I absolutely loved this book. So why 4 stars? The ending! There is a twist in The Turn of the Key that I would never have expected, and really it was a great twist. But it's not the twist I wanted! I know, it's a selfish reason, but I just feel like the twist that is in the book could have been so much better had the ending been creepy rather than logical. But that's just me.

The atmosphere in The Turn of the Key is dark and Gothic and wonderful. It's one of my favorite types of books. I love feeling as if I'm right there with the main character, in this case Rowan the nanny, as she heads down a spiral to madness (perhaps).

As I said before, I love feeling as if I'm either with the main character, or that I am the main character. The Turn of the Key did that for me. I was in Scotland with Rowan watching her every move. Every decision she made, every creepy thing that happened to her...I was right there. And I began wondering about her. You'll see as you read this novel. Some of the decisions she makes are questionable and made me wonder what she was thinking! If I HAD been there with her, I think I would have smacked her upside the head and told her to use her brain!

You see, Rowan is a child caregiver, and is now a nanny. She's been a nanny before too. So, the way she interacts with the children under her care is sometimes suspicious. I mean, I realize she's not a mom and doesn't have mom instincts, but she's got to have some common sense!

Speaking of common sense, the mother who hires her has none! Would you leave your kids for over a week with someone you met once? Yeah, she's a career woman, but come on! You see, she and her husband are a two person architect team, so they're away often and this happens to be a time she's got to be away. I'd tell my husband to forget it and stay with the person I just hired for at least a week! So, the fact that the parents just leave, along with some happenings, made me think that this would end differently.

Like I said, I loved the story, so I do recommend it if you like twisty, Gothic-like novels. I just had a totally different ending planned. I'll bet when you're reading this, you will too.

In spite of a long and tedious first half, the finale brings it all into focus with a very satisfying ending.

The time line is straightforward – always a plus in my mind. Most of the characters are pretty well developed and most of the action is reasonable.

Personally, I would have designated this genre as horror, not mystery & thrillers.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Gallery Scout Press, in exchange for an honest review.

There are strange things happening at Heatherbrae House. Nanny, Rowan Caine has just arrived to care for four girls. Petra an infant, Ellie who is five, Maddie is eight and Rhiannon who is a feisty 14 year old. The house is huge. Part of the original Victorian up-dated to a smart house. A house run by a computer app. It controls the lights, heating, doors, windows, music volume etc. Rowan has a lot to learn in a very short time. The parents will be leaving her in charge for several days. It hasn't gone too bad. Aside from the children disliking her, noises above her room, doorbells going off at all hours, music blaring in the middle of the night. Yes, and then there is the death of a child. Suddenly her scheme to get the nanny job doesn't seem like such a good idea.
Awesome read. Totally takes you by surprise.
Loved it!

As Rachel sits in a prison cell, she attempts many pleading letters to an attorney. It is through these letters and her recollections, that the story is told. Rachel assumes another identity to get the perfect nanny job. A room in a smart house with a generous salary and 8 weeks paid time off was ideal. Bring into the mix an alarming turnover of former nannies, children’s deaths,the paranormal and a poison garden, Rachel finds the ideal position losing its luster. A fast-moving story with new discoveries in each chapter, I could not stop reading. I have received a free copy of this book and I am voluntarily posting my review.

eez Louise! Can Ruth Ware write!!!! I am very happy to report that I now have read all of Ware's books and she is a favorite go-to author!!!

WEH
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"We hate you. Somehow, seeing it there in the innocence of Alphabetti Spaghetti was more upsetting than almost anything else."

"I did hate them - in that moment. But I saw myself too. A prickly little girl, full of emotions too big for her small frame, emotions she could not understand or contain."

So, this is the story of Rowan Caine. She stumbles across an ad to work for a well to do family as a nanny at Heatherbrae House. She is not loving her current position and this live in opportunity seems too good to miss out on. It quite possibly might be her dream job? So many ammenities and luxuries she could never hope to have otherwise. She will have to get out of her current job to take the nanny position, but telling a few lies is not that difficult for Rowan. Upon arriving for the interview, in the beautiful Scottish Highlands, she is quite taken with all she sees. It is a smart house and Sandra, the children's mother, is delightful. I would want to work for her too! I can just imagine her being so pretty and welcoming. Always having a big smile for her family and guests. She needs someone quick and well, our eager job seeker, Rowan will do just about anything to seal the deal; secure the position; get the job. It does seem a bit odd that Rowan does not get to meet the children's father in the interview. But still...she wants this job and will do whatever it takes to be hired.

We soon see things unravel for her as she travels the dark path of a nightmare. At the beginning we know that Rowan is in prison for the murder of a child under her care. She is writing letter after letter to a lawyer in hopes of being released. What follows is a page turner of intrigue and suspense as the reader tries to learn what could have possibly happened to her and the children in her care. Is it something sinister? Evil? Or more innocent??? Child's play??

I guess you will have to read to find out for yourself. I can say I enjoyed this immensely. I connected quite a lot to Rowan and the setting was my favorite kind...macbre, full of gothic elements and some ghostly, spookiness..with a secret/poison garden, murder and mayhem.

I am very grateful to Ruth Ware, and the publisher, Simon and Schuster, via NetGalley for an ARC to read for review. I highly recommend this novel. You should read it! Highly anticipated and it delivers.

This novel was a great read, especially because I love being surprised when I least expect it—some things bugged me while I read and I kept wondering whether they were parts the author had overviewed or if I’d read too fast and missed something, or why she’d used twisted certain sentences around and suddenly it all made sense (though this comment might not make a lot of sense if you haven’t read the novel, but there’s no way I can turn it differently without saying too much). There are many twists along the story and they keep it going, almost forbidding you to put the book down. I haven’t read Ruth Ware before—though I’ve heard of her previous novels. Now I will definitely check them up.

Ruth Ware has officially done it again! Ms. Ware's fifth novel is a fast-paced, thriller about a girl who goes to be the live-in nanny for a family with four children. Little does she know, in a few months time, she will be behind bars and one of the children she was nanny to is dead. Written with Ware's signature gothic atmosphere, readers will be unable to put down The Turn of the Key as they try to figure out just what went on in that house. Highly recommended to readers who have enjoyed Ware's previous novels and to those who enjoy a strong psychological suspense.

I loved this book! It is the story of a young girl who goes to live with a family to take care of their 4:children. There are so many surprises and twists in this story....I loved them all! Rowan is a great lead character, I really felt for her and wanted this all to end well for her. This book is creepy, thrilling, easy to read, haunting, and I didn’t want to put it down! Loved the ending!

I just finished this book and it was definitely a page-turner! Having just started summer break I could not put the book down, every spare moment I was reading. At first I was a little apprehensive with some of the themes in the book, but that quickly changed as I got further into the book. I was thoroughly surprised continually throughout the book, as the author keeps some good secrets and then sends them out at the most opportune time! I loved Woman in Cabin 10, and this one is just a suspenseful and wonderfully written!

This story seems so...done. I couldn't get past the poor attempts to replicate The Turn of the Screw. Don't get me wrong--I love Ruth Ware. Just not Ruth Ware trying to write someone else's story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital ARC of this book. I was very excited when I saw that this book was available on NetGalley for preview. I have enjoyed all the books that Ruth Ware has written, and this new one did not disappoint. As always, I enjoyed the character development in this book as well as the twisty plot. I love books with surprise endings. This book will keep you guessing until the very end.

Ruth Ware should always be a first-purchase author, especially for collections where thrillers are popular. Another excellent offering.

Ruth Ware does it again. Read this book in two days. I needed to get to the bottom of Rowan's story. From the time she met the girls, I couldn't out the book down. This borders a supernatural sci fi,but it is not.

Excellent spooky novel. Think a modern "Jane Eyre" or "Turn of the Screw." Ruth Ware delivers yet again!

Fantastic book. I was kept in suspense until the end. The story of a young woman looking to get out of her shell and make changes in her life. She moves to a new country in for a job that is to good to be true. As the reader you are taken on a roller coaster with her as she tries to be a nanny to 3 very difficult children that obviously do not want her there. Tragedy strikes and the book is told from the main character’s point of view as she is writing a letter to a lawyer asking for help.

Ruth Ware gets better and better with each book she writes. I love how in each novel she takes on a different aspect of story, whether it be plot driven, character drive, or atmospheric. This novel reminded me very much of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. Ware does a wonderful job creating a menacing atmosphere that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end.

*Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for a fair and honest review.
After not being wowed by The Woman in Cabin 10 last year, I was a little hesitant about trying this one.. It sounded right up my alley though; nanny, house in the woods, etc... Made the right choice and really enjoyed this novel that truly throws the reader a twist at the end. Let's be honest, when you read a lot you are seldom surprised by those "twists", and probably called them back in chapter nine. At least, I do. This one, however, truly caught me by surprise. Great summer read, highly recommended!

I enjoyed this book. It was a fast-paced thriller with a fairly relatable character. I found some of the content around the house (linked up to be REALLY smart) to be a bit convenient, but I liked the writing and the mystery. The inclusion of the poison garden and the secrets that the main character were hiding were a nice touch. Overall, a nice summer beach-y read!

I've become a fan of Ruth Ware over the last few years, enjoying her writing style and her first two novels in particular. I wasn't as thrilled with The Lying Game but thought The Death of Mrs. Westaway was more successful. Still, I was excited to get an ARC of The Turn of the Key and was not disappointed.

The novel follows Rowan, a mysterious London-based nanny who is currently in some trouble and writing a letter to a lawyer. The letter -writing felt a bit gimmicky, and much of the time you forget it's even a letter. It's not until the very end that its's clear why this style was chosen. At any rate, Rowan applied for a job in a remote Scotland location. It's clear there is something odd about this situation, but she takes her time revealing it. Once she is there, mysterious and creepy events happen. Is it ghosts? An outside threat? Someone in the family? What happened to get Rowan in such trouble?

As the plot is slowly revealed, tension and a creepy atmosphere are thickly painted on. This was the best part of the story and, I think, something Ruth Ware is very good at. As the ending revealed a series of twists and turns, I was also impressed with my surprise at most of them. They were not obvious, or at least, not until Ware wanted them to be obvious.

So, why only 3 stars? For one, Rowan isn't the most sympathetic character. She's not awful, but nor is she someone I particularly cared about. Her backstory is revealed at the end, making her character development quite thin. Likewise, no one else in the story has much depth at all. There were also plot threads that were never addressed. I could get past this - after all it's a suspense novel, and she got the atmosphere right. However, a couple of the twists, while surprising, end up being completely improbable. This rendered a feeling of "oh please" rather than "oh how disturbing!" which is what the author was going for.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the book but it doesn't stand out as one of the best suspense novels I have read - or even one of Ruth Ware's best. The Woman In Cabin 10 still holds that title.

Another suspenseful page-turner from Ruth Ware, this time a clever modern-day mashup of _The Turn of the Screw_ and _2001_, as brand-new nanny Rowan gets left on her own in an isolated country house that the kids claim is haunted, but which is even more spookily controlled by a "smart" app that also seems to be determined to drive Rowan away.

Being a Ruth Ware book, there are, predictably, several unpredictable plot twists toward the end of the novel. You know something's coming, but Ware does such a good job of leaving crumbs without establishing a clear path that they all feel both surprising and, for the most part, fair.

However, Ware does engage in a bit of a deus-ex-machina "cheat" in conveniently keeping the oldest of the couple's four children--a savvy and snarky teenager--"offstage" at boarding school for much of the novel. This allows Ware to postpone one of the big reveals in a way that does feel a little manipulative.

But overall, this is undoubtedly going to be another bestseller, and for good reason: it's atmospheric and gothic and taps into the reader's anxiety about both the supernatural and the supertechnical.

Many thanks to NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!