Meet New Books
Book Cover

The Turn of the Key

Save:
Find on Amazon

'The Turn of the Key' by Ruth Ware is a suspenseful mystery thriller that follows the story of Rowan Caine, a nanny accused of murdering one of the children she was caring for. The book is written in a unique format, primarily through letters, which creates an atmospheric and suspenseful narrative. As Rowan navigates her new job at a secluded smart house in Scotland, she uncovers disturbing secrets and mysterious occurrences, leading to a chilling and twisty plot that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

The story is filled with creepy and spooky elements, blending modern technology with a Victorian setting to enhance the suspense and mystery. Readers are taken on a journey of unraveling the truth behind the events at Heatherbrae House, with unexpected twists and turns that culminate in a shocking and ambiguous ending, leaving unanswered questions and a sense of unease.

Characters:

Characters are intricately developed, especially the protagonist Rowan, whose unreliable narration creates depth, while the family dynamics heighten suspense.

Writing/Prose:

The prose combines suspense and atmosphere, utilizing a letter format that enhances intimacy and tension throughout the narrative.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot weaves a tale of a nanny who is wrongfully accused of murder while working for a wealthy family in a high-tech home, unfolding through letters she writes to her lawyer.

Setting:

The story takes place in a technologically advanced house in a remote Scottish location, which enhances the gothic atmosphere.

Pacing:

The pacing varies, initially slow but builds tension effectively, especially as the narrative approaches its climax.
I started writing to you last night, Mr. Wrexham, and when I woke up this morning and looked at the crumpled pages covered with my pleading scrawl, my first instinct was to rip them up and start again...

Notes:

The Turn of the Key is narrated by Rowan Caine, a nanny currently in prison awaiting trial for murder.
The story is told through letters Rowan writes to a prospective lawyer, Mr. Wrexham, explaining her side of the events.
Rowan takes a live-in nanny position at a smart house in the Scottish Highlands, called Heatherbrae House.
The story plays with themes of isolation, as the house remote setting contributes to the eerie atmosphere.
The house is a mix of old Victorian architecture and modern technology, creating a creepy juxtaposition.
The children Rowan is responsible for are described as difficult, which adds to her challenges.
Several previous nannies have left the job under mysterious circumstances, raising suspicions around the household.
Creepy occurrences such as strange noises and malfunctioning technology lead Rowan to question her sanity.
The novel includes significant twists, including a major twist that many readers didn't see coming.
Rowan has secrets of her own that are revealed as the story progresses, complicating her character's reliability.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include themes of child death, psychological trauma, mentions of drug use, and general emotional distress encountered by the protagonist.

From The Publisher:

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A superb suspense writer…Brava, Ruth Ware. I daresay even Henry James would be impressed." -Maureen Corrigan, author of So We Read On

"This appropriately twisty Turn of the Screw update finds the Woman in Cabin 10 author in her most menacing mode, unfurling a shocking saga of murder and deception." -Entertainment Weekly

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lying Game and The Death of Mrs. Westaway comes this thrilling novel that explores the dark side of technology.

When she stumbles across the ad, she's looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss-a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten-by the luxurious "smart" home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.

What she doesn't know is that she's stepping into a nightmare-one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.

Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the events that led to her incarceration. It wasn't just the constant surveillance from the home's cameras, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn't just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn't even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman.

It was everything.

She knows she's made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn't always ideal. She's not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she's not guilty-at least not of murder-but somebody is.

Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware's signature suspenseful style, The Turn of the Key is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

Ratings (110)

Incredible (11)
Loved It (42)
Liked It (36)
It Was OK (16)
Did Not Like (5)

Reader Stats (239):

Read It (118)
Currently Reading (1)
Want To Read (91)
Did Not Finish (1)
Not Interested (28)

7 comment(s)

It Was OK
1 week

3.5 stars. I knew going into this that I was probably going to enjoy this one a bit better than the first book I've read of hers and I was right. Liked the twist and turns and the use of "smart house" but not enough to give it 4 stars. I'm glad I requested it from the library and might try to give another book by her a go

 
Loved It
2 weeks

The atmosphere that Ruth created is wonderful. A really surprising ending.

 
Loved It
2 weeks

4.5

 
Loved It
2 months

3.5 stars.

 
It Was OK
3 months

3.75

I pretty much devoured this book. It had been sitting in my “to read at some point” box. I finally pulled it out, not sure what to expect. As it turns out, I quite enjoyed it. It wasn’t perfect by any means and the end just seemed to… happen. Almost like the author just got tired of writing it and decided “Okay, let’s wrap it up now.”

In spite of that, it was a fairly compelling read for the most part. The atmosphere was perfectly foreboding. The characters, on the other hand, were almost all, fairly unlikable. The one character that could have been considered somewhat amiable does not exactly finish off that way. Nobody, from the mercurial protagonist to the constantly cranky baby (and everyone in between) comes off smelling like a rose.

 
Incredible
6 months

Page turner. I stayed up way too late reading this one.

 
Liked It
8 months

Atmospheric, sad, surprising twist. Everything I love about a good thriller.

 

About the Author:

Ruth Ware worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language, and a press officer before settling down as a full-time writer. She now lives with her family in Sussex, on the south coast of England. She is the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail (Toronto) bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood; The Woman in Cabin 10; The Lying Game; The Death of Mrs. Westaway; The Turn of the Key; and One by One. Visit her at RuthWare.com or follow her on Twitter @RuthWareWriter.

 
Meet New Books is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products and services on amazon.com and its subsidiaries.
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.