The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware (Book Review)

AUTHOR: Ruth Ware

GENRE: Mystery | Thriller | Suspense

PAGE COUNT: 336

RATING OVERVIEW Overall: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Writing: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Appearance: ★★★★★

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:

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.

Buy the book HERE!

MY 2 CENTS / THE CRITICAL POINTS:

This is the first book I’ve read by Ruth Ware, but I will definately keep my eyes open for other titles by her.

STORY (★★★★★)

I don’t often give a 5-star review, but loved this story. It was unique and just really engaging. From chapter one all the way until the end, I was sucked in and wanted to keep reading. Its a ghost story with so many twists that your constantly second guessing what you think you know is happening.

The entire book is a letter to Mr. Wrexham, a lawyer who the main character is hoping can get her out of prison for a murder she says she didn’t commit. The letter goes into great detail, pulling you into the world as if you were there with her the whole time.

WRITING (★★★★★)

Ruth Ware is a wonderful author with a skill for painting a picture with her words. If you aren’t a fan of ghost stories but you like thriller, you might not want to read this one late at night, but you’ll still want to read it! I have absolutely nothing negative to say about the writing. I even loved the first few chapters which were her throwaway letters…

CHARACTERS (★★★★★)

Rowan is easily relatable and written with such realistic characteristics that she seems real.

Mrs. Elincourt is the tired wife/mother who you feel sorry for and yet there is something about her that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Mr. Elincourt… There is nothing good that can be said about this man. He is very well written, but as a reader, you are given more reasons to dislike him than to like him.

APPEARANCE (★★★★★)

I love this cover. Whenever I read a book, I’m always looking for the moment the book cover and the story connect. It took a while with this one, but when it did, it was a great moment. I hope you’ll read the story to find out what ‘the turn of the key’ means.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

“People do go mad, you know, if you stop them from sleeping for long enough…”

“The ghosts, she had sobbed. The ghosts wouldn’t like it.”

Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game and The Death of Mrs Westaway have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times, and she is published in more than 40 languages. She lives on the south coast of England, with her family.

Visit http://www.ruthware.com to find out more, or find her on facebook or twitter as @RuthWareWriter

Also by Ruth Ware

Click on the cover images below to read more about each selection and to order your copies today!