The Turn of the Key: From the author of The It Girl, read a gripping psychological thriller that will leave you wanting more

Part crime, part supernatural, this is a gripping mystery that really keeps you on your toes. For me this is Ruth Ware’s best book yet. It has a crime setting because, at the very beginning we learn that Rowan, a children’s nanny, is in a Scottish prison awaiting trial for a crime, which although not specified, is serious enough to have generated media attention.

Rowan, however, insists that she is innocent of this crime. The book is Rowan’s account of what happened to her when she was employed as a nanny to three young children living with their wealthy parents in a remote house in the Highlands of Scotland.

The story is part crime, part supernatural and, as such, has overtones of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Parts of it are really spooky, and the house itself is integral to the plot. It’s not the traditional ‘old dark house’ of horror stories but a high-tech and high-spec house in a stunning setting. It does though, have a dark history.

Rowan, herself, is not a reliable narrator. Various hints about her ‘past’ and her personality are dropped throughout the book. Some of them I was able to work out fairly early on, but even so the ending was really satisfying and quite unexpected.

I’m happy to recommend this book and to award it 5-Stars.
Review by: Snapdragon