seforana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Sexual harassment, Blood, Child death, Cursing, and Grief
taliatalksbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The Turn Of The Key by Ruth Ware didn’t live up to her other books, but was still suspenseful and thrilling throughout. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I love Ware’s books, and though this one isn’t necessarily an exception, it certainly wasn’t my favorite of hers. This was mainly to do with the format and conclusion of the novel. While I liked the twisty turns this took, I definitely would have liked a more robust conclusion. The last few letters felt a little lacking in detail when compared to the rest of the story, and I think that some of the emotion that (having read the end) should have been present, didn’t come through in the format of the letters as it might have in a more first hand (rather than reflexive) narration. While I did like the story, and the way it unfolded, this felt like it fell more into the “withholding information to surprise the reader”category than it did into the “skillfully placed clues until the big reveal” category. Usually I find Ware’s books to fall into the second category, and while there were a few breadcrumbs, I didn’t feel like the clues were obvious enough throughout to help have the ah-ha moment at the twist. All that being said, Ware is still one of my favorite suspense writers, and I’m looking forward to my next Ruth Ware read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Child death, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity
thetrue__og's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
graysongbax's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
minimicropup's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Unsettling, pragmatic, well-rounded.
We are following our MC who works in childcare. They find the opportunity of their lifetime in a posting for a live-in nanny for three young girls. But why has this seemingly normal family had such a revolving door of past nannies...🤔
🏴 Set in an isolated Scottish Victorian house renovated into a smart house by architects.
🎧 Ruth Ware + Imogen Church = Perfection. The intonation, expressiveness, and emotion is conveyed so well, it's like actually being read a story. Imogen Church manages such on point voicing of males, females, teens, and children. 👌
Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐺🐕:
-👌 I have enjoyed all of Ruth Ware's books to date, but they do tend to be on the long side with too much thought-monolog sometimes. THIS one was justified in length. It felt fast-paced once it got going and I didn't want to put it down.
-🤷♀️ There are no chapter numbers, so it's hard to sync audio to text if you are reading both
-👍 There are no chapter numbers because the entire novel is technically a letter to a lawyer written by our MC. I didn't mind because if someone has that much time on their hands, I can imagine writing a letter that evolves into an entire novel!
-👌🤯 Did not predict the double-twists! Lots of realistic red herrings but not annoyingly so, and the clues are all there for the reader to piece together if especially astute.
-👌😰 I am not a kid person so the suspense was especially relatable to me. To be trapped alone with kids...having to always keep mental space for their needs, the unpredictability and uncontrollability of every thing they do and say...shudder. Like, even though the intentions may be different, most kids behave exactly like little sociopaths. These kids are creepy in that way all kids are, with the roller coaster of heartwarming and aggravating moments to go with it.
-👌😅I love tech and have a "smart" home ...if you have ever had to sleep with your lights on because "computer says no"....very relatable struggles here!
Mood Reading Match Up:
-Creepy, isolated, Victorian settings
-Realistic locked-room mysteries with red herrings consisting of people, tech, and the paranormal
-Realistic annoying "creepy" kids and suspense from being responsible for three of them + one teenager (nope nope nope)
-Settings as characters: both the house and the tech are relatable characters in the story
Content Heads-Up: Parental rejection. Child death. Infidelity. Sexual harassment.
Format: Paperback and Audible
We are following our MC who works in childcare. They find the opportunity of their lifetime in a posting for a live-in nanny for three young girls. But why has this seemingly normal family had such a revolving door of past nannies...🤔
🏴 Set in an isolated Scottish Victorian house renovated into a smart house by architects.
🎧 Ruth Ware + Imogen Church = Perfection. The intonation, expressiveness, and emotion is conveyed so well, it's like actually being read a story. Imogen Church manages such on point voicing of males, females, teens, and children. 👌
Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐺🐕:
-👌 I have enjoyed all of Ruth Ware's books to date, but they do tend to be on the long side with too much thought-monolog sometimes. THIS one was justified in length. It felt fast-paced once it got going and I didn't want to put it down.
-🤷♀️ There are no chapter numbers, so it's hard to sync audio to text if you are reading both
-👍 There are no chapter numbers because the entire novel is technically a letter to a lawyer written by our MC. I didn't mind because if someone has that much time on their hands, I can imagine writing a letter that evolves into an entire novel!
-👌🤯 Did not predict the double-twists! Lots of realistic red herrings but not annoyingly so, and the clues are all there for the reader to piece together if especially astute.
-👌😰 I am not a kid person so the suspense was especially relatable to me. To be trapped alone with kids...having to always keep mental space for their needs, the unpredictability and uncontrollability of every thing they do and say...shudder. Like, even though the intentions may be different, most kids behave exactly like little sociopaths. These kids are creepy in that way all kids are, with the roller coaster of heartwarming and aggravating moments to go with it.
-👌😅I love tech and have a "smart" home ...if you have ever had to sleep with your lights on because "computer says no"....very relatable struggles here!
Mood Reading Match Up:
-Creepy, isolated, Victorian settings
-Realistic locked-room mysteries with red herrings consisting of people, tech, and the paranormal
-Realistic annoying "creepy" kids and suspense from being responsible for three of them + one teenager (nope nope nope)
-Settings as characters: both the house and the tech are relatable characters in the story
Content Heads-Up: Parental rejection. Child death. Infidelity. Sexual harassment.
Format: Paperback and Audible
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Child death
Minor: Sexual content
clare_dv's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual harassment
sylvestra's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Child death and Infidelity
jenniee_reads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Alright I am a sucker for thrillers, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I did really like how it was written as a letter. It felt like something different. The main character did annoy me quite a bit and I wish there was more of a relationship between her and the children, but I also understand that that is a part of their story. It mentions in the very beginning about the death of a child and I guessed correctly immediately after meeting the children. Somewhat predictable with some inconsistencies. Overall it wasn’t my favorite but it also wasn’t my least favorite either.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Sexual harassment
bethboo's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Okay, so I'm conflicted. I kind of really enjoyed this book, but when thinking of things to say for the review, they're mostly negative. So I'll try to come up with a list of positives and negatives, or something.
Overall, the book was a pretty interesting read. It's quick, took me like 2 days, and isn't too dark or too light. There is a little romance, some character studies and development, some mystery, some supernatural. It gets a little boring in the middle because the author seems to spend a lot of time on seemingly everyday tasks, but I guess that's the point, to establish some normalcy. The ending felt pretty anticlimactic, which feels bad because someone dies, but because you know that a child dies from the first page onward, it hit softer. But it wasn't a terrible ending.
My highest praise is for the narrator of the audio version. Imogen Church is an angel and a goddess and her performance was amazing in this. It felt like I these people were real.
Overall, the book was a pretty interesting read. It's quick, took me like 2 days, and isn't too dark or too light. There is a little romance, some character studies and development, some mystery, some supernatural. It gets a little boring in the middle because the author seems to spend a lot of time on seemingly everyday tasks, but I guess that's the point, to establish some normalcy. The ending felt pretty anticlimactic, which feels bad because someone dies, but because you know that a child dies from the first page onward, it hit softer. But it wasn't a terrible ending.
My highest praise is for the narrator of the audio version. Imogen Church is an angel and a goddess and her performance was amazing in this. It felt like I these people were real.
Spoiler
I guessed that Bill was her dad the moment that they met. I have proof, I entered a little note when I was updating my progress. I hate that the book wasn't an actual haunting, but I guess they were pretty clear about it being a murder from the beginning. IDK. I really liked the soft moments between Rowan and the girls, I wish she could have really connected with Rhiannon. Ellie's letter at the end hurt my heart and did explain a lot so that was very good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Forced institutionalization
len_magoi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
300 pages of nothing followed by 30 of barely anything
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Sexual harassment