REVIEW: The Turn of the Key

The Turn of the Key
Author: Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware never disappoints me. I've enjoyed several of her novels and they never fail to be creepy, incredible reading experiences! I listened to the audio book version of The Turn of the Key. I couldn't stop listening. Even with a college class, back-to-school week for my son and other adulting keeping me incredibly busy....I still managed to binge listen to this book in two days. I couldn't stop! When a book has me listening during every little bit of spare time I can find, it's' definitely a good story!

The basics: When Rowan is passed over for a promotion at work, she just feels a bit let down by her life. She's spent 10 years in child care and really wants a better job. Then she sees a newspaper ad. It offers a residential position as a nanny with a generous salary. She prepares her resume, paints on a smile and gives a stellar interview. But once she starts her new job, she realizes the smart house is a nightmare, the children are difficult, and her employers are absent most of the time. What starts out as a dream job, tears her life apart. Yes...she lied to get the position. Yes...she made huge mistakes. Yes....she was freaked out by all the cameras in the house, strange noises at night, and the rumors of ghosts. But, she doesn't deserve to be in jail on a murder charge. She didn't kill anyone.

This story is like an updated version of Turn of the Screw. Nanny put into a strange house with weird vibes. Difficult, odd children. Isolated. That classic story always gave me the creeps....and this one did, too! I found myself talking to my phone...making comments about the awful tech in the house, the horrible parents, the weird children, the entire situation. I could never, ever work in child care....and a live-in nanny position for rich clients would be my own personal nightmare. This story, however, took the nightmare up just a few notches. The entire house was well on the way to a smacked bottom in my book. I could not tolerate being in a similar position. I would completely just lose my mind.  My husband laughed a few times when he caught me making comments to my phone. Yeah....I know....talking back to the book doesn't make the characters straighten up in any way. But it certainly made me feel better! :)

This story kept me on edge the whole time. It was a slow build....but the story always had my complete attention. I didn't see some of the twists and the ending coming....it all caught me by surprise. I love it when a suspense story just runs right over me....this one definitely did. I felt the nanny's confusion, frustration and even anger at a dream job that turns into a nightmare. There were a couple plot points that I thought were a bit too coincidental or far-fetched, but by that time I was already sucked in by the story and didn't care. Ruth Ware got me again.....   I binged The Woman in Cabin 10....The Death of Mrs. Westaway....and In a Dark, Dark Wood. And this time was no different. I have The Lying Game from the library queued up on my phone ready to listen already....I'm sure that will be another binge event for me. Whatever this author has in store for her readers next, I will definitely be one of the first in line to read it! She has quickly become one of my favorite authors!