Book Review: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

~ Book Club Mom

The Turn of the Key
by
Ruth Ware

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

If you’re looking for a good scary read for the Halloween season, check out The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. I’ve read three other books by Ware (see bottom of post) and this is by far creepier and scarier than the others! I love any story that involves an isolated house with unidentified noises and fans of this type of fiction won’t be disappointed.

Set in the Scottish Highlands, it’s a combination of mystery and thriller and begins with a desperate letter from Rowan Caine to Mr. Wrexham, a solicitor advocate. Rowan, in jail for murder, pleads with him to take her case. “I am the nanny in the Elincourt case, Mr. Wrexham. And I didn’t kill that child.” From there, she describes the strange happenings at Heatherbrae House.

Rowan couldn’t believe her luck when she found the job posting to be a nanny for the Elincourts. She needed a change from her job in London and the pay was excellent. When she arrives, Heatherbrae looks like a home with style and history and, as Rowan walks through the front rooms, she feels the warmth and comfort of a busy family. But the Elincourts, high-tech architects, have transformed the back of the house into a cold, ultra-modern, concrete and glass kitchen and living area. And the entire house is wired into the Happy app, making it a smart-house nightmare. Lights, door locks, and even the coffee maker and shower require confusing commands. Even worse, cameras, even in Rowan’s bedroom, give the place a Big Brother feel.

Despite years of experience in childcare, Rowan struggles with the Elincourt daughters. Fortunately Rhiannon, “fourteen going on twenty-four,” is off at boarding school, but eight-year-old Maddie makes it clear she doesn’t like Rowan. And the younger two, five-year-old Ellie and the baby, Petra make a fuss when the parents depart for a long business trip.

Rowan’s terror begins the first night when she hears creeping footsteps in the space above her bedroom. Maddie had warned her about ghosts when she took the job and she knows the house has a history of tragic deaths. Over the next days, the key to the mud room goes missing, alarms sound, and why does the handyman keep showing up when there’s a crisis? Night after night, the noises keep Rowan awake in terror, but she’s determined to make this job work.

What’s great about this story is that Rowan makes a lot of bad decisions and continuously rationalizes the sounds in the house, but as a reader you want to tell her to hightail it out of there! There’s a mystery about Rowan and why she jumped so fast at this job offer, despite many red flags. And why she stays.

I flew through this book and was engaged to the last page. Ware saves some terrific surprises for the ending and gives you plenty to think about. This is a great book club book.

Other books by Ruth Ware

The It Girl
One by One
The Woman in Cabin 10

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40 thoughts on “Book Review: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware”

  1. What a coincidence, Barbara—I am just about to start The Turn of the Key! And I am pleased to see you gave it a high rating. I liked The It Girl and The Woman in Cabin 10, so I expect I will like (or love) this one too. 😊

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    1. Oh wow! That IS a coincidence! You’ll have to let me know if you liked it as much as I did. I also liked The It Girl a lot, and One by One was very good too! Just saw your twitter post about your new cats – how wonderful! I’m currently (as always) catching up on blogs and will be over to read the whole post. I’m so happy for you. They are beautiful!

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    1. Hi Lynette – I think her debut was The Woman in Cabin 10. I enjoyed that one, but I think this is better. Thanks for reading and commenting. As usual, I’m catching up on the blog. Hope you are reading something good right now!

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      1. Hope things are going well for you, too. After two challenging weeks in Scotland, three weeks down with Covid and a week in Maine (leaf looking and selling books), I am ready to veg for a while.

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    1. Hi Donna – I know what you mean! I was surprised at how spookier this one was. But I do like a book where I can say, “Wow I’m glad that’s not me!” Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Hope you are reading something good right now!

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  15. Sounds very creepy, Barb. Sometimes, if a character makes too many bad decisions, I get aggravated, but it sounds like this is just right. Her charges not liking her, gives it an extra sinister feel. Thanks for sharing your review!

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