The Turn of the Key

Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A superb suspense writer...Brava, Ruth Ware. I daresay even Henry James would be impressed." --Maureen Corrigan, author of So We Read On

"This appropriately twisty Turn of the Screw update finds the Woman in Cabin 10 author in her most menacing mode, unfurling a shocking saga of murder and deception." --Entertainment Weekly

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lying Game and The Death of Mrs. Westaway comes this thrilling novel that explores the dark side of technology.

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 events that led to her incarceration. It wasn't just the constant surveillance from the home's cameras, 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.

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--but somebody is.

Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware's signature suspenseful style, The Turn of the Key is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.
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384 pages

Average rating: 7.18

364 RATINGS

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21 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

laurencgonzalez
Mar 31, 2024
7/10 stars
Very creepy thriller that had me on the edge of my seat, the ending was crazy and I was left with some questions, but still super good!
kayla.parsons
Mar 10, 2024
7/10 stars
I have mixed feelings for this book. I was excited to read another book by Ruth Ware as she is one of my favourite authors, however, I felt like it fell short in so many ways. While this book did deliver a lot of mystery, with a shocking ending, I felt like the storyline itself was difficult to engage with. In general, it was a surprising book. I was not expecting as many plot twists as there was. This created dynamic to the storyline. You migh...read more
GymnasticsFan
Feb 19, 2024
4/10 stars
Completely unrealistic and the person who killed the child is even moreso.
erinmarie0903
Nov 28, 2023
6/10 stars
Fast paced and filled with suspense. A nanny left alone in a remote tech’d out estate with 3 full time kids, a good looking handyman and an unwelcoming housekeeper. Mysterious sounds and happenings galore coupled with the estate’s tragic history keep you locked in.

I loved the build-up and suspense. I hated the ending. It was just too abrupt and left you with tons of questions. I’m usually a pretty big fan of Ruth Ware’s - but this one didn...read more
SnailMail
Nov 18, 2023
10/10 stars
Page turner. I stayed up way too late reading this one.

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