Another creepy Ruth Ware novel! Her books always keep me on the edge of my seat and just wanting to know what happened.

In this book Rowan just can't let a live in nanny job pass her by. Once she is there the weirdest things begin to occur, the children aren't nice, and the grounds keeper is weird. All of those things together kept me reading and unable to put this down.

Thank you for another amazing book!

I’ve read all of Ruth Ware’s novels and my favorite is The Lying Game, which is the one most people didn’t like. My relationship with Ruth’s books are complicated. I read all of them expecting to be blown away, but I never am. The Turn of the Key pulled me in immediately and I thought the storyline was intriguing. Also, I really liked that the format is through letters the protagonist is writing from prison to an attorney. There were some twists I didn’t see coming and the ending was a nice touch.

5/5 stars for The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware!

Told in her signature Gothic style, Ruth Ware does an amazing job at creating a suspenseful plot that captures you, holds you hostage, and turns you inside out by the end. While I seem to have had the experience with her novels where I either hate it or love it- I can honestly say that I absolutely LOVED this one! A completely atmospheric novel that utilizes elements of the supernatural mixed with modern “smart house” features (key-less entry front door, voice recognition, smart panels, etc.), The Turn of the Key does an amazing job of creeping out the audience (FOR REAL, read with the lights on my friend).

The prologue starts with our main protagonist, Rowan, who happens to be in prison and writing to a solicitor for help. The entire novel is her re-telling the events at The Heatherbrae House and desperately trying to convince this solicitor that she is innocent. But is she? Rowan unravels the twisted tale of her time as a nanny at The Heatherbrae House constantly making you change your mind as to whether she really did “it” (you don’t find out what “it” is until the very end- yet there are hints spread throughout the story) or not.

Ruth Ware really has the amazing gift of cultivating a scary story that doesn’t seem cliché in the least. I love being unsure if the supernatural tendencies are simply that, or if someone is actually responsible. I also really love old and creepy houses (LOL). Not to mention, I reallllllly enjoy when an author can make me root for the protagonist but also kind of hate her. Let me tell you, Rowan is a hot mess! Albeit, very interesting.

I think the ending was a bit too “perfect” and I would have liked to have known what happened to the characters years later. However, this is an amazing creepy story that really helped me break through a mini-reading slump! I definitely recommend!

I could not put this one down! It kept me on my toes and had me guessing until the very end. My one complaint is that the ending felt so rushed and incomplete. I hated how ambiguous it was! I'm am, however, looking forward to reading more by this author!

Thank you @gallerybooks for my free @netgalley copy of The Turn of the Key by @ruthwarewriter! I knew before I even finished reading it that I was going to need a finished copy so naturally I added it to my @bookofthemonth box.

Ruth Ware has been a favorite author of mine since before I even joined bookstagram. The Woman in Cabin 10 was the first book that I picked up and since then I’ve read everything she’s written. All of her previous books have been five star reads for me, besides The Lying Game, which I gave four stars.

The Turn of the Key might be my new favorite Ware novel. I loved the way it‘s written: as letters to a lawyer and the fact that it still flows effortlessly. The setting was so chilling even if the smart house did seem a little outrageous at times. (But really, do people actually live like that?!) Creepy/evil children are always a win for me because if that were me, I’d be out of there so fast!

And without giving anything away, I loved the ending and that it was left somewhat open to interpretation. I highly recommend picking up this original and atmospheric new thriller from Ruth Ware!

I'm afraid I haven't been a big fan of Ms. Ware's previous books. But this one I loved. Great mystery kept me enthralled and the characters were wonderful.

Highly recommend. Thanks Netgalley for this arc.

This book was a pleasant surprise. I have not been as crazy about some of Ruth Ware's books in the past, but this one caught me by surprise. I was excited to see that it kept me guessing to the very end. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an engrossing, crazy thriller! This one had me guessing until the very end. The characters were all well written and had me questioning all the motives from start to finish. This is everything I would want from a thriller. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Another great book by Ruth Ware that kept me in suspense right until the bitter end. A young woman takes up a nanny position in Scotland. But the "too good to be true" position turns out to be just that. The children hate her, she is left alone with them straight away in a remote spot in Scotland. Slowly things start to unravel and the nanny begins to understand why all the previous nannies left. A nail-biting page turner, well-written with a good amount of unpredictable twists. 5 stars!!

This was a very suspenseful book right from the beginning. The author did a great job with all the twists and turns and kept me glued to the chilling plot. Ruth Ware knows how to get your attention and hold onto to it until she’s ready to release it. Well done! #TheTurnOfTheKey #RuthWare #NetGalley

This is my first Ruth Ware book and I definitely think I’ll be looking up her others after reading this! Well written and paced, creepy, and a decent ending!

I started this but was having trouble getting into it. I loved The Woman in Cabin 10. I will come back to it again later.

The Short of It:

I needed a book that I could not put down and this was it.

The Rest of It:

Nanny stories are quite popular. Add a supernatural element, difficult kids, weird parents and a big, spooky house and you have a winner. Now add technology. I mean, cameras, apps, smart refrigerators and TVs and you up the creep factor by 100%.

Rowan finds the nanny position of a lifetime. A high-paying, live-in gig that will take her to the beautiful Scottish moors. The house is unique. An old Victorian in the front, but the back half of the house is all gleaming and new, outfitted with the latest technology. At first, Rowan is impressed by this. Sandra and Bill, architects by trade, restored what they could but re-imagined the rest but all of its gadgetry proves to be a bit much for Rowan when she is immediately tasked with watching the children for ten days while the parents are at a business conference.

Did I mention that the last four nannies all left within a two-year period? Or that the house has a history of death and violence? Or that some in the town believe it to be haunted?

This was such a fun book to read. I was completely immersed and could not turn those pages fast enough. It’s sufficiently creepy and keeps you guessing with all its plot twists. The ending felt a tad rushed but overall, I really enjoyed this one and found it to be really entertaining and fun. I read it in one day. A work day, which should tell you something.

A serendipitous ad sends an unhappy young woman to a nanny position in a rural part of the UK. The pay is amazing, the children & parents friendly, the house lovely....what could go wrong?

In typical Ruth Ware fashion, all is not as it purports to be and as the story unfolds, readers are kept on the edge of their seats. This is exactly why we read Ruth Ware's books. The suspense builds slowly, although there are hints throughout that something is terribly wrong -- with the house, the parents, the children, or with Rowan (the nanny). I could not put this book down!

So why didn't I give it 5 stars or recommend it for "Library Reads"? Simply put, I thought the structure (format) was annoying and intrusive. The book is in the form of a letter to a barrister written by Rowan from prison. She's explaining why she is in jail accused of murder, and why she is innocent. I thought the letter format was forced and distracting. I don't mind flashbacks or first person narratives, but the "letter" passages took me out of the narrative. It seemed unnecessary. Additionally, the plot just seemed a bit like a bad horror movie. I can't really explain why I did not connect with the characters, but I found most of them tiresome.

There were some moments that captured my attention -- the technology in the house provided for some moments of humor and suspense. Jack, the handyman, added to Rowan's humanity and I hoped for more of a friendship/romance to develop there and there was potential there, but even that seemed to fall flat. Thankfully, the twists & turns in the plot kept the story pretty interesting.

Not a terrible way to pass the time -- I did finish the book -- but I was hoping for more.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I love Ruth Ware and was not disappointed by this book. It is a great thriller where you are not sure which way it is going to go, which kept me turning the pages. The characters are real, but yet you never fully know them, which helps bring the ending together. I did not guess the ending, which for me is always the best payout for a thriller/suspense book.

WOW! Ruth Ware really knows how to bring a captivating story. She is very well known for her thrillers. This one is just as exciting with supernatural elements added in. I love the narration of the book. We know that Rowan is already in Jail. She is writing a layer trying to prove her innocence. Through her telling we go back to her becoming a nanny and the history of the house and the spooky things that happen at the house.

I thought I had this book all figured out. And then I didn't. I am a fan of Ruth Ware. Her books are fast, tense, and captivating, and this story is now one of my favorites of hers.. All I can say is read it. You won't be sorry; but you will be surprised.

Ruth Ware doesn't dissapoint.
This newest book has great characters, and compelling storyline.
Do allot a night to reading, as it is hard to put down !

Like the classic The Shining by Stephen King (more specifically the hotel, The Overlook), the house took center stage for me in this book. Is the house haunted? Or is the old Victorian just creepy in looks alone? Or is it all the modern technology put in place to monitor activities in the house 24/7?
In the beginning we know that the main character, Rowan, is a former nanny in prison for murdering one of the children in her care. The book is in letter format - told from letters Rowan has written in prison to her attorney. I loved this format and the story and the intrigue kept me reading all night until I was done! Very good creep factor!
Thanks to Ruth Ware, Gallery Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this great book!

I listened to this book and what surprised me the most was that I didn’t think this book was a creepy or mysterious as I thought it would be. I was hoping for a good suspenseful story to listen to but I didn’t find that. I really enjoyed the story but I didn’t find it suspenseful, it was more action-packed with a few moments of mystery thrown in.

I thought that there were some really weird things about the house and the family to start with. We didn’t even need to add Rowan to the mix. What’s up with all those cameras and the audio in all those rooms? Can you not have any privacy? What are they afraid of? Then, the technology that supposed to make living in the house easier but seems like it’s overkill. I thought the family seemed a bit off. Did anyone find it strange that the parents left the kids, with their new nanny, on an extended amount of time, immediately after they hired her? I was glad that I had the e-version of this book as there were some things that just didn't seem to be adding up and I thought I had missed something but as I read through the book, nope ......it was just strange.

I liked the character of Rowan as I thought her true personality came through when she needed it. I liked her determination yet she also had moments of uncertainty. I loved how the author wrote this novel. Important, unknown pieces of the story are fed to us readers throughout the novel as we follow Rowan along in her new nanny position.

I wanted more thrills and chills but in-all, it was a good read. I thought the last half of the book was really good. I’ll be looking out for Ruth’s book. 3.5 stars