Originally posted to I Should Read That

I read and enjoyed my first Ruth Ware book a couple of months ago and was desperate to immediately get my hands on more of her work. Fortunately, my sister had a copy of Ware’s latest novel, The Turn of the Key, handy and I grabbed it from her as soon as I could. I expected a fun and spooky thriller, and I got so much more than that. Filled with twists and turns, The Turn of the Key is a great book for all your spooky fall and winter needs.

Here’s a short list of what to expect in this book:
-A smart house with an app that controls it called ‘Happy’. Nope nope nope.
-A shady nanny who is clearly hiding something.
-An overworked mum and a pervy husband.
-A remote Scottish Highlands location.
-Things that go bump in the night
-Three awful children.
-More secrets and lies than you can shake a stick at.

So basically, this book was exactly what I want from a thriller! Ware takes so many spooky elements and throws them together to create a fantastic modern Gothic tale. The result is incredibly effective with loads of tension and mystery that kept me guessing until the very end. There are so many secrets tangled up in this book that it’s hard to figure out exactly what’s going on, and as someone who has seen the main twist coming in a few thrillers lately, I loved that so much. I sometimes find that thrillers just don’t quite hit the mark for me, but The Turn of the Key was such a well-balanced plot with well-paced moments of horrible tension and release.

I feel like I come across as super lazy when it comes to thriller reviews, but I swear that it’s best to go into this book knowing as little as possible! If you're someone who enjoys psychological thrillers, this is definitely the book for you. The Turn of the Key is the perfect binge read for chilly winter nights.

4.5 out of 5 stars