Tuesday 28 July 2020

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware



Rowan takes a job as a nanny that is too good to be true. This job turns out to be a nightmare, where a child ends up dead. Everyone thinks Rowan killed her and while she awaits trial for murder, she recalls the events that took place. She might be guilty of some things, but she's not guilty of murder. So who is? 

This is my first crime thriller by Ruth Ware. I've read quite a few of her Young Adult books under the name of Ruth Warburton, but as I never usually read crime, I'd not ventured into this adult genre. However during lockdown, I found a new love for this type of fiction. I read this as a buddy read with Rebekah on Instagram.

The book is framed with a letter to a solicitor, while Rowan is awaiting trial. So we are witness to only her side of the story as she mulls over what happened leading up to the murder. I thought this was a really clever way of writing it, as you are only seeing Rowan's point of view, and it soon becomes clear that she is an unreliable narrator. I knew there was something not quite right about her, but I didn't work out what it was until the end. The house is dripping with an eerie evil atmosphere, that would make anyone uncomfortable staying there. I suspected every character of wrongful play all the way through the book. A lot of the characters came across as weird and unapproachable, making Rowan's job harder than it needed to be. There are lots of twists and turns throughout the book and I was impressed that Rowan managed to stay there longer than one evening. 

I did feel as though the ending was missing a couple of key scenes, which I would really have loved to have seen happen, and I'm still in two minds about what way the ending went, as you are left to mull over what happened. 

On the whole, I really enjoyed this though. A great crime thriller to get your teeth into and solve the murder. 

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