Title: The Turn of the Key
Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Edition/Pages: Hardcover, 337 pages
Goodreads page

I received an arc copy of this from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.

Summary

When Rowan accidentally stumbles upon an ad about a family in the highlands in search of a nanny, she jumps on the opportunity. When she arrives at Heatherbrae House, she immediately falls in love. The house is a stark combination of picturesque Victorian and modern “smart” luxuries. But things may not be as picturesque as the seem. And Rowan discovers she’s entered a nightmare – one that puts her in prison.

Overview

➸ POV – This is told in letter format from Rowan who is writing letters to a potential solicitor, Mr. Wrexham, about the detailed events leading up to her arrest. This is a really cool format idea but this book is 330 pages long… that’s a 330 page letter! And every time Rowan would stop relaying details, and address Mr. Wrexham, I was pulled out of the story and couldn’t help thinking – who writes a letter this long?! And who would read it?!

➸ Rowan Caine – 27, Nanny, On trial for murder and writing to a defense advocate

➸ Content Warnings: Murder, Cheating, Sexual Harassment

My Thoughts

I actually don’t have that many thoughts about this book and overall I just found this really underwhelming.

In standard Ruth Ware fashion, this book was atmospheric AF! I cannot get enough of Ware’s settings and writing. She just creates such foreboding and tense scenes. And there were definitely times this book legitimately creeped me out! I loved how toed the line of – is this paranormal or not? I was definitely convinced at points that this house was actually haunted!

But sadly there just wasn’t enough plot or twists and turns to keep me engaged. This is the epitome of a slow burn thriller, which rely on a strong ending. And I’m DEFINITELY in the minority here, but this ending just didn’t work for me.

I thought the first (character related) twist was extremely obvious and I’m still surprised by how many people said they didn’t see it coming. (view spoiler) And the final twist was way, WAY too fast for my liking. Thriller twists are definitely personal to each reader, but I strongly disliked this one. It honestly felt like a copout ending and hated that it was explained in literally 3 pages. I wanted so much more from this.

Overall this gave me all the creepy vibes Ruth Ware always brings to her books but in the end it was a bit of a miss for me. I will forever read everything Ware releases though and can’t wait for her next release.

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