August 2019 – Emma's Biblio Treasures

Published August 8th, 2019 by Harvill Secker
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Contemporary Horror

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SYNOPSIS:

IT WAS THE DREAM JOB. IT WOULD BECOME HER WORST NIGHTMARE.

‘So clever and original . . . from the first gripping page to the last shocking twist’ ERIN KELLY, author of He Said/She Said

‘Ruth Ware just gets better and better. The Turn of the Key is her most compelling and addictive to date; I read this in a two sitting frenzy, barely able to turn the pages fast enough’ Lisa Jewell, author of The People Upstairs

When Rowan stumbles across the advert, it seems like too good an opportunity to miss: a live-in nanny position, with a very generous salary. And when she arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten by the luxurious ‘smart’ home fitted out with all modern conveniences by a 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 her in cell awaiting trial for murder.

She knows she’s made mistakes. But she’s not guilty – at least not of murder. Which means someone else is…

‘Will hold you captive until the brilliant ending’ SHARI LAPENA, author of Someone We Know

Full of chilling menace and sinister secrets, The Turn of the Key is a gripping modern-day haunted house novel that will keep you reading through the night.

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MY REVIEW:

When Rowan gets a job as a nanny working at Heatherbrae House she thinks it’s the answer to all her problems: a generous salary for a live-in position at a luxurious house. But unbeknownst to Rowan, this dream house will turn out to be her worst nightmare – one that ends with her in prison accused of the murder of one of the very children she was hired to take care of. But is she guilty?

After having this book on my shelves for almost four years I finally got around to reading it, opting to listen on audiobook when I wasn’t feeling up to reading a physical book. I’d read some reviews that raved about the audiobook version and they were totally right! Unsettling, taut and addictive, I was hooked from the first page and couldn’t stop listening. Whenever I wasn’t listening I was thinking about it, desperate to know the truth about Rowan’s guilt or innocence.

The story is told in the form of letters Rowan is writing to Mr. Wrexham, the man she hopes will take on her case and help prove her innocence. She begins by begging for his help and then takes us back to the start of the story, when she first saw the job advert in the newspaper, and then taking us through every event leading up to the day she says she found the child dead. It is a tense and ominous story, full of forbidding as we try to guess who died, what happened, and what is the secret that Rowan admits to hiding? I’ll admit, many of my guesses were way off, and I loved that what I did get right I hadn’t been able to predict until just before the reveal, leaving me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

This is my second time reading a Ruth Ware book and my favourite so far. Her skillful storytelling and evocative imagery had me on tenterhooks and made me feel like I was right there alongside Rowan. The characters were brilliant; Rowan was easy to relate to and her young charges broke my heart and frustrated me in equal measure, especially Maddie. Heatherbrae House is like a character in its own right and looms large over every page. The idea of a whole house run by an app makes me uneasy, and this modern fear merges with a more traditional horror to create an inescapable malevolent atmosphere. But what I liked best about this audiobook was the narrator whose animated narration transported me into the story and was so unnerving in places that my blood ran cold. I can still hear that terrifying ‘Creek. Creek’ *shivers*

Compelling, sinister and utterly brilliant, The Turn of the Key is a must-read for any thriller fan, though I’d definitely recommend listening to it on audio for added atmosphere if you can.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, The Death of Mrs Westaway, The Turn of the Key, One by One and The It Girl have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times. Her books have been optioned for both film and TV, and she is published in more than 40 languages. Ruth lives near Brighton with her family.