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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: September 5th, 2019
384 Pages
Synopsis: 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 the 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 unraveling 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 up the household with booming music, or turned off the lights 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 except for 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’s not guilty—at least of murder. Which means someone else is.
Turn of the Key is bestselling author Ruth Ware’s imaginative modern day adaptation of the Henry James classic Turn of the Screw, and trust me. It’s just as creepy, disturbing, and suspenseful. As Rowan relates her tale through a series of letters to her lawyer, it’s a slow burn until about halfway into the book and then the pace really picks up. This isn’t a criticism though, because as Rowan is an unreliable narrator I was constantly guessing as to what really happened and happily, the supporting characters are just as mysterious and intriguing as Rowan. There were many twists and turns that I never saw coming, which kept me mesmerized and turning the pages. The only reason I’m not giving this a full 5 stars is because I thought the ending was too rushed and left some loose ends. Otherwise, I highly recommend this contemporary gothic suspense to both fans of Ruth Ware and readers who haven’t tried her yet. And, I just have to say that I’m going to be truly disappointed if this isn’t adapted into a movie!
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