they are left solely in her care. Over time, Rowan hears that other nannies have left abruptly and that there are rumours the house is haunted. There are many weird and mysterious incidents in the house and ultimately a child dies and the nanny is accused of murder.
This is a very intense and twisted story and I found myself not liking Rowan or the children and their parents and kudos to Ware for evoking those feelings. I felt the ending was a bit rushed and a little disappointing after all the build up. 3 stars for the story, 5 for the creep factor.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of The turn of the key.
Ruth Ware does a fabulous job of setting up and describing the scene. Her style of writing is so atmospheric that you feel you are there in the story along with the characters.
There were parts of the book I enjoyed however, other parts of the story dragged on. I understand that the author wanted the reader to feel what the mc was feeling but it too many pages of the day-to-day boring childcare.
Also I disliked the end, I feel that it was rushed and incomplete. I needed more closure from the mc.
Overall I gave this book three stars.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and to the publisher for provided me an arc of this book!

This is the second book of Ware’s that I have read and it did not disappoint. True to Ware’s style, the book has a gothic, eerie tone that makes the suspense more palpable with every turn of the page. The question of whether the underlying evil in the novel is human, supernatural, or completely imagined in then protagonist’s mind had me up way past my bedtime. The plot twists had me guessing until the very end and even after the turn of the final
page. Ware has made me a forever fan and I can’t wait to see what dark and twisty novel her creative mind churns out next.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware is my favorite thriller so far this year. Ruth Ware, often referred to as the Agatha Christie of our time, has penned her best yet. Rowan, a child-care worker, unexpectedly comes across an online ad for a nanny position in Scotland. It's one of those opportunities that seems too good to be true: a job taking care of children in a high-tech mansion in the Scottish Highlands with an income that can't be matched. To her surprise, Rowan gets the position to care for four young girls, from toddler to teen. Before long, one of the children is killed and Rowan is imprisoned, charged with murder. What happened in such a short time? In a letter written to a lawyer she hopes will defend her, she explains that the children she had met at the interview were not well-behaved, as she had been led to believe. The large house was monitored with cameras in every corner, with speakers turning on and off, day and night. She could not trust the estate handyman, the only other adult on site. And Rowan was left alone with the children during her first days there. The novel proceeds at a slow pace, with new clues dispersed here and there, leaving the reader wanting more. This is a novel for all mystery readers, especially those who want a little cringing with their reading. Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Creepy, get into your head, can’t put down page turner. Classic Ruth Ware.
Loved the way the story developed without it being predictable, the way it kept going and twisting.
Couldn’t read it before bed- it got into my head and would keep me up.

Thank You to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The plot of this book revolves around Rowan Caine who applies for a nanny position in a remote area of Scotland tending to 4 siblings. The house is a futuristic smart home owed by married architects who will be leaving Rowan alone with their children while they travel for business. We learn of the events of her time in this position through letters to a lawyer after she is accused of killing one of the children.
The majority of this book was edging into the boring for me and by time the multiple twists were revealed in the last few chapters I just felt underwhelmed. It didn't feel like a wow moment but more like I was already expecting the twists so for me this was just an okay read. My favourite Ruth Ware is still The Woman in Cabin 10.

This was a really great gothic, psychological, thriller, that had some great twists and turns, and a pretty original set up. I would strongly recommend this one to any suspense, thriller fans.

Ruth Ware has always been one of my favourite authors! So when I found out she was coming out with a new one I knew I had to have it.

I have loved every single one of her books and this one did not disappoint either. The suspense and creepiness was definitely there along with mystery and a gothic atmosphere to it.

Once I started reading I had a hard time putting it down that I ended up finishing it in 2 sittings it was that good! Ware made sure to add in good small twists throughout with a big final twist in the ending conclusion and I loved it.

Overall this was a great easy fast-paced read that was quite enjoyable to read.
Thank you netgalley for my early copy.

I love Ruth Ware as an author and this book is even better than her previous ones. It kept me guessing and I loved the ending.

I would highly recommend it. You won't regret picking it up.

(This review will be posted on my blog on September 19, 2019)

I love a creepy, atmospheric mystery/thriller, particularly as the temperature drops and the sun sets earlier in the day. We’re approaching my favourite season, and it just feels fantastic to be curling up with a spooky book, a blanket, and a cup of tea or coffee.

This book appealed to me right away, with its remote setting, huge house, and strange behaviour by pretty much every character. I really enjoyed that this story kept me on my toes, and that the narration takes the form of letters written to her lawyer from prison was so enticing.

There were a lot of twists and turns in this story, some of which I anticipated and some I didn’t, and I really enjoyed it! It was a tense, unsettling read because there was a constant sense of things being ‘off’, and I couldn’t stop reading because I needed to know what was really going on. Perhaps my quick reading is why the ending felt as rushed as it did.

This was my favourite of the Ruth Ware books I’ve read, and I definitely recommend it, especially if you’re looking for a page-turning mystery as the cool, dark autumn nights approach.