Article contributed by Rosie Smith
If you are a total horror/crime/thriller junkie, like myself, this title might sound just a little bit familiar. The Turn of the what? You would be totally right in connecting The Turn Of The Key with the cult classic novel, The Turn of The Screw. Ware writes a modern retelling of the Henry James classic haunted house, ghost story with her own modern twist. If you thought you knew all about the haunted house genre, think again. Ware gives the form a terrifying contemporary overhaul.
Everyone has a secret: new nanny Rowan Caine, her employers The Elincourts, their children, the interesting but suspicious handyman Jack Grant, and even Heatherbrae House itself! Rowan’s life changes completely when she comes across the advert for a live-in nanny in a remote house in Scotland looking after four girls: a baby, five year old Ellie, Maddie who is slightly older, and a fourteen year old wild-child. With a huge salary, a seemingly perfect family, and endless perks, the position almost seems too good to be true…
We tune into the story in progress with Rowan imprisoned for the murder one for the children despite her claims of innocence. Rowan writes a series of letters to a lawyer, slowly informing the reader of the unfolding mystery that took place inside Heatherbrae House. The house in question is an amalgamation of a Victorian manner with ultra-modern features and technology including cameras, control pads, and remote access. Unlike other haunted house horrors, the terror comes not from the traditionally creepy gothic half but emanates from the Orwellian, Big Brother-esque vibes we get from Heatherbrae House’s futuristic smart-home surveillance system.
When Rowan arrives at Heatherbrae House and is introduced to the Elincourts, shady happenings begin to occur, she hears of past nannies leaving under suspicious circumstances, subjected to sleazy advances from Mr Elincourt, tantrums from the children, and the smart-house system begins randomly locking doors, playing music and turning on lights leading Rowan to question whether the house is haunted. At this point you will find yourself shouting at Rowan to turn tail and run for her life… She doesn’t. Rowan is in it for the long haul, never imagining impending tragedy that unfolds.
Ware writes with perfect pacing, opening with a complete mystery, feeding us nuggets of clues throughout to keep us reading and guessing until the very last page. Rowan, as a narrator through her letters, draws us in with secrets of her own; an unreliable but endearing storyteller adding to the general tones of mystery. Packed with fully realised and three dimensional characters including the supporting cast; adds further twists and turns with everyone harbouring their own secrets, connections and emotions. A colossal plot twist in the last couple of pages will shock even the best of us detective readers and is cleverly revealed through Rowan’s correspondence from prison. Without a complete resolution, some have found that novel’s ending is unsatisfying, while others have deemed it clever and part of the mystery, leaving us to think about The Turn Of The Key long after turning the last page. Overall an exemplary psychological thriller with elements of gothic horror and mystery, this is one you will devour in one sitting, unable to tear yourself away.
The Turn of the Key is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, and The Death of Mrs. Westaway comes Ruth Ware’s highly anticipated fifth novel.
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 unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, 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, Jack Grant.
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. Which means someone else is.
Loved the book, but I wish there was a clear ending. The mystery of not knowing works with some book endings, but not with this one. You are left with the feeling that Rowan/Rachel has a continuation of a sad existence has been her life story. Or of life no anymore. It would have been nice to know if she was able to have vindication. I’m left with that she kept the secret and died with the information hoping someone would find the letters for vindication of her life one day. By the letters being found and not in judicial evidence, I lean toward the idea she died or is living with the information in prison. I suppose that is the noble thing to do, but you also have a sociopath in Ellie that needs psychological help.