Thoughts on : The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Genre : Thriller
Stand alone
About the Book :
When she stumbles across the ad, it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this 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 herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.
Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. She knows she’s made mistakes. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.
My Thoughts :
Do you feel that, sometimes, your enjoyment of a book doesn’t quite reflect your opinion on the “quality” (I use the term loosely) of the book? There’s often a bit of a discrepancy between these two aspects, but The Turn of the Key was certainly one of the most staggering one for me.
In terms of entertainment, this was a strong 5 out of 5. I could not put this book down. I read it in less than 48 hours, was constantly thinking about it, constantly wondering about what would happen to Rowan next and if my hunches were right. The pace is so good, too. The chapter are shorts and the narration makes you want to read just a little more, again and again…
On top of that, Ruth Ware created a perfectly atmospheric setting, and I could hear every creaking of the ceiling and feel the creepiness of the smart house as I read. Even the characters surrounding Rowan added to the dreadful atmosphere in different ways.
But, in terms of execution, my rating would be closer to a 3 out of 5 – still good, not great. Because when I started to think about what I was reading, I sort of felt let down by the way the story was built.
Mostly, I was disappointed in how obvious and big the clues were, in such a way that there was little surprise left when the twists, secrets or shocking revelations happened. It’s not that the story was predictable, and more that the writing lacked subtlety, with the narrator constantly hinting at having her own secrets, hiding something, having her own reasons to do X that she couldn’t say why… It was the narrative version of highlighting or putting something important in bold in a text.
On top of that, I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. In part because it felt predictable, due to certain narrative choices and the clues being so obvious, as mentioned before. But also because I feel like I’ve seen it before, and therefore it didn’t feel as new or exciting as it could have been.
So all in all, I think I can say I enjoyed The Turn of the Key, despite its flaws. It’s a book I would recommend for its creepy atmosphere and engrossing narration, but those who read a lot of mysteries and thrillers might feel the structure to be a bit lacking.
Also, I’m still super intrigued about the idea of a poison garden. That’s something I’ll want to investigate – from a safe distance!
I do get what you mean – I feel that way about books and about movies sometimes. I’ve never read Ware, though, and might start with this book because sometimes entertainment is enough.
I completely agree, sometimes entertainment is enough! Which is why I’m not feeling disappointed about this one, even though it had its flaws.
I’ve heard that this is a retelling of The Turn of the Screw, which I’ve read 2-3 times and 1) cannot really remember despite rereadings, and 2) thought was excruciatingly boring. I wonder if some of the twists and turns and devices are too close to the original, or something of that effect, to make the book a bit predictable or all the other complaints I’ve heard? I guess I’ll find out when my library finally finally finally gets it to me…
I don’t remember enough about The Turn of the Screw to know how it affected the story, but the obvious hinting is something I’d noticed in her other novel too. I really enjoyed the atmosphere though so I still had a good time! I can’t wait to see what you think of it. 🙂