The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The libraries have finally announced they are opening partially next week. It means I am going to finally buckle down and start reading the ones I have had all this time that they have been closed. I let them stay on the shelf in part to draw out the effect (or so I have convinced myself)

I read one book by the author previously: The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware and thought I should give some of her other books a shot as well. This was one that was readily available to request, so I did just that.

The story begins ominously enough by plunging us right to a condemned woman’s letter. She is trying to get the facts out before her trial and probably get a better lawyer to defend her. There is a completely wired home remotely controlled which is the background score, it makes its presence known in every chapter by lurking in the shadows. I must say I like her writing more than a lot of the other authors in this genre. There is something satisfying about being treated as an intelligent reader. The twist(s) was out of the blue but not annoyingly so which, once again is a fine line to walk on. Our protagonist has taken up a job as a nanny while she obviously does not show a fondness for kids. She is left with them and the house which watches everyone, all the time when the unthinkable happens. There is a lingering doubt as to the possibility of madness having driven her to commit the murder, but the facts are laid out quite plainly at the end.

I was a little sad with the way things wrapped up and the implications of what we read, which reduced my rating a little. I still maintain that it is a good book for anyone looking for things to read in this genre!