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A review by courtneydoss
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
5.0
Rowan wasn't planning on finding a job as a nanny, but somehow a job at the far off Scottish manor home, Heatherbrae House, fell into her lap. The pay is really good, and the whole situation seems far preferable to her life in London. Heatherbrae House, however, is not all that it seemed at first. Chock full of the latest technology, rendering privacy a thing of her past, and diminished by its tragic history, Rowan soon begins to understand why four other nannies have left in rapid succession before this. One things leads to another, and eventually Rowan finds herself falsely (or not) accused of murdering one of the children under her charge. Told through letters to a lawyer that she hopes can get her out of this mess, Rowan's story unfolds in a tense, page-turning way that made my time with this book absolutely fly by.
I'm a big mystery person. I also love the use of unfamiliar locales, isolation, and superstitious locals to really amp up the tension, all of which this book excelled at. This book kept me guessing right up until the end. I have seen other reviews that claim the twist was too easily discovered, but I disagree. Yes, the twist at the end is predictable once you reach a certain point in the novel, but there is enough doubt to make it a fun reveal. I'm the type of reader who can take as much satisfaction in the "I knew it!" moment as in the "whoa, didn't see that coming," moment. Both can be fun and exciting, and I don't think that Turn of the Key's use of the former was necessarily a bad thing.
I don't want to spoil this book for anybody, so I'll keep my review brief, but suffice it to say that this was one of the better mysteries I have read this year.
I'm a big mystery person. I also love the use of unfamiliar locales, isolation, and superstitious locals to really amp up the tension, all of which this book excelled at. This book kept me guessing right up until the end. I have seen other reviews that claim the twist was too easily discovered, but I disagree. Yes, the twist at the end is predictable once you reach a certain point in the novel, but there is enough doubt to make it a fun reveal. I'm the type of reader who can take as much satisfaction in the "I knew it!" moment as in the "whoa, didn't see that coming," moment. Both can be fun and exciting, and I don't think that Turn of the Key's use of the former was necessarily a bad thing.
I don't want to spoil this book for anybody, so I'll keep my review brief, but suffice it to say that this was one of the better mysteries I have read this year.