Reviews with content warning for Violence - Lukitut ovet

Holy shit! So many twists and turns I did not anticipate. I like that the book is written in a series of letters and that the narrator is not necessarily reliable. This book definitely made me a bit jumpy and the ending brought tears to my eyes.

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leahjanespeare's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is my first Ruth Ware book. I was recommended this author by a customer who saw I liked Tana French and thought I might like her stuff too! I looked through her backlist to find the one that seemed most interesting to me. I knew it was a reimagining of The Turn of the Screw but purposefully did not look up and remind myself the plot in case that refreshed any (100 year old) spoilers for me.

It's very atmospheric and eerie, and you know any haunted house type thing reminds me of the Haunting of Hill House (though there's no comparison for that brilliance) so that was fun and different since there are not a lot of characters present that are suspects. I liked the integration of the creepy-ass smart house, I really hope that never exists. I don't even like talking to my phone and have Siri turned off. Make that house a refurbished Victorian on the gloomy lonesome moors of Scotland and well, you got a good setup for a mystery book.

I also love a good unreliable narrator, especially when the story is her telling her side of what happened through letters to her solicitor while she sits in jail for the murder of a child.

My only issue is the ending/explanation, which isn't to say it was bad, but not at all what I was expecting or where I was expecting it would go. But I won't say more than that because that'll go straight into spoiler territory.

I'll definitely be reading more of her books!

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mallory10100's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

wow this was a great read. bought it because i love the haunting of bly manor and knew that it’s based on a book called the turn of the screw, and there were so many similarities with the show it was fun. so many great twists at the end that i definitely didn’t see coming!

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