Ruth Ware's Thrilling Mystery Novel "The Turn of the Key"

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So here I am, verifying that this item is true and my product had no defects and I recommend it. As for the book itself, I am a huge fan of Ruth Ware and the book was so thrilling and the plot twists!! I didn’t see it coming!

United States on Nov 23, 2023

Sepherus: The book arrived in a condition better than described and faster than promised.

United States on Oct 23, 2023

Bridget Hollister: What starts out as someone applying for and getting a nanny position in Scotland that is extremely well-paid seems too good to be true for Rowan. Unfortunately, things go wrong almost immediately. The husband hits on her the first night and she starts to hear things above her bedroom keeping her from getting a decent night’s sleep. Being sleep deprived and trying to handle two young kids and a toddler is nearly impossible. Not to mention that the parents leave Rowan alone with the kids on the second day make a smooth transition impossible. Then add an unruly teenager into the mix…

But who is sabotaging Rowan at every turn? It keeps you guessing until the end.

You’ll never guess the ending. Although when you find out who was doing everything, it seems a little far fetched.

United States on Oct 02, 2023

Mrs. J. H. Battle: I've read both the books in this series now and neither disappoint. They are shaping up for a great series. I look forward to the next.

United Kingdom on Aug 28, 2023

Jackie Forrest: Loved this. It was a really good old fashioned gothic type horror story. Not to give anything away, I thought Rowan was terrific, very credible and I didn't guess her secret until just before it was revealed. Really exciting and I couldn't wait to get back to it every time I had to put it down. The children too were well portrayed from the stroppy teenager to the baby. My only quibble is that it is incredibly unlikely that any mother would go off and leave 3 young children (one of whom is a baby) with a brand new nanny, all alone in a massive house, miles from anywhere. If you can get over that, its a great read. I read The It Girl, which was also excellent and far better than I had expected from the synopsis. Ruth Ware writes really well, draws you in and keeps the tension going. Will certainly read more of her books.

United Kingdom on Aug 17, 2023

Rockbiddy: As this book begins we find Rowan Caine imprisoned for the murder of a child. We don't know which child has died but we do know that the child was in Rowan's care when she died and we also know that Rowan strongly refutes the notion that she is guilty. An account of what happened is narrated in retrospect by Rowan.
Rowan takes a job as a nanny in a house in the remote Scottish highlands, caring for two small girls and a baby. There's also a teenage girl who's due back from boarding school in a week's time. Immediately Rowan takes up post the parents head off south on work business leaving her in charge of the household. The little girls are inexplicably hostile and frightening things keep happening- lights and music coming on in the middle of the night, footsteps coming from the roof space above Rowan's bedroom, etc, etc. Could these events be linked to the mysterious death of a child in the house years earlier and what is behind the mysterious locked door in Rowan's room? The author was hinting that there was ghostly activity but it seemed obvious to me that it was all being orchestrated by a human hand. That then raised the question of who was behind it all and why were they...

United Kingdom on Feb 16, 2023

Read and Reviewed: Ruth Ware’s fourth novel is an unashamed riff on Henry James’ novella, The Turn of the Screw, which tells the story of a governess at an isolated estate becoming convinced that the grounds are haunted. The Turn of the Key reinvents several of James’ themes and adds a few elements of current psychological thrillers to tell the story of twenty-seven-year-old Rowan Caine. The novel opens with Rowan, on remand in a Scottish prison, beseeching a barrister by letter to take her case ahead of standing trial for the murder of a child. Rowan claims her innocence and what follows is the detailed story of her involvement with architects Sandra and Bill Elincourt, from applying to become their nanny to the tragic death of one of their children.

The position is really too good to be true right from the start with an excessively generous salary, the beautiful Scottish moors scenery and the opulence of remote Heatherbrae House, a strange combination of a moneyed Victorian mansion from the front and modernist steel and glass from the back. With a teenager at boarding school Rowan is charged with the care of the three younger children, one of whom is particularly challenging, as both...

United Kingdom on Apr 19, 2020

Bluecashmere.: This is my first acquaintance with the novels of Ruth Ware. It won’t be the last. This seems to me at the very top of that genre, the psychological thriller. I am very tempted to award it 5, but there are problems. The structure of the story rests on an implausible situation – an extended(!) letter to the lawyer Wrexham, written from the current residence of the central character, Rowan – a cell in a women’s prison. Ruth Ware’s attempt to merge a plea for help with a story that holds the reader’s attention cannot really work. Apart from other considerations, the order in which information is conveyed to us is at odds with any semblance of realism as far as the letter is concerned. Even if the letter is more a therapeutic exercise it is still unconvincing.

However, if we can make that leap of suspending disbelief over this issue, then we are soon thrust into the midst of a totally compulsive story. What separates the author from her contemporaries and rivals is the quality of the writing and above all the characterisation of the children, the house keeper Jean McKenzie, Jack and the parents, largely present via the advanced communication system built into their...

United Kingdom on Feb 08, 2020

Tabby2018: It pains me to leave this review, as I’m such a fan of Ruth Ware. I’ve enjoyed all of her other books — especially her knack for describing settings and atmospheric tension. But in this book, it fell flat for me. So did the characters, the motivations, the light horror aspect, and most of all, the ending. It was just disappointing in every way .... after I pre-ordered at the first opportunity and waited months for it.

Ruth’s writing was as good as always. And despite the book dragging and dragging with mundane details, I still wanted to finish. That said, I read her other books in 1-2 days, this one took over a week. I remember at one point looking down the Kindle page, seeing that I was at 70%, and thinking, what?! Nothing’s happening!

What I didn’t like:

As much as I love (mentioned earlier) how Ruth usually and brilliantly immerses us readers into the settings, it didn’t work this time. The house sounded like a clown house — I absolutely hated the half Victorian, half severely modern aspect — and the “smart” features sounded like the most annoying way to live ever. I kept thinking more would be explored concerning cameras everywhere,...

United States on Aug 12, 2019

RSW Kindle Customer: Wow! Ruth Ware proves once again that she is the reigning <b>Queen of Suspense!</b> This totally addictive <b>4 Star</b> thriller was worth the wait.

<b>SUMMARY</b>
This book is written as a letter to an attorney from a prisoner awaiting trial. The narrator is a nanny who is in prison for allegedly killing one of the small children in her care.

The letter recounts the story of how this the narrator was happily working at a day care in London until she saw an ad for a live in nanny position. This job would be taking care of four kids in a large estate, with an exceptionally generous compensation package. Even though she wasn’t really looking for a new job, she applies immediately. Who wouldn’t? Before the interview, she is given a warning that the last several nannies have left quickly because of rumors that the house was haunted.

Undaunted by the warning, after all, Rowan is not a superstitious person, she puts on her <i>perfect nanny</i> outfit, her <i>perfect nanny</i> personality and boards a train to Scotland for the interview. She is blown away by the enormous property and the large hybrid...

United States on Aug 10, 2019