Tuesday, July 30, 2019

The Turn of the Key

Pre-order purchase link
In my opinion Ruth Ware is giving Louise Penny a run for her money as a master story teller. Don't get me wrong, I adore Louise Penny's book and her stories are painted with beautiful emotional brushes, but Ruth Ware has given me the chills more times than I can count with her brand of suspenseful story telling.

When Rowan Caine answers an ad for a full-time nanny, she has no idea what is in store for her. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware is an intriguing tale of a nanny in a smart house located in the wilds of Scotland. (The Turn of the Key will be released by Simon and Schuster on August 6.)

Nothing goes right from the minute Rowan Caine arrives. First she discovers there have already been four nannies in fewer than two years, then she is faced with learning the smart settings for nearly every electronic gadget in the house including the lights in her room, the water temperature in her shower and the fancy coffeemaker in the kitchen.  

When Sandra Elincourt announces that she and her husband will be leaving the next day for a business trip, Rowan is freaked. She has only had one day to get acquainted with the three younger children, and their parents' business trip will take them away for several weeks.  As Rowan struggles to learn how the Smart House operates, she feels as if she is being spied upon. Lights turn on in the middle of the night for no reason. Music blares at all hours.

After their parents depart, the girls regale Rowan with the house's haunted history and about the girl who died here many years ago. That's probably not the story she wants to hear. One day they are as sweet and as docile as can be and then the next day they torment Rowan and behave maliciously. Some nights Rowan cannot sleep because she hears footsteps in the attic above her room. 

In a surprising plot twist, most of the story is told through Rowan Caine's letters from prison to her attorney trying to explain the circumstances leading up to her being incarcerated for murder. It's a fascinating tale with shocking results. Don't read this book while you are alone in the house. Don't say I didn't warn you.



Disclosure: I received this book through NetGalley for a fair review. 

1 comment:

Denise Kainrath said...

So glad that Ruth Ware has gotten some redemption after The Lying Game!