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A review by leahjanespeare
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Gaslighting
Minor: Child death