I have read two previous novels by this author and although I enjoyed them, this one was the best yet. It is a domestic thriller with a decidedly creepy feeling, complete with some great twists. I will be recommending it to all my customers that are fans of the genre. It was a very entertaining read that people will find hard to put down.

Ruth Ware does it again. This was a suspenseful, atmospheric thriller, with a really compelling setting in the middle of the Scottish highlands and a house with a believably creepy backstory.

I have read all Ruth Ware’s books and this one is my favourite to date. This creepy, psychological mystery got the pacing just right and I read it in two days. The ending wrapped up a bit quickly but I also did not guess the final plot twist. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC and to Ruth Ware for writing another page-turner. Can’t wait for her next book.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for a copy of The Turn of The Key by Ruth Ware for review.

The Turn of The Key has a definite ghost story feel to it. A woman who has been accused of murdering a child in her care as the live in nanny writes a letter to a lawyer telling her side of the story. As I am not much for ghost stories and am an avid avoider of anything creepy, this book really wasn't for me. I enjoyed the overall idea but it leaned too far into something my older sister would love to tell me over a fire in a creepy dark woods when there was a storm coming.

I think this one was a case of a good story told to the wrong person rather than anything else.

The Turn of the Key is wonderfully atmospheric and the mystery will keep you turning that page until the very last reveal.  It also reminded me why I don't have children *shudder*

I didn't really know what to expect when I requested this book.  I don't have a ton of experience with Ruth Ware, the only book I had read of hers was In a Dark Dark Wood and I was fairly let down.  My complaint with the book was the characters were basic and the story was predictable but at the same time, I enjoyed her writing style.  It seems to be a really common comment among readers about her work.  I'm happy to say that my experience with this novel was altogether different.  The Turn of the Key worked for me on all levels.

Right off the bat we learn that we are hearing the story of a nanny who has been found guilty of murdering one of the children she was the nanny of.  She is begging a well-to-do lawyer to listen to her case, she says she wasn't given a fair trial and no one truly heard her out.  She then begins writing her story to him about when she applied for the nanny position for some very rich parents in the middle of nowhere, of course.  She admits that she wasn't completely honest on her resume, but she wanted the job badly because the pay was amazing.  She managed to charm her way into the position and starts shortly after.  We also learn that the family lived in a smart house - everything is electronic and everything is recorded.  Privacy seems to be a thing of the past.  You talk to the house like you might talk to Siri on your phone and tell it what you want and it mostly attempts to do it.  The mother was supposed to stay with her for a couple weeks while she got to know the children (who are creepy af), but she got called away to work almost instantly and the nanny had to deal with the kids on her own and running the insane house.

The setting is one of the best things this book has going for it.  The smart house doesn't come off as easy and convenient for me at all.  I can't imagine being thrown into learning a system where if I say a wrong code the shower will blast me with burning hot water or something.  Also, the privacy thing? Oh hell no.  No one wants to be watched all day and night.  Might be good for a really young child but that's about it.  There is also a really cool poison garden that the kids drag the nanny to and I swear you could put an entire book just in that setting.  It's so eerie.  If you are looking for creepy atmosphere, this book has it in spades.

The characters are pretty well developed here.  I don't want to go into any of them because I think you need to sort of meet them all yourself and watch their part in the story unfold.  There are a couple of really good side characters that are additional staff at the house that really offer some great story I think.  I will say the children are maddening a lot of the time - I would have quit pretty fast - I can't even imagine staying.

Overall, the book has a steady pace and some really good twists and turns.  I didn't see all of them coming.  The end reveal made me feel a little stupid because I think I should have figured it out but I didn't.  The ending was a little rushed compared to the rest, which is why this isn't a five star book for me.  I would completely recommend giving this a try if you are into neatly woven adult mysteries with some great twists.

This book makes you wish you could live in Heatherbrae - see it with all of its glory and technology even with its ghosts. To its core, it is so much more than a house.

I’ve received a copy of Ruth Wares’ “Turn of the Key” in exchange for my honest opinion.

There’s a reason I love reading Wares novels; her style has the perfect building of suspense & Thrilling foundation, right up until the final shocking twist. Her characters are well developed and real & just when you think “you’re just going to read this last chapter and pick up the rest tomorrow” BAM, you’re already turning the page and before you know it - the sun is rising and you’re reading the last chapter, wanting more & more!!

I finished this a few days ago and I'm having a really hard time rating it. (also, please note that this is my first Ruth Ware book so I cannot compare it to her others). This book grabbed me from the beginning. We know from the get-go that our main character, Rowan, was a nanny to 4 children in a remote residence in Scotland and now she is in jail as she is being held responsible for the death of one of the children. The book is told in epistolary form as Rowan rights letter after letter to a lawyer she desperately wants to represent her as she insists she is innocent.

The setting for the book was great and had all the makings of a creepy read. Old, rumoured to be haunted, private house in the country in Scotland. Technology throughout the house to make Heatherbrae House a "smart house" and which would make anyone uneasy. A mysterious poison garden. Creepy noises in the attic. I'm not going to lie, it had me on the edge of my seat at times. I didn't know what way the book was going to go, if there was going to be a supernatural element, or if the surprise was going to come from the technology, or secondary characters...I truly did not see any of the twists coming. Which is why I stayed up late many nights anxiously turning pages.

But then the end happened. And it happened in about 2 minutes and 5 pages and I don't know what to think. It was disappointing, underwhelming and frankly I feel a bit ripped off. Like that's it?! Why do authors have to wrap things up so fast? Why aren't the allowed to flesh out the ending over another 20 pages or so? I never understand this. So ya, loved the story, but was not a fan of the ending.

Also - my major issue with this book - what kind of parents hire a brand new nanny and then leave for a week the next day?! I didn't even get the sense that the mother wasn't attentive or didn't care about her children, so it didn't really make sense to me that she would leave her children (including an 18 month old!!!) with a stranger so easily.

LOVED IT!

I usually enjoy Ruth Ware’s books, with the odd exception, but this one, wow! This one I loved!

I kept hearing how much creepier this book was compared to her others, so with great anticipation, I settled in knowing full well that this was going to be a one-sit read! Well, I had a feeling I was going to like it but I had no idea I would love it as much as I did!

Right from the beginning, starting with the desperate letter to the lawyer, I was hooked! Already this story had an unfortunate ending and I had barely started! Don’t you just love when a book starts in a surprising way? Anyway, as I mentioned, I was hooked from the start, completely captivated by Rowan’s terrifying story, and eager for more.

There are so many twists and red herrings, which one expects from this genre, but these ones actually tripped me up! I honestly wasn’t expecting half of what happened at the end! That right there is a good mystery. Additionally, the characters were interesting, the plot was riveting, and there were many times I thought, maybe I should put another light on or two,

The Turn of the Key is an intense, eerie, and enthralling story, one that I will be recommending to everyone looking for a great book, regardless of the genre! Well done Ruth Ware!

Rating… A+

*Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and the author for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

I've read every Ruth Ware book since her debut, In a Dark, Dark Wood and I've never been disappointed. The Turn of the Key could be my new favorite - it's that good. It has shades of Henry James' novella, The Turn of the Screw. They are the same setup with a nanny in a potentially haunted house with troublesome children, but Ware takes it into modernity by making the house a "smart house" full of technology that adds a whole new creep factor. There's twists, of course, but it was the unexpected revelations about characters that I found the most intriguing.

Thank you Netgalley, Simon & Schuster for the ARC.
Interesting read about a nanny who is accused of murdering one of her charges.
Told thru letter form, Rowan writes from prison to a solicitor who she hopes will take her case.
From the get go she tells him she is not the one that killed the child.
The story centres around her daily tasks as a nanny in a futuristic house. How the parents left her alone to deal with 3 young children from the get-go since they had to travel for business for a few days which turned to a couple weeks. I found the book a bit long and boring at times.
I really enjoyed the last 4 chapters where we finally find the truth and hidden secret.
3.5 ⭐️
Recommend

I am well aquatinted with Ruth Ware’s novels and how superbly she can set up a story rich with intrigue, atmosphere and relatable characters. But The Turn of the Key may be her best work yet.

The atmosphere - written in such a way you felt like you were in the novel yourself; jumping at the intense, gothic descriptions. Every noise or creak I heard while reading this book had me on high alert. Adrenaline pumping.

The “Elincourts” who live in a remote area of Scotland need a new nanny to watch their 4 daughters. When Rowan applies to and accepts the very attractive and lucrative position she is not prepared for what greets her. The house itself is beautiful a mix of modern and Victorian. But a smart house? Cameras in every room, apps to control everything from light settings to shower temperatures custom designed for the user. And anytime the parents are away, which is often, their calls are piped in through speakers to the room Rowan happens to be in. No warning. But to each their own thinks Rowan. She can live with this but she draws the line at the camera in her room and covers it up with a sock.....

The children though young are clearly going to take some work. They’re odd, mischievous and the middle two may be slightly damaged. But Rowan assumes this is due to the fact that the parents are often away (They are.) and the children don’t like it. (They don’t) Not to mention that Rowan is the 5th Nanny the children must accept as their in loco parentis. Why have there been so many young women who have come to stay only to leave again shortly after their arrival? Surely the Nanny’s don’t believe the wild imagination and warnings of 8 year old Maddie? With her proclamations of, “Don’t stay here. It isn’t safe” or “The ghost wouldn’t like it.”
No, Rowan is logical. She doesn’t believe in the supernatural and tales of ghosts. She quickly settles in and focuses her attention on making headway with her young charges. Besides, the place is a fortress. No one is getting in without an account to the smart home app “Happy” or a set of keys. Although Rowan doesn’t know housekeeper Jean or handyman Jack Grant very well surely the “Elincourts” have done thorough background checks???

Almost immediately Rowan encounters strange happenings that she knows that must have a rational explanation. All this can surely be explained by a malfunction in the smart house software. But what she can’t explain is the sound of pacing and creaking noises she hears above her room every night. Running low on sleep and learning more of the house’s history Rowan falters to make sense of a world she thinks she knows and understands. But when things can no longer be explained logically, the happenings turn deadly.

Told from the point of view of Rowan as she writes to a solicitor from a Scottish prison cell, we are taken on a wild ride with jaw dropping twists and turns.

For Rowan is certain of one thing even if she can’t explain anything else she knows with 100% certainty that she’s no murderer.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this fabulous ARC. You won’t be able to put this one down. Guaranteed.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware ISBN 9781784708092

New nanny working for a family living in a remote home in Scotland. They can’t seem to hold on to a nanny, all leaving the place after the house appears to be haunted with its dark history and secrets... A child dies while in her care….Here is her story.

A unique way of writing since the main character wasn't for me, at all likeable and while the format is through letters she's writing to a lawyer from prison , it’s a novel approach, the way she formats her book, but not unheard of. I’ve read many books set out this way and its not more difficult than reading it as if it were a diary.

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 way too good to be true. The pay is too good to turn down, the house.. breathtaking, and the family seem welcoming and maybe this is the perfect fit . She is warned that previous nannies have quit due to the house being spooky and eerie and full of ghosts… she pays no heed to the warning, she doesn’t believe in ghosts. She manages to secure the position, packs up her life and moves to the lush greenery and peace of Scotland. Little does she know that dark secrets never remain hidden.

One of most fascinating parts about The Turn of the Key is the house!. The whole place is full to the brim with technology and runs off an app… That’s pretty cool by any standards but right there, wouldn’t that make you wonder why a house, that sits in a place full of tranquility and rolling hills, needs to be loaded to the hilt with more gadgets than a computer store? The whole place called Heatherbrae (nice name), it takes on a life of its very own.
The house itself, is my favourite part of the whole book. Gothic and intriguing. Would I spend the night there? NO!

The Turn of the Key is told only through Rowan’s eyes, as she tells us what led to her arrest through a series of letters to a solicitor. Rowan isn’t the best at the truth and you never fully know what’s real or embellished. While this type of narrative style can be annoying and wearing, I found that it was a clever way for us to get a more detailed account of Rowens time at Heatherbrae. One just needs to continue to question whether or not her version of events is accurate.

There are a few twists and turns and you will be lead on a merry chase. I found it a little predictable and I found myself getting annoyed with the pace a few times but I really enjoyed it for the most part. I maybe, would have liked another characters point of view for balance. Could have come as newspaper articles or a diary maybe. I felt a little unbalanced but I can totally see what the author was trying to accomplish. It was slow in places but the build up with nice and steady and you can really feel the pull of a big surprise coming.

She finished the book with a bang and it was worth the slow pace to get to the gooey end. I love Ruths work so I already was a little in love with the book before I read it and I wasn’t disappointed.

If you are looking for a gritty but slower paced psychological thriller than this is the read for you. It was a fascinating read. 4 stars out of 5!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ruth Ware is one of my favourite authors because her thrillers are suspenseful, creepy and gothic, without being too scary for the likes of me. They're not 'jump out of your seat' scary. It's more a growing uneasiness that makes your skin crawl. The house in The Turn of the Key is a mix of the gothic mansion in The Death of Mrs. Westaway and the glass house in In a Dark, Dark Wood. Setting is something that Ruth Ware excels at as the place on her novels is often central to the plot and adds to the overall creepiness of the book.

The Turn of the Key tells the story of Rowan, a nanny who takes a position caring for a family's children in a remote house in the Scottish highlands. I really enjoyed the story, turning the pages quickly to find out what was going on. While I found the final reveal to be a bit disappointing, it was chilling in its own way and didn't take away from the build up and suspense of the book up to that point.

Really, you can't go wrong with a Ruth Ware!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

I have read most of the author's other works and have always found them to be slow burning but they always kept me on the edge of my seat. While the beginning of this book hooked me and got me excited about reading it and the ending of this book is wonderful and all I could have hoped for it to be; the middle third of the book seemed to be just kind of blah. I like the premise of the story but did not find it as creepy or eerie as her previous books. Maybe it was just the main character that I never clicked with, but non e of the characters seemed to be well developed, we knew nothing about almost everyone. That said, I will definitely read more of her books.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I must say, I wasn't expecting that twist. As in the Turn of the Screw, we are left hanging regarding what actually happened in the end. But in The Turn of the Key, Rowan comes across as a better person. All kinds of mixed up things going on, that is for sure! This was a very interesting and well written thriller. I just didn't love the open ending. (Spoiler alert:) I don't always need things spelled out, but it made no sense to base the story on all the letters and not include a final letter showing where all the chips had fallen. I suspect that even if the worst did happen, and Rowan was found guilty, once the letters were discovered, justice may eventually have been done and Rowan's misguided sacrifice will have been put aside. an Interesting but untidy ending, but still a great read.

The Turn of the Key is a slow and boring novel that follows Rowan as she accepts a live-in nannying post at a Victorian style home outfitted with the latest tech.

Unfortunately, The Turn of the Key misses the mark entirely as its slow pace does not ramp up to a satisfying conclusion. Instead, for 70% of the novel, readers experience the mundane life of a nanny dealing with difficult children with odd things happening far and few between.

The novel is told through a letter as Rowan is tries to convince a lawyer to take her case. She adamantly pleads her innocence of murder. Therefore, there are many moments where Rowan breaks the fourth wall to convince readers to continue reading despite how boring the novel has been so far. These moments made me laugh aloud since they came at times I was considering putting down the book.

There are a lot of compelling elements throughout the novel: the folklore, the poison garden, and the smarthome. Unfortunately, Ware does little with these elements making them feel like they were shoehorned into the story at the last minute. The most compelling element was the idea of clashing the ultra-modern with the gothic Victorian to create an unsettling atmosphere. Except, Ware only skims the surface leaving these topics unexplored.

At about the halfway mark, I figured The Turn of the Key would be one of those mystery novels that has an incredibly slow build up but pays off with a mind-blowing twist. Unfortunately, The Turn of the Key is not one such novel. The ending is mediocre at best.

Overall, The Turn of the Key is Ware’s most boring and unsuccessful novel to date. The boring plot coupled with the slow pace make The Turn of the Key a mystery worth passing on.

As always, I adore a Ruth Ware novel. The Turn of the Key was well-paced and actually had my pulse racing a few times. The mystery was satisfying for me, although I did find myself with an overall feeling of sadness. I definitely recommend it for fans of the author and other similar style mystery/thrillers. 4 stars.

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

more of like a 3.5 stars but this was so entertaining. omg.
I was constantly sitting there coming up with theories while reading it.

this is an atmospheric, slower-paced psychological thriller with some intriguing twists and turns.

Ruth Ware you did that girl. *claps*

Ruth Ware has been on my radar for a while and I own all of her books, but for some reason, I haven’t got around to them. When I saw The Turn of the Key on NetGalley, I decided to request it, and to my surprise, my request was granted. I devoured this book in a couple of days (although my review is coming a few weeks late because grad school got in the way). This book was creepy, had me second guessing, and had me completely shocked by the twists. It was a bit slow at the start and rushed at the end, but to be honest, it didn’t bother me that much. The Turn of the Key is a solid thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with an eARC of The Turn of the Key in exchange for an honest review.