With echoes of Henry James, the title here is an homage to that author, and a fitting nod to the similarity of situations, if not to the plot overall.

Rowan Caine has a job as a childcare worker in a nursery in London. Recently passed over for promotion, she is fed up and one day when idly googling she comes across a job that seems too good to be true. Bill and Sandra Elincourt are architects. They live in the Highlands and are looking for a live-in nanny for their four children; teenager Rhiannon, who is at boarding school in Inverness during the week; Maddie and Ellie who are both at primary school and 18 month old Petra.

The pay is exceptional but as Sandra explains to Rowan when she invites her for interview, they have gone through quite a few nannies which has been disruptive for the children; the house itself is quite remote and both Bill and Sandra require to travel for their work which can mean they are both away from home for more than a week at a time. So they have determined to pay well, so that they get the best possible person for their children.

The house itself is a mixture of old Victorian and brand new glass and steel. In keeping with their trendy image, the house is served with the latest in smart technology with a ‘Happy app’ controlling everything from the lights to the food ordering to the door locks. Each room is monitored and though this should make life easier for Rowan. In reality it all feels a little too ‘big brother-ish’ to be comfortable for Rowan.

There are two other staff; Jack a gardener come all round handyman, who lives in the stable block across from the house and Jean who comes in from the nearby village twice a day to do a little housekeeping.

Needless to say, Rowan gets the job and almost immediately Sandra tells her that she and Bill have to leave for a European trade fair.

We know all this because Rowan is writing everything in a letter to a Scottish Solicitor Advocate, seeking his representation. She is on remand, in custody awaiting trial for the murder of a child.

She has no confidence in her court appointed solicitor and so has sought advice from the other inmates and is writing to the most recommended advocate to beseech him to take her case. Proclaiming her innocence, she sets down her whole case and her experiences leading up to the death of a child.

As we read her letters, we learn of her difficult start in the house; of the way the children are difficult with her and of the air of creepiness and sometimes downright malevolence that seems to intrude on Rowan at night. Ghostly noises, changes in temperature, creakings, all add up to a chilling and unsettling experience for a 24 year old girl left alone in an unfamiliar house with young children who neither like nor trust her.

Through her pleading letters, we learn of these occurrences and more. Of the house’s strange history and a physic garden that contains only poisons. We also learn something of Rowan’s own history and begin to understand that her version of events has not always been reliable.

Ruth Ware is always a fascinating writer and The Turn of the Key is both chilling and intense. The storyline is compelling and propulsive and the prose enjoys a slow build up that is deliciously wicked and suspenseful. Ware builds in some great creepy moments and there are many twists and turns to keep the reader awake into the small hours creeped out and guessing.

Verdict: A chilling, intense read that is wicked and compelling.

This is the second book that i have read by Ruth Ware and as much as i enjoyed her previous book (The Lying Game), i enjoyed this one even more so. A well written book and whilst i rarely write what a story is about as i prefer one to read the book for themselves, i do highly recommend. Highly recommended.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, freely given.



Please note that i am waiting for Amazon to publish my review.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Nursery nurse Rowan Caine is in a bit of a rut and looking for something to change her life. She finds it when she stumbles across an ad for a job working as a live-in nanny for a family with four children, living in Heatherbrae House in the Highlands. The salary is enormous and when Rowan visits the house for an interview she falls in love with it. Once a large Victorian house, parts of it have been transformed into a ‘smart house’. The owners, Bill and Sandra, are architects and so they use their house to test out these state of the art systems which result in a beautiful home that runs like clockwork. Rowan gets the job but as soon as she starts, Bill and Sandra have to go away for work, leaving Rowan alone to look after the children. The parents have literally only just left the drive when the nightmare begins.

These are troubled children. Nannies have come and gone with upsetting frequency; one not even lasting the first night. Rowan has her hands full with the three little ones and she hasn’t even met the teenager yet, who is away at boarding school but soon to return. But having initially loved this house, Rowan comes to fear it. Everything is outside her control, there are strange noises, impossible things happen, and that’s even before Rowan discovers the secrets in the garden and in the house itself. But all this is in the past because Rowan is telling this tale in a letter to her solicitor, written in her cell where she waits to be tried for murder. A child is dead. Rowan needs someone to believe she is innocent. To save her.

I was drawn to the premise of The Turn of the Key and I immediately fell for the menace of the extraordinary Heatherbrae House. It’s wonderfully described. It’s modern but still extremely creepy. This is an interesting take on the haunted house theme and Heatherbrae House is certainly the star of the novel.

I have found Ruth Ware’s books a little hit and miss in the past, with some I’ve loved, such as The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Death of Mrs Westaway, and others I’ve struggled with, namely In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Lying Game. Unfortunately, The Turn of the Key falls into the latter category, although there were elements that I enjoyed.

I had several issues with the novel and one is its format. The whole book is supposed to be a letter to a solicitor but this just doesn’t seem realistic in the least. I think it also spoils the book’s sense of suspense and tension. I also didn’t care particularly for Rowan but that doesn’t matter too much. More significant is my dissatisfaction with the ending and for the way in which the story is developed. I can’t say too much as I don’t want to give anything away but the way in which this story concludes seems, to me, extremely contrived. I loved the smart house and the way in which it’s described. It is genuinely frightening. But in the end none of this seemed to matter much to how things developed, which I thought was such a shame.

There is some good writing here as the scene is thoroughly set. It is possible that some readers may tire of the meticulously detailed account of what seems like every moment of the day and night but I thought this was well done. The teenager is just another rebellious, unpleasant thriller teen but the younger children have an innocence and charm that really appealed to me.

I will always read Ruth Ware’s novels because I know that they can be excellent. She certainly has some interesting ideas and always sets her novels in beautifully and atmospherically evoked places. I won’t forget Heatherbrae House in a hurry.

Other reviews
The Woman in Cabin 10
The Lying Game
The Death of Mrs Westaway

As soon as I read the description for this book I knew I had to read it. And I am so glad I did. I've really enjoyed each Ruth Ware book I've read (haven't got round to The Lying Game yet but I'll get there) and this was no exception.

The story is told by Rowan, through a letter she writes to a solicitor while she's in prison awaiting a murder trial.

The Turn of the Key is a gripping story that had me spooked numerous times. Suspenseful and twisty, I couldn't work out what was happening until it was literally spelt out for me at the end.

I loved it and personally, I think this is Ruth's best book yet and I can't wait for the next. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This story is really far fetched but I enjoyed it nevertheless! Rowan takes up a position as a nanny in a stunning remote location in Scotland. She is the latest in a line of nannies who have left after a short time. She is thrown in at the deep end, having to look after the children 24/7 while the parents are away. The story is written as a letter from Rowan to a lawyer begging him to represent her in the case of a murdered child whose death she has been accused of causing, so we know from the start that this does not bode well for her new job. Ghostly incidents freak her out, and the children, particularly little Maddie, are difficult to say the least. Rowan herself has her own secrets and reasons for wanting this job. It's a good read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

As every Ruth Ware books are always worth a read. Gripping and kept you wondering throughout. Would recommend.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers and also Pigeonhole for the ARC, which I have thoroughly enjoyed reading.
I have read books of Ruth Ware before and I found this one spooky, sad and intriguing. At times you wondered if two parents would really leave a young woman whom they have only just employed home alone on a big estate in Scotland with sole responsibility for their 4 children ?But then both husband and wife renovated their home which had fallen into disrepair and they were very busy focused business people with many other renovation projects they were working on.
Is the house and grounds haunted? Why did all the other nannies leave? Why is Rowan writing from prison and who died? The reader is swept up in all the intrigue and wants to know the answers to all the questions they have, the more you read.
Highly recommended.

Another creepy, atmospheric thriller from Ruth Ware!
The story is written in the form of a letter by the main character, Rowan. She is the accused in a high profile murder case and is writing to a lawyer to try and get their help with her case. Through the letter, Rowan goes right back to the start as she tries to explain the whole situation to the lawyer and prove her innocence in the hope that they will represent her.
Rowan had only just started what seemed to be her dream job - a Nanny to a high profile family with four children ranging from baby to teenager. They live in a huge old house in the middle of nowhere that they have renovated into a smart house with cameras and controls that would put Alexa to shame! It doesn't help Rowan though when the weird stuff starts happening!
With the atmospheric setting and rich, descriptive writing, it was easy to get drawn in and I learnt quickly not to read this late at night!

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Thanks @netgalley @ruthwarewriter and @randomhouse for my ARC
Publication date 8th August 2019
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A deeply dark and atmospheric story told in a really unique way. A young nanny, currently incarcerated, accused of murdering the children in her care. And this is her story. If you love a good gothic horror then you will love this. It’s creepy and dark and truly menacing. I seriously didn’t let my breath go during some chapters. Another fantastic story from one of the best writers out there xx

Having read several of Ruth Ware's books, I was expecting to be reading this behind a cushion! I was correct! Ruth writes books that make you wonder right up until the very last moment and I think that I wrongly accused virtually every character in this book!

A great psychological thriller with many twists in it. Good stuff!

I absolutely loved this book! The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware was a fabulous read, and the ending was stunning - I literally was stunned for words! (Which doesn't happen very often I can tell you!)

The story is written in a form of letters, from one girl in prison (who is accused of murdering a child), to a lawyer of whom she is telling the whole truth to, in a last attempt to prove her innocence. But can the reader of the letters trust her? So far, no one else has. Besides, she is not entirely told her new employers the truth in the first place.

But this is no normal 'child is murdered, let's get the police to investigate' book. And should you pick this up (yes, you should!), you'll quickly see what I am talking about. It's not a police procedural, and it has strong supernatural elements to it. It's like nothing I've ever read before.

I had my suspicions about who was guilty throughout, the girl in prison, the hunky (there's a word you don't hear much these days) groundskeeper/DIY handyman, or even one of the parents with a twisted sense of humour.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole 'poison garden' theme and the ghostly goings on, really had me on tenterhooks as I read late at night. Which I did, eager to get to the final conclusion.

Full review coming on my blog very soon. I am also featuring this as my Friday Find.

Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for my ARC copy of this book, this is my honest and unbiased opinion. .

This story starts with an accused woman incarcerated in jail awaiting trial for a crime she claims she is innocent of.
Pleading by letter with a Mr Wrexham to hear her pleas and provide assistance in proving her innocence.
As opening statements go this one was such an attention grabber instantly managing to pull me deep into the narrative.
We then get the story of events direct from Rowen herself as she explains in exact detail just what went down at Heatherbrae House.
So nannying for four children up in the middle of nowhere with a fantastic salary seems a dream come true and when Sandra and Bill Elincourt hire Rowan for the job it seems the ideal chance to leave London and her lowly paid nursery job behind.
Instantly thrown in at the deep end Rowan finds herself in sole charge of the children.
But her new residence comes complete with uncooperative children, strange noises, creepy footsteps, objects disappearing and lights turning themselves off and on randomly.
There are tales of ghosts and a creepy poison garden on the grounds.
The house itself is a smart house with voice activation and cameras in every room controlled by her employers.
Also what has caused all past nannies employed to quit so suddenly.
Add in an unpleasant housekeeper and Rowan isn't finding things smooth sailing in her new job.
Thank god for the lovely live on-site handyman Jack who seems to be her only friend besides the baby.
This is most definitely a story of secrets and I was suitably intrigued and then impressed with where this eventually took us.
Told Completly from Rowans POV this really did have a spooky gothic vibe to it.
Almost like a modern-day ghost story.
I did like the eventual conclusion here know I kinda guessed but I also wasn't a fan of the open-ended direction the finish eventually took.
I would have prefered some more clarity in regards to those letters.
The ending here is what dropped this a star for me as it did leave me a tad underwhelmed.
Despite that I still really enjoyed this it was such an engrossing read.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of The Turn of the key.

The latest offering by Ruth Ware does not disappoint! At first I wondered why the story was told in the form of a letter but once the initial attempts to write this letter are overcome and the story begins it works really well. If you put aside the fact that the parents of 4 children are happy to leave said children with a Nanny after an introduction of only a few hours the plot is well-developed. Is this a ghost story? Are there natural explanations? No spoilers but there are several surprises in this tale and they are offered by a regular drip feed. Cleverly plotted, well-developed characters and plenty of twists.
Very many thanks to Netgalley/Ruth Ware/Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for an early, digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I'm the first to admit that I'm hit and miss with Ruth Ware's books. I've loved some, being indifferent to others, but something about this one lured me in. And I'm happy to report that The Turn of the Key was a HIT all the way for me.

FIRST LINE:

“Dear Mr Wrexham,

I know you don’t know me but please, please, please you have to help me.”

MY THOUGHTS ON THE TURN OF THE KEY BY RUTH WARE

I absolutely loved this, and in my opinion it’s Ruth Ware’s best book to date. It takes the format of a Nanny, who is accused of murdering one of her charges, writing to a solicitor and pleading her innocence.

The relationships between her and the children are realistic and entertaining. The Victorian house is like another character in the book. A smart home run by apps and kitted our with all the latest technology and sinister as hell. And then the ghostly occurrences start to happen.

My heart beat like a drum reading this, as I knew it was leading up to the death of one of the kids. And the scary events did nothing to ease up the tension. Best of all I didn’t predict the ending. Actually being honest, it floored me. In a great way.

FINAL THOUGHT

Great read. Highly recommended.

WHO SHOULD READ THE TURN OF THE KEY BY RUTH WARE?

I’d recommend this to you if you enjoy highly charged atmospheres, unsettling family dynamics and spooky settings. Fans of Ruth Ware’s previous books should also enjoy, as would fans of Lucy Dawson or Lisa Jewell.

I very much enjoyed this suspenseful, gothic thriller. There was a terrific sense of place and pace and plenty of genuinely creepy moments! An ideal holiday read for fans of a good page-turner.

4.5 stars, rounded down.
I am a bit of a fan of this author having read and enjoyed all her previous books. Admittedly some more than others. But this one definitely hit the mark for me (up to a point) with its tight and interesting plotting which made the story appear to be ticking along nicely in one direction and then injecting something so special to make it about face and go off in completely the other direction. All the surprises being carefully set up in advance so I never felt cheated - only miffed that I didn't spot the clues, so subtly injected as they were.
Rowan is stuck in her life. Currently working in the baby room at a nursery, she hankers for a live in nanny job. As she is bimbling about on the internet a job opportunity pops up - one that really piques her interest. For a wealthy family, in the Scottish Highlands, three small children and one teen. And the house is to die for. Oh and the money is a bit good too. So she goes for an interview. She smashes this and is offered the job. Of course there's the matter of rumours regarding the high turn-over of previous nannies who have all left the position abruptly, that and the apparently strange goings on and weird history of the house itself. But, apart from all that, it's the perfect job. Or so Rowan thinks. But when both parents have to leave for work pretty much as soon as she has started (really?!), leaving her no time to get used to the children or the house, which is a smart house with technology controlling pretty much everything, things start to go wrong for her...
Told from prison, in the form of letters from her to a lawyer she is trying to get on her side, we follow her side of what turns out to be a very tragic story.
I have to say that, apart from a few things that I did guess a bit early, this book pulled the wool over my eyes good and proper, pretty much all the way through, it delivered shock after shock and more than a few "aha" moments, some of which just made me sit back and applaud the author for a job well done.
But the ending, and I have to mention it. Well, it worked. Kind of. It wrapped the majority up nicely. But, and this may just be me, it wasn't the ending I was expecting. Not the one I thought I deserved. Not that I actually should have a say (or should I), but, of all the possible ways this book could have ended, I don't think that this is the strongest it could have been. It just all felt a wee bit flat for me. Hence the half star off and the rounding down. Shame but it was all going do well...
All in all, a good addition to an already impressive back catalogue. Looking forward to next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

It's the first book I read by Ruth Ware and won't surely be the last.
I started it at nighttime at my house in the country I couldn't put it down but after a while I had to switch to another books as my setting reflected those of the book and I was quite scared.
It's a creepy, engrossing and well written books that somehow reminded me of The Turn of the Screw.
The plot flows without issue and you cannot help feeling involved in the plot and feeling what Rowan is feeling.
It was a great read, a book I couldn't put down and found it highly entertaining.
I loved the description of the high tech house even and I found it well described even if a bit on the sci-fi side (I work in a high tech company so I know what IOT can do at the moment).
I think that the house is the main characters, fascinating and terrifying at the same time. The other characters are well written and fleshed out even if they're not always likeable.
A very good book, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I enjoyed this book once the tension started to build but it did take a good few pages to get going. Rowan , the main character is in jail awaiting trial and is writing to a solicitor pleading her innocence. She recounts the events leading up to her being charged with murder. She took on a nanny position in the Scottish highlands in an unusual household where there seemed to be mysterious happenings in a house with a dark history. There are various twists and turns, some predictable and some not. An easily read book and a possible quick read

Suspenseful, secretive psychological thriller.
Ruth Ware has done it again even better this time with a combination of modern technology and a sense of being in centuries past.
Rowan Caine is determined to get a job as a nanny in an old home remodelled with high tech gadgets, by the architect owners Bill and Sandra Ellincourt. The reason for her determination to get the position as nanny unfolds as Ware's skilful brilliance leaves no clues as to where the plot will end. This makes yet another book of hers unputdownable.
Rowan gets the excessively well-paid job that seems too good to be true and ends up awaiting trial for the death of one of the girls in her charge. She writes a letter to a lawyer she is hoping will listen to her reasoning and her side of the story because absolutely no one will listen to her. The bizarre events all lead to Rowan's apparent guilt. However, there are many secrets on all sides, and everything is not as it seems. But the secrets are deep and dark, leading to an unfathomable conclusion that leaves possibilities in the reader's mind for days.
Ware's descriptions are made in vivid imagery that takes her readers right into Rowan's sad story and into the heart of the ancient home, made modern.
BonnieK
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

THE TURN OF THE KEY, the new brilliant novel by one of my favourite authors is out next week and I had the pleasure to read it earlier thanks to Harvill Secker and NetGalley.

The first thing I say every time I read a new novel by Ruth Ware is: “This is her best one so far!” and it happened again after I finished reading THE TURN OF THE KEY. The premise is brilliant: a young woman is in prison, accused of killing the child she was looking after, but she claims to be innocent. Gripping, right? Then I started reading and there was another surprise: the story is told from Rowan, the protagonist, in form of a letter written to her lawyer, explaining the events that landed her in jail. Granted, it’s a very long long letter where sometimes I forgot that she was addressing the lawyer, but still, I loved it. And I loved the setting: Heatherbrae House, a remote and isolated mansion in Scotland. I found it a bit claustrophobic and unsettling. The mansion is old but the technology inside is absurd. Everything is controlled by an app and it creeped me out how the voice of the children’s mother would suddenly boom into the kitchen when you less expected. And let’s not forget about the strange and inexplicable noises around the house at night when Rowan was supposedly alone with just the children sleeping in their rooms. It literally gave me goose bumps.

The protagonist of the story is Rowan, a young woman I found difficult to figure out. She leaves her job in a nursery in London, a job she didn’t much like, to move into a remote house looking after four children. As I read her narrative, from the job interview to the wait for a response, from getting the job to her first day at Heatherbrae House, it was clear that Rowan was hiding something. Why did she want the job so much? Although she was something of a mystery and at times I didn’t like her very much, I found Rowan relatable (having worked as a nanny for four years I know that children can test the patience of a saint), brave, and very determined.

The mysterious noises around the house, the inexplicable deaths occurred in the past, and the ghost stories give the novel a supernatural touch that kept me on the edge of my seat. There is tension and a sense of dread that never leave the pages and the twists just kept coming and took me by surprise.

THE TURN OF THE KEY is definitely a must-read and I can’t wait to see whatever Ruth Ware is working next (which will be my new favourite 😉)!!!