I was happy to receive a copy of Ruth Ware’s new novel, The Turn of the Key, from Gallery/Pocket Books/Scout Press and NetGalley in return for my honest review. I enjoyed The Woman in Cabin 10 and didn’t really care for The Death of Mrs. Westaway, so I was pretty neutral in my expectations for this one. As the story opens, there is a big reveal about a dead child and the nanny, Rowan, in prison. Rowan is writing to her lawyer, and the books is essentially her telling the story.

For some reason, Rowan has been looking to escape her life and locale, and takes a job as a nanny in a creepy home located quite a distance from her current life.

The “smart” house itself (think of Alexa on steroids) is creepy, and is in some ways is one of the main characters. Lots of technology, some creepy and some puzzling as to why it doesn’t seem to be functioning as it is intended…or is it? There are rumors of a ghost, but that concept doesn’t really  go anywhere. In Cabin 10 the buildup of tension was terrific—in this one, there is a boatload of exposition about the children and their day-to-day activities. I found it somewhat tedious, but then I have no children, so maybe there was a lot there that just went over my head.

The parents are weird. Partly because they take off and leave their children with the new nanny for weeks at a time. Rowan is also a bit off, right from the start. After many many chapters, the ending ties everything up in an unsurprising way. Not my thing, but I know many people have raved about it, so it’s worth a try. A hundred or so pages in, you wlll know if you want to persevere. Three stars because I think it was probably more  me than the book. I may or may not try her again, but for sure I won’t be quite so eager to grab the next one.