Book Review Wednesday: Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

 I'm a big fan of Ruth Ware and love almost everything I've read by her (with the exception of The Death of Mrs. Westaway). I've been falling behind in reading her latest releases so I'm definitely late to the game with "The Turn of the Key" but I had to review it anyway.

It's been on my 'TBR' list for a while so when I saw it available on Book of the Month, I decided to tag it onto one of my boxes. I finished it in only a few days, if that many, and truly loved this book. I was reminded why Ruth Ware is such an incredible author and why she is the queen of thrillers. 

Publisher's Summary

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.

My Thoughts

This was one of the best psychological thrillers I've ever read... I truly mean that. It was perfectly written and really kept you wondering, all throughout the novel. You could not pinpoint what exactly happened and when it happened. I really had no clue where the book was headed but it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, which makes for a great novel. 

I felt that everything that happened in this book was unexpected; I didn't see any of the major twists coming, the ending was extremely unexpected, and the entire plot was held very close to the chest which I think makes the story so much better. You were constantly left wondering which child was going to die, how they were going to die and was Rowan really responsible? It was intense and thrilling in so many ways. 

Throughout the book, you were able to tell that Rowan was keeping a secret. Something about her character just wasn't right and it was very obvious she had an ulterior motive. I sort of saw that part of the plot unraveling but was still shocked when you found out just exactly what her secret and reason for taking the nanny job was.

As for the other characters, I didn't find anyone likable. Rowan herself was even that likable but she was a hell of a lot more likable than the children and their parents. I have never hated a child character more than the kids in this book and that might sound horrible but it's true. 

One part of the book that I loved was the format. All of the chapters are formatted as letters, from Rowan to her lawyer and then we find out the big reveal through a letter at the end of the book as well, which I thought felt very appropriate. 

The book was disturbing at times; it gave me the creeps and I didn't want to read it at night, because you didn't know what the happenings in the house were from so it felt very supernatural to me which always makes me scared.

"Turn of the Key" was a real rollercoaster. It was thrilling, exhilarating, twisty, and disturbing... but all the best books are, aren't they? 

One 'con' or something I wish the book did was answer more questions. I felt like we didn't get enough time to answer everything that came up in the book and I was left wanting a little more. It might just be me and maybe the book was left vague on purpose. 

All in all, I cannot recommend this book enough. If you love mysteries and domestic thrillers, you will eat this book up. Truly, no one does it like Ruth Ware!

xoxo
B