I found the story did not flow smoothly. It had many impediments to make the reader question the tale with its’vast contradictions. Expecting a haunted house story, especially with the character names being Rowan, Rhiannon, and Sandra, the mother and protector of man, I was left disappointed that it wasn’t so.

Added to my disenchantment was the incomplete ending. Many questions that were part of the main story were left unanswered by the author, leaving me with the feeling that the book was unfinished.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Gallery, Pocket Books for an advance copy of The Turn of the Key.

SO good! I skipped my entire TBR pile and jumped right to this one and read it in a weekend. There are very few authors that I have read every single one of their works: Ruth Ware is one. Ware is a master at the locked-room mystery. She doesn't just give you a basic room - she gives you an entire descriptive, imaginative and immersive world---you feel like you are there alongside the characters. The atmosphere and tension are so artfully intertwined that I felt goosebumps during several points in the book.

Ruth Ware is consistently on top of her game! This is another thrilling novel that not only keeps a perfectly timed pace, but excels at character development and well-balanced atmospheric detail. The twists at the end were unpredictable even for a seasoned suspense lover. And the ending was killer (pun intended)! Fabulous novel!

Creepy and disturbing, smart play on "The Turn of the Screw" and a story that begins at the tragic end.

This book was received as an ARC from Gallery, Pocket Books - Gallery/Scout Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Our community including myself are huge fans of Ruth Ware and her work of mystery books and how they are so captivating and thrilling that you can not put them down. This one did not disappoint to the fact that I read The Turn of the Key in one sitting due to the fact that Ruth left you wanting to know what really happened to the murder and the role Rowan got herself into by taking this nanny job. This book had twists and turns like no other and just when you figured it out, the whole plot takes a new direction. Every page was more interesting than the next and it is worth the time reading in one sitting.

We will consider adding this title to our Mystery collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

As a big fan of Ruth Ware, I was really excited to get an advance copy of this one. It is not a spoiler to say that it opens with a nanny in prison awaiting trial for the murder of a child. She claims to be innocent. How did she end up in this situation? We then flash back to Rowan Caine arriving at Heatherbrae House, interviewing for the nanny position. It seems like the ideal job -- nice family, high salary and a great house in the Scottish Highlands. Things are not always as they seem -- why have all of the previous nannies quit so suddenly? Why do strange things keep happening? I never thought that a high-tech "smart house" could be so creepy. This was twisty and I loved it.

Wow. I am never disappointed in a Ruth Ware novel. They do fill me with anxiety while reading, but mostly in a good way. Ha.

This was enjoyable to read, enough of a thriller, but not too many twists and turns.

Definitely recommend, high 4 stars.

Reminded me of the Woman in Cabin 10 only this time it's a house not a ship. Even though it seems similar there is enough of a difference to make it a good read. The story is told through letters, not my favorite way to read a novel. When you get to the second half the reading gets more interesting.

In my opinion, the BEST Ruth Ware book by far. The pace moves so quickly and did not lose my interest for a moment. While I was able to somewhat guess the ending, it didn't matter. This was a FANTASTIC read!

Thank you #NetGalley for an advanced copy
Of #TheTurnOfTheKey.

I so wanted to love this book. I’ve read a few others by Ruth Ware and really enjoyed them but this one just didn’t do it for me. Overall the pace was a little slow and took until about 79% through the book for something twisty/shocking to happen. I kept waiting for those “wow” moments and to be honest, that didn’t come for me until the Epilogue. This story is about Rowan, a new nanny for the Elincourt family, writing to a lawyer asking for help after she’s been charged with killing one of the little girls she nannies for. There were a lot of supernatural references talking about ghosts and things magically disappearing or reappearing, all of which were frightening Rowan, but to mean seemed a little far-fetched until everything is explained. This just didn’t keep my interested but I stuck with it after reading the ending was really good. If you are a big Ruth Ware fan I would still recommend you give this one a shot!

I. LOVED. THIS. I don't know exactly what it was about this book but it felt like I was reading the script of the next movie thriller. It really was great! Ruth Ware is one I will read anything by but she really outdid herself with this one. If you are looking for a unique thriller with a lot of twists and turns, this is your book!

As much as I was lukewarm about The Girl in Cabin 10, I am very enthused about The Turn of the Key! Rowan has taken a nanny position for a family in Scotland. As soon as she's hired, both parents leave on work travel. Crazy events begin to take place, from Rowan's missing necklace to malfunctioning home electronics. It doesn't help, she isn't sleeping as there is constant pacing at night in the attic above her head. What is going on in this home? It also doesn't help that the children are at times likable to other times demonic. Is the house haunted? Is someone trying to drive her out? It all comes to a head with the terrible death of one of the children leads to Rowan's incarceration. Is she innocent or a fantastic lier? Ruth Ware did a fabulous job creating a suspenseful who done it.

Told in Ruth Ware's signature gothic style - albeit with a few modern additions this time (the ULTIMATE smart house, equipped with voice recognition, personalized shower experiences, mood lighting, music and of course, cameras), The Turn of the Key does a fantastic job of building the suspense page by page. The prologue lets us know that Rowan is sitting in jail accused of murder for one of the children she is nannying for - via a letter she writes to a lawyer enlisting his help. We then start at the beginning to how this job is landed and the events that eventually land her in her current predicament.

The suspense builds with each page, the tension is palpable and will leave you eager to know what is going on. Many nannies have been scared off before Rowan - but what exactly is lurking under the surface at Heatherbrae House?

I enjoyed the build up here and The Turn of the Key really is a slow burn, however, the payoff was just not exciting enough for the level of slow burn here, in my opinion. I think fans of Ware's will still enjoy this one as it has her signature writing style, but this one missed the mark a bit for me.

Thank you to Gallery/Scout press for an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Definitely captivating! I was really into this and just feel a little let down by the ending. It wasn’t bad at all but I guess I just wanted more!

I felt like this was a revised version of the Death of Mrs. Westaway, far too many similarities and all the characters were insufferable. A lot of the plot was really unbelievable and the ending felt very unsatisfying.

I was pretty disappointed in this book. I was captivated from the get go- I really like Ruth Ware’s other novels! This one was excellent through about halfway through and then it starts to get... meh. It’s not that its bad... it’s just very anticlimactic. And the ending leaves a whole lot to be desired. Total bummer, but I’ll live ;)

I absolutely loved this book. I was hooked from the start! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

The story is told from the perspective of Rowan, a nanny who is currently in jail for the murder of a child that was in her care. She has written a letter to a very prestigious lawyer in the hopes that he will believe that she was not responsible for this. She tells the lawyer her story, from the beginning of finding the job posting online, to the bitter end when she found the dead child. There are so many twists in this story and the ending is SHOCKING. This book was AMAZING!!! I highly recommend!

Another fantastic book from Ruth Ware. This one kept me reading for an entire day. I could not put it down. I loved how the plot had lots of twists and turns. I do wish that the last "twist" wasn't in the last few pages though... It left me a bit confused. Thank you for the advanced copy. I have already recommended to all my reader friends.

I’m a huge Ruth Ware fan and have read and enjoyed all of her books, but this was by far my favorite. Right from the start, we learn that the protagonist, Rowan, is in prison writing to employ the help of a solicitor to help her overturn the charge of murder for which she is incarcerated. And then she dives right into her story. I was captivated from the very start and would have read this straight through had I unlimited time to read.

Rowan travels to isolated northern Scotland to become a nanny for a rich and eccentric family. The remote location, including old gothic architecture and an actual poison garden on the grounds, has a very creepy vibe which immediately sets the unreliable narrator, along with the reader, on edge right up to the end of the book. Ware brilliantly executes multiple twists, none of which I saw coming. From start to finish, this was an absolute, pulse-pounding joy to read.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Gallery/Scout Press and Ruth Ware for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Somewhat disappointing. I have enjoyed most of Ruth Ware's other books, especially In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Death of Mrs. Westaway. For the positives here, the environment and characters definitely lent well to the creepy environment of the house. The main plot (a child who the nanny is in charge of is dead and she has been charged with the murder, but swears she is innocent). is compelling, and it is not one of those predictable thrillers where you see the twists coming a mile away. My main complaint here is the pacing of this book. NOTHING at all happens except a bunch of creepy things in the house for the first 85% of the book. Then in the last 50 or so pages, everything happens and the truth is revealed. And also in the last few pages there is a big "twist" but said twist has absolutely no bearing on the rest of the plot, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.